Hyattsville Life & Times | May 2019
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INVENTOR
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Sr., coached both club and high school lacrosse in the 1960s, getting his start at the Red Shield Boys Club in Baltimore and moving to Tillmann Jr.’s alma mater, Archbishop Curley High School, shortly afterwards. With three titles to his name, Tillmann Sr. went on to serve as an official for 25 years, officiating numerous NCAA tournament and international games. “My dad, actually, has been a big part of the lacrosse community in Baltimore for a long time,” Tillmann said. “The Head Rock was originally his idea. When he first shared the concept with me, he came to me knowing that I had been a shop teacher. Years later, I finally built one in my basement, and it worked.” “It seemed to help build wrist strength, as well as speed,” said Tillmann. “So we went forward and launched the first Head Rock about a year and a half ago, and we were really excited with the initial feedback.” The molded 8-ounce attachment, which conforms to any regulation lacrosse head, is designed for dry
CENSUS
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council. For fiscal year 2020, the city budget allocates $10,000 towards the CCC. “[The Complete Count Committee] is to help reach out into communities that typically don’t get high numbers during the census to ensure that everyone gets equal representation,” said Councilmember Joseph Solomon (Ward 5). However, Solomon also expressed a concern about backing a federal program with a significant chunk of city funding. The City of Hyattsville is at high risk for an undercount, according to the Census 2020 Hard to Count mapping site, which highlights areas where self-response was low in the last census. For
SHOURJYA MOOKERJEE
Craig Tillmann watches over a round of wall ball with the Prince George’s Pride at Heurich Park Turf Field in Hyattsville.
reps, a term for any motion without the ball. The training weight, which is 3 ounces heavier than a lacrosse ball, is meant to mimic the feeling of a ball in the pocket. The idea is similar to something baseball fans have grown accustomed to seeing batters warm up with: a weighted ring, or doughnut, that fits over the end of a bat. Both the Head Rock and the baseball doughnut are rooted in the theory
of complex training, which alternates heavier and lighter weights to improve explosive power. “One of the most common things players and their parents would ask us, as coaches, was ‘How can my kid get a faster shot?’ or ‘How can they build velocity on their movements?’” Tillmann said. “You know, before he gets up to bat, a Major League Baseball player adds a little weight to help increase power and
example, according to the mapping website, only 67.3 percent of households west of Queens Chapel Road mailed back their 2010 census questionnaire, requiring in-person follow-ups for the remaining 32.7 percent. “We need your help. You know your community; you know your population,” Daniel Jones, U.S. Census Bureau partnership specialist, told councilmembers at an April 1 city council meeting. Another potential concern for the city, according to Solomon, is the inclusion of a citizenship question on the upcoming census form. In an April 5 ruling by U.S. District Judge George J. Hazel, Maryland became the third state to block adding the question, “Is this person a citizen of the United States?” to the 2020 census. On
April 23, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments on the constitutionality of the question. Although justices were to rule on the inclusion of the question by June, according to NPR, a 4th Circuit appeal by plaintiffs in one of the Maryland lawsuits could push back that timeline. Regardless of what happens with the citizenship question, the council wants to move forward with creating the CCC. Councilmember Carrianna Suiter (Ward 3) said, “The courts will still be deciding the citizenship question, but I think, in the meantime, it is really important that we make an effort to ensure that folks are counted and that the subsequent redistricting that will happen after the census will reflect our community.”
speed — so that was his idea.” Tillmann, however, noted a crucial difference between his model and other available products. “We put our weight in the pocket, to make the stick create the same momentum that it would if it had a ball in the pocket.” Tillmann said. “There are other training aids that make the stick heavier, but, for us, where the weight is situated is what makes it unique. It allowed us to get our patent.” The coach maintained that the best way to improve any lacrosse skill is “to hit a bucket of balls,” but said the Head Rock offered a convenient compromise. “With the Head Rock, players can build their mechanics on their own, even before practice or shootaround. You can get a lot of repetitions done in a short amount of time.” In addition to getting feedback from lacrosse camps in his Hyattsville community, Tillmann has also had the advantage of having a professional try out the Head Rock. Major League Lacrosse player Pat Young, a former
collegiate player at the University of Maryland, gave the product a glowing review at a recent event. “I like that,” said Young, in a clip that made it onto the product’s website. “It actually feels like a full-blown ball.” Another pivotal moment that Tillmann recalled came earlier this year, during a coach’s hour at the 2019 U.S. Lacrosse Convention in Philadelphia, where the vendors showcased their products to all the coaches present. “We were getting a lot of weird looks,” Tillmann said, noting that the concept of dry reps is a relatively foreign idea in the lacrosse community. “I was so busy trying to sell the thing that I wasn’t able to take videos of their faces before and after they tried the product.” While he lamented the missed opportunity of capturing those emotions, Tillmann joked that for him, the looks of astonishment are his greatest accomplishment. “It’s pretty fun to see their faces light up when they try it out,” he said. “It makes it all worth it in the end.”
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