ELMIRA, N.Y. (WENY) - The Elmira Renegades will begin training camp for the inaugural season of the Professional Box Lacrosse Association, (PBLA), on December 9th. in Buffalo, New York. 

The Renegades will play seven of their 14 games at First Arena, beginning on January 7th, 2023 when they host the Syracuse Spark. Elmira's season opener is on December 20th, 2022 in Binghamton against the Bombers. 

Brian Hobart was named the Head Coach of the Renegades and has 20 seasons of experience as the Head Coach at Penn Yan Academy. His resume includes experience in both the National Lacrosse League, (NLL), and Major League Lacrosse, (MLL). Hobart was also the USA Lacrosse Assistant General Manager at the 2019 FIL World Games. 

Hobart says the Renegades roster is stacked with Twin Tiers natives and has a variety of experience. 

"It draws kind of a circle around Elmira for an hour and a half in any direction," Hobart said. "We've got players from all those areas. We are really excited about the group we have. Some have some NLL experience, some international experience. So, I think we've done really well assembling the group that we have at this point." 

The Renegades drafted Bradley Voigt with their first pick. Voigt is a Penn Yan native and was a standout attack at Syracuse University. 

Hobart compared aspects of box lacrosse to hockey and said that fans can expect a fast-paced game. 

"You're going to see some of the hitting and the speed of hockey, you're gonna see some amazing stick work," Hobart said. "If you're not familiar with lacrosse, your jaw is going to hit the floor here a couple of times when you see what some of these guys can do with a stick in their hand. and the physicality. There are going to be guys hitting boards, might be an occasional fistfight. But, much like hockey, anytime that ball is loose on the floor, it's a battle." 

Fans interested in purchasing season tickets can find more information here.