Scott Ratliff

A collage of various images of Scott Ratliff. ( (Jason Pagendarm))

Scott Ratliff is a professional lacrosse player who plays in the MLL, and more recently, the NLL. He was born and raised in Atlanta. He graduated from Loyola University Maryland. He currently plays for the Atlanta Blaze, though he did play for the Boston Cannons in the past. Ratliff plays as an LSM, or long stick middie, for Atlanta and he played as a close defender for Boston and Loyola. He also recently signed with a professional indoor lacrosse team, the Georgia Swarm, that's a part of the NLL.

Ratliff has gone and done many things to help better the game of lacrosse in his home state of Atlanta. He isn't just a professional player, he coaches too. Ratliff is an assistant coach at Greater Atlanta Christian. He was also recently promoted to President of LB3 Lacrosse, which is a company that operates camps, clinics, leagues, lessons, club teams and national teams with the primary geographic focus in Atlanta, GA and Philadelphia, PA.

Ratliff has also gone to promote and better the game internationally. This past summer he went with a teammate of his, Adam Ghitelman, to Nicaragua. There, they interacted with the local kids and introduced the game of lacrosse to them. Many of the kids were underprivileged and the two pro's gave them a chance to participate in something they never would've had the chance to do without Ratliff's, or Ghitelman's, participation and dedication to the game of lacrosse.

Ratliff recently returned from Japan, where he and two of his fellow pro's went to grow the game there as well. The two other pro's were Matt Gibson of the New York Lizards and Joey Sankey of the Charlotte Hounds. They were invited by a Japanese lacrosse organization called Crosse Crosse to hold clinics and scrimmages with their players. They taught the players many things and learned many things themselves. In the end the game of lacrosse was better for it.

Ratliff inspires me for all of these things and a few others. In my personal lacrosse career I play as a close defender. When I see highlights of Ratliff or images, it just makes me want to play like him, which probably rings true for many others. He really inspires me to want to not just play better, but be a better person and to spread the game. He makes me want to inspire others to play the same game I love so much.