It was great to get back on Harvard's campus and get the season underway. This past weekend was pretty sweet; the weather, Harvard getting a big win vs Princeton, the season ticket holder event and of course.......training camp getting underway!
You couldn't have asked for a better day on Saturday; sunny and 70 degrees, the buzz was in the air as Princeton was in town for a big Ivy league match up. The season ticket holder event was great, we had over 100+ die hard fans out in the courtyard in front of the Murr Center. We lead the team over to the area and I said a few words about the upcoming season to the Cannon's faithful. I broke it down to them that we're working our tails off for one reason; the opportunity to play for the MLL Championship in Annapolis. It was funny, I got a little fired up as I was speaking to the fans and you could see it in a few of their eyes that they too were getting jacked up and excited for opening day.
After the event was over, the coaching staff and I headed in to the game to watch it at field level. Whenever you watch a game at field level (no matter what sport), you get a feel of the speed of the game which is important when you're looking at potential collegiate draft picks. I tell you what, Harvard played one of their best games of the year and got the "W". The win puts them within striking distance of earning a bid in the inaugural Ivy League tournament. Princeton is still in 1st place, then there are five teams that with either a win or a loss have the possibility of making the tournament. It should be an exciting week of lacrosse in the Ivy league to see who ends up where.
CATZ came in and worked out the team before we took the field on Saturday night. This was the 1st year we took the players through a conditioning test prior to taking the field to play. It was a good barometer as we need to see how players will react when being both physically and mentally tired. As athlete's this is when we need to be at our best; the 4th quarter, late in a game when you need to possess the ball the most. As a team we can't afford a bad turnover because you were too tired to make a good decision. It was a great test for us because after CATZ finished with the players we took the field for a scrimmage against the CROART All-stars. Honestly, I was impressed with the way we handled ourselves for 3 quarters. The 4th quarter things got a little sloppy but for the 1st time out, it wasn't bad at all. A few individuals stood out this weekend amongst others. Next weekend however will be a little more of a test and we'll get a good chance to see if these players can consistently play at a high level. We're in Wilton, CT next Saturday scrimmaging the Long Island before the Wilton HS game. This will definitely give us a good indication of where players are as we move closer to making final cuts before the last weekend of camp.
Congrats to Coach Starsia and the Virginia Cavaliers for capturing their 6th ACC Tournament championship. What a performance by tourney MVP Adam Ghitelman. Perfect example of not losing it mentally as a goalie when the opposing team takes 3 shots and gets 3 goals to start the game. As a goalie that is when you need to be mentally strong, shake it off and focus on the next shot. The good ones have a short memory.....the quicker you can shake it off and forget about a goal the better you're going to be. Once a goal gets by you, figure out what you did wrong, make a mental note of it and then move on! That's exactly what the junior from Cold Spring Harbor did on Sunday as he led his team to the 2010 ACC Crown. UVA is the favorite to garner the #1 seed in the tournament when the seedings are announced two Sundays from now (5/9)....can't wait to see where the Heels end up!
What's up with your game? What are you having success with? What are you struggling with? Need any advice? Email me at bd@lax-school.com, I would love to help anyway I can!
A shout out to Francisco from Portugal! He emailed me about the 2-3-1 offensive set as he needed some help. I had no idea there was lacrosse in Portugal, he started up a team in 2008 and they've been playing ever since!
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