What a weekend of Hoops!

How about all of those upsets this weekend? Like a lot of other people out there, my pool is done, ca put, finished....... oh well, there's always next year! Ya know, that's what I love most about the NCAA basketball tourney; there are teams out there that are not in the spotlight, not on TV every week but can play ball....bottom line. When the tourney rolls around it's their turn to shine, go to work and play for that ring and the opportunity to cut down the nets.

The NCAA lacrosse committee needs to look at the basketball tourney and model the lacrosse tourney after it. I'm not talking about increasing the number substantially BUT adding more teams so that the tourney is more exciting AND a team that doesn't win their conference or that hasn't been in the top 10 all season has an opportunity to play for the big prize. I know the NCAA will say it's about the money and the finances and that's why it can't be done. Let's face it though, when a small school (Northern Iowa) knocks off a big dog (Kansas) it's great for the sport no matter what sport it is because it shows parity.

March is almost over can you believe it? The college season is almost at it's 1/2 way point. Did you see the Syracuse/Hopkins game Saturday night? Boy it looks like it's fun to play for the 'Cuse. Yes there is structure but they let their boys play lacrosse, they let their play makers create and make plays. It looks like the Syracuse of old where you go out, play hard & have fun. Big one this weekend for my Tarheels. Last week I said they had Hopkins, I was looking too far ahead, 1st we have to get by a very good, stingy Maryland team who is also playing well. It should be a good game, I'm looking forward to it. When you're watching these college games, try and learn from something that occurred on the field. The Syracuse/Hop game is a perfect example.....Cody Jamison's 1 handed shot! Lol! Seriously though, did you see how many of their players got their shots off without that much room? That's what we call being a great shooter, when you're able to dodge and get your hands free and get off a shot while the defender is still on you. It creates an automatic screen for the goalie and it's hard for a goalie to read your shot and the release.

Next Friday (April 2nd), Casey Powell and I are doing a clinic at Waltham HS, more info @ bostoncannons.com & you can register @ caseypowelllacrosse.com.

If you have any questions email me at bd@lax-school.com.

We were down in Rhode Island this weekend for the Bryant/Wagner game. Got a chance to catch up with Coach Pressler and pick his brain on a few things. We also got John Hill's views on the new NCAA rule changes as one of the top officials in today's game. We'll have it up on lax-school.com shortly!

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March Madness

So, how's your bracket looking? Into the last round of the night I'm not looking that bad....Georgetown hurt, I had them in the Elite 8. Notre Dame and Vanderbilt hurt a little bit as well (sweet 16). We'll see how the rest of the night shapes up but I'm currently at #1 with like seven other people. Did you see the Georgia Tech/Oklahoma St game? 23-24 foul shooting by Tech down the stretch, that's how you win ball games. That's a perfect example of what practicing does for you. You can relate it to lax with hitting the wall....working on your stick skills. Like free throws, the more you work at it the better you are going to be at it. It's all about the touches and the reps, that's the recipe to success!

Cannon's training camp is a little over a month away and I'm starting to get that feeling....you know what I'm talking about. We had our monthly coaches meeting last night at Buff's, which is in Newton. Great wings, if you haven't been there make sure you pop in (I highly recommend the Honey Hots). On the agenda was the depth chart and with that we discussed how we envision certain guys fitting in on both ends of the field. Something we need to finalize soon, we have six spots open for camp, who are they going to be? We talked a little bit about certain personnel on our radar, perfect opportunity for some guys out there. Coaches have a little homework this weekend (who said this was part time job?). The best part of the night was when talked about the collegiate draft a little bit.....

Ok, 1st week of HS tryouts/practice is just about over. Where are you right now? How are you feeling about your performance? Tomorrow pick one thing you want to focus on for the 1st half of practice. For example, I want really show the coaches that I can be a ground ball machine. In every drill, work towards accomplishing what you chose. If you are succeeding and doing well at that, I'm pretty sure the rest will fall into place.

Have a question? Email me at bd@lax-school.com.

Big game tomorrow night...'Cuse @ the Hop! Hopkins needs a win, Cuse is coming off the Georgetown convincing win.....should be a good game. If one of the goalies can get hot, look out.

Heels beat Dartmouth tonight, 8-0! Another reason Hop needs to win tomorrow night? They go to Carolina next weekend.

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7-0

How 'bout them Tarheels? The boys got a nice victory last night vs. Princeton 12-11, I didn't attend the game but I heard it was a good one. The Heels had big leads in the 2nd half and Princeton got back in the game but they sealed the deal late in the 4th to win their 7th consecutive game. The great thing about the win is that everyone is contributing; last night is was Petracca's turn with 4G's. When you have multiple guys in the scoring column it's hard for opposing teams to game plan against you and that definitely needs to continue for us to be successful towards the end of the season. Now I know it's still early, we have Dartmouth, the Hop, Maryland, Virginia and then the ACC tournament so we can't look too far ahead with those match ups still to come. But this is the best start for North Carolina in quite sometime now and we've beaten some quality opponents and are presently ranked #2 in the country. I know there are a lot of proud alumni out there like myself who are tuned in every week to see how the boys do. April 10th I'll get a chance to check them out at the Big City Classic at the new Meadowlands stadium, make sure you get your tickets now as it's sure to be a great match up! (www.bigcityclassic.com)

The weather finally broke in the Northeast and we're supposed to have some 60+ degree temps these next few days. Perfect timing with the official start to the high school season kicking off this week. Unless you're playing on turf the ground is still pretty soft so make sure you're wearing the proper footwear. A speed cleat with long spikes (Nike Huarache TD's) or a detachable cleat is probably best for soft ground. The last thing you want to do is slip and have your man smoke you to the cage when you're trying to make Varsity....right?

Speaking of being able to change direction, have you checked out our latest video on lax-school.com? We focus on range of mobility and flexibility of the hips, very crucial when you're trying to stop on a dime and then explode in the opposite direction....very similar to what you do on defense. If you have any questions on it, shoot me an email at bd@lax-school.com

Early in the season is when you need to really push it on your conditioning, what you do in practice is not enough. Get out there after practice or on the weekend during your off time and work. Quick stop and go stuff; 5-15 yard shuttles, explosive stuff that you go hard for 10-15 seconds, recover and the repeat.

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Wild Weekend

Did you see some of the scores in D1 this weekend? For the majority, one goal games seemed to be the theme; Maryland over Duke 11-10, Princeton over Hopkins 11-10, Virgina over Syracuse 11-10, Notre Dame over Loyola 11-9. You talk about parity in college lacrosse, how about Drexel knocking off #3 Notre Dame last night! With scores like this at this point in the season, you can only imagine what it's going to be like down the stretch. The teams that are well conditioned and are clicking on both ends of the field will be the teams battling for a post season bid come May.

Tonight on ESPNU at 7:00 North Carolina (5-0) takes on Duke (2-2). This should be a great game, a real test for the 'Heels at this point in the season. Carolina is coming off of a win vs. UMBC while the Dookies suffered an OT loss vs. the Twerps. This game is always a heated battle, I remember it from my days playing at Carolina. No matter what the records are this is Carolina vs. Duke and it's a battle. These two teams are pretty evenly matched, but where I feel Carolina has the edge is in the goal and at the midfield. If Chris Madalon can make a couple of big saves early and set the tone, the defense will feed off of him. The offense is initiated by Duke's attack; Carolina needs to limit the touches by Crotty, Quinzani and Howell and not let them get into a flow. UNC is deeper and more talented at the midfield and they need to exploit the Duke midis when the opportunities are there. Whenever you can run three midfield lines and all three can execute on both ends of the field, it's hard to keep up...... especially in the fourth quarter. Sean Dulaney needs to keep stepping up offensively for UNC, there's no doubt he'll get the long pole but that hasn't stopped him in prior games. It's also Billy Bitter time, big games are where big players step up......I'm sure he's ready for the challenge and won't disappoint.

We've had some great weather here in New England over the past few days, temps reaching the high 50's. The high school season starts up next Monday, as players we need to make sure we're ready to go. Early in the season is a good time to break in your back back up stick as with temperatures still pretty low the last thing you want to do is have your #1 crack on you. Get out this weekend and hit the wall, make sure you're comfortable with your stick before you hit the field for the 1st day of practice/tryouts. Dial your stick up so it's throwing and shooting the way you want it, don't wait until it's too late!

Have a question for the Dean? Shoot me an email at bd@lax-school.com.

Make sure you're working hard these last few days before the HS season begins!

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GO HEELS!

Big Weekend

Although it's early in the season it's a pretty big weekend of college lacrosse with some intense match-ups. Once again the Konica Minolta Face-Off Classic puts six of the top teams in the country up against each other which is sure to be an entertaining day of lacrosse. In the 1st game two ACC rivals match up as #9 Duke plays #6 Maryland. Maryland is coming off of a big win over Georgetown while Duke dismantled Penn last Saturday. These two teams usually play a physical game and it most likely will come down to last two minutes of the 4th quarter to decide this one. I'm taking Maryland over Duke, 13-11.

The 2nd game pits #5 Johns Hopkins vs #7 Princeton, you talk about another rivalry....when I coached at the Hop this was the game of the season (even though they play everyone). Hopkins and Princeton have played each other for a long time,dating back to the early years of each program. So the alumni really get into this game, the night before the Princeton game the alumni meet the team for that year in an event they title "The Smoker". So when you talk about a big game, this is it. Hop struggled vs. Siena, they didn't look sharp offensively and had a lot of unforced turnovers and miscues. Princeton on the other hand lit up Hofstra and looks like they're offense is clicking and heading in the right direction. Look for Petro to put together a defensive game plan to try and slow them down and take control of the game early. This game also puts two of the country's top goaltenders against each other, Gvodzen needs to show up and demonstrate he's ready to take his team for another title run this year. Hopkins 12, Princeton 10.

The last game has the #3 ranked Notre Dame Irish vs. the #10 Loyola Greyhounds. This game will be entertaining for sure. When's the last time Notre Dame has been ranked #3 in the country?? Both teams are coming off of victory's and have something to prove to the lacrosse world. The Irish are led by their senior goalie Scotty Rodgers and his quest to be the best goalie in the country. Loyola is a young scrappy team that has won three in a row, the biggest win over Navy by a goal but they really haven't been tested yet....this one will be a big test for sure to see if they are indeed the real deal. I'm taking the Irish in this one, 13-8.

Make sure you check out the Face-Off classic on ESPNU this weekend, check your local listings. There's been a lot of lacrosse on this year as they've made a big commitment to the sport televising 42 total games on the ESPN family.

If you have any questions about training, shooting, or coaching, feel free to email me at bd@lax-school.com

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Go Heels, make it 5 in a row over UMBC!

2nd Annual Plymouth Rock Tourney

I woke up a little sore this morning from playing 4 games (not including semi's) at the "Rock" Tourney in Plymouth, MA yesterday. Good times, I love tournaments (especially over 30 ones!)....just not a fan of the 4 games in one day format any longer. It's pretty cool actually as the tournament fees, etc. all go to help the self funded Plymouth HS lax program, so in actuality we were playing for a cause. There were 10 teams, 2 divisions and the top 2 teams from both divisions made the playoffs, we were one of those teams and accomplished our goal for the day, which is always a good feeling. We lost to the eventual (and defending) champs; The Mega Men (Congrats V!)as they were just too much for our squad. There were some solid players in the tourney, Dave Evans former Boston Cannon; Brendan Glass former UMass star, a few former Boston Blazers as well as plenty other guys who can get up and down and all love to compete.

Tourneys are great because you get to play with old friends, play against old friends and meet new dudes that you're playing with for the 1st time. It was great to run attack with my boy Falvey, he's still got it. Haven't played with him since the old Brine Outlaw lax club days but it's like nothing ever changed. I've always wondered what it would be like playing against a guy I've played with for the past 5+ years....I found out on Saturday. Flanny is one of the meanest defensemen, he's always been on my side until yesterday. First run, poke checks me right in the throat...couldn't even speak for like 5 minutes. Don't worry though I got him back with a nasty 2 handed wack between the glove and the arm pad on a clear......can you say ouch?

When you play in tournaments you have to keep it simple and stick to the basics. Offensively let the ball do the work, don't try and do too much and just keep moving. Always have to keep in mind that the defense is most likely playing together for the 1st time as well so the more you can keep them guessing the more success you're going to have. With that said, defensively you need to hope you have a solid goalie (which we did), make sure you communicate and just fly around to the ball when you can. The biggest thing with any tournament is taking care of yourself; make sure you stay hydrated, pack some snacks with protein and that will provide energy, stretch, warm up and make sure you stay warm in between games if it's a chilly one.

We'll have some shots of the tourney up soon so check out facebook.com/laxschool and if you're not a friend yet do that as well.

You can follow us on twitter.com/laxschool and keep an eye out for the lateral speed training video. In the next few weeks we'll have some more warm up and training stuff up on the site as well.

As always, if you have a question or want to see something specific on lax-school.com you can email me at bd@lax-school.com

Heels 4-0, keep it rolling boys!

2010 Heads

We're already a few weeks into the college season and the start of the high school season is right around the corner for most states...... unless you're in Cali. Cardinal Newman (Santa Rosa, CA) opens up tomorrow @ Berkley....good luck boys! So with all of the fuss about the new rule changes in both college (NCAA) and high school (NFHS), what are you thinking about the new heads on the market that meet these specs?

The new NCAA heads are ridiculous if you ask me.....ridiculously good for you offensive players that is. The new NCAA rules make the stick resemble a box head; the 3" dimension goes up more than 1/2 way up the head of the stick. What does this mean? It means major ball control right in the sweet spot of the stick, where the ball sits 95% of the time. Also with the width of the head at the widest point (the scoop) being reduced from 6.5" to 6" you have a nice tight wand to take your opponents to school with. Honestly, the NCAA committee made it harder for the ball to be dislodged when there goal was just the opposite. The NFHS rules basically stays within the traditional head specs; 6.5" across the top of the head and they have no measurement at the throat of the stick. There are also some high schools out there that play under NCAA rules, if you're one of those players then you're pretty psyched.

I've only tried the SuperPower and the Professor, both NCAA heads for 2010. They're both pretty sweet and I can definitely feel the difference in the "hold" of the stick when cradling and when I'm getting ready to let one rip. The ball seems to stay in the center of the pocket longer before I release my shot. Although the older sticks were a little narrower at the bottom of the head (closest to the throat), they got wider as you progressed up the stick where on the new heads it stays at 3" and remains narrower a lot longer. If you haven't seen our video with guest speaker Sean Morris yet, check it out on facebook.com/laxschool. Sean (Boston Cannon, Boston Blazer, former UMass AA and founder of seanmorrislacrosse.com) breaks down the NCAA head rules from a players perspective. We'll have a video up soon with John Hill from Lax-school's guidance department and present MLL & College referee, discussing the rule changes and how it'll be measured and enforced on the field....so stay tuned!

Did anyone see that Maverik commercial with Pauly Rabes last night during the Hopkins/Delaware game?

Make sure you're checking us out on facebook.com/laxschool and that you're following me on twitter.com/laxschool.

As always if you have a question you can always reach me at bd@lax-school.com

Watch out for those Tarheels!