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First impression (Morning run, Jan. 18th):
We are out of shape. Every January the guys come back and I am not sure if my expectations have gone up or they really are out of shape every pre-season. This morning we ran a timed two-miler and it really did not look good. I am not a runner but have always done well in challenged events so my expectations are that the team can do better in this distance. Nobody cracked the 12-minute mark and the team average was not where we wanted it. However, the lifting tests were significantly better. Guys looked like they had been in the weight room and put some time in over winter break.
Second impression (Afternoon practice, Jan. 18th):
OK, maybe we are not out of shape. Or better yet, these guys like to compete on the field. Lots of ground-ball drills and low-number uneven drills, and the guys were playing hard. We did some conditioning mixed in with practice, and everyone ran hard. About halfway through practice the level of play dropped some, but that is somewhat expected. The intensity was there all afternoon.
First Week:
We have the talent to get to where we want to this season. We lost a few guys from the fall that really did not want to be there, but added a nice athlete in Robert Cannon (Highland Park HS). A former midfielder, we put a pole in Robert’s hands and he compliments our other middie convert, Roderick Mayberry. Our LSMs are certainly the most athletic group in the country.
The intensity was there all week. It was the best first week we have had that I remember. Sticks for the most part looked sharp for a pre-season week. Communication was decent for early in the season. The fatigue finally hit in the Friday scrimmage. The play got sloppy around the cage.
The offense controlled the ball well and moved decently off-ball, but had trouble stretching the defense and breaking them down one-on-one. We had some music out at practice and had a good time, and I think the guys came out a little too loose.
The coaches met on Friday night and spent a good two hours over dinner working on the depth chart. We had some tough decisions and our depth at midfield has made it tough to finalize the lines. But we’ve decided to move away from the three-line system. Instead, we will run two lines and a defensive middie line as well. We have a few guys that really just fit that mold perfectly and as long as the team buys into what we are doing and everyone starts pushing the team concept, we will be very dangerous.
Coaching Staff:
In the off-season we said goodbye to longtime defensive coach and goalie coach Bronson Parker. He moved over to Westlake HS. He did a great job in his seven-plus years here. It is always tough to replace someone with that much experience and passion for the team.
The solution, have a goalie coach and a defense coach. Tim Riley, Ithaca College, will work with the poles and defense. Tim is in his third season and he knows the team and where we are going. Mike Gerbush, Williams College, has joined us to also help with the defense but is focusing primarily on the goalies. He is doing a suburb job teaching the netminders and helping the team develop our goalie core. Dennis Rugg and Jon Nickel are focusing on the midfielders. Jon is focusing on the midfielder defense and helping with the lines. Dennis is focusing on the faceoff play and will run the box. The midfield is the strength of the team right now and keeping this group working hard will be their focus this year.
Overall, the entire staff is focused on the team as a whole. Each coach is certainly focusing on improving and teaching their specific positions, but everyone is preaching the team mentality that is going to help us get to the next level this year.
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