NY Giants – More lax diversion

They did it!  They dug down deep and did not let the “underdog” status get to them.  Makes me very proud to be a New Yorker.  Great team with a great fan-base.  Next up – the NY Rangers!!

A Lax Diversion — Let’s Do it Again G-MEN!

Winding down…

Last night was the final official game of my team’s Spring 2011 season.  Seems like it was just yesterday when the team met outside on a cold March 1 evening for its first practice.  I think my players learned a great deal this season about lacrosse and about life.

I know I learned a great deal this year.  I do with every passing season.  This was the first season in which I platooned 3 squads. For each game I rotated 2 of the 3 squads with the remaining squad being inactive for that particular game.  The squads were selected rather blindly one night by me and my assistant coaches over some drinks.  We knew a bunch of the returning players but we had a large number of new players and we really didn’t have all that much time to evaluate them in 3 short weeks of practices so we pretty much blindly split the team in thirds and hoped for the best.  As we end our season, I think it worked out quite well and we really did a pretty good job creating 3 balanced squads.  One of these days I will take a look at the results of all the games and see which squads really were the most successful.  But who cares?  We had a great core and we were very successful in teaching most of the new players the fundamentals which they needed to compete.  A large part of the reason for our success as a team is that we spent equal amounts of time with returning players and new players and worked very hard to bring all players to a common place of development no matter what level they started at.    My veteran players pitched in a great deal to help the newer players along.  Always nice to see!

Did the platooning of 3 squads please everyone?  Heck no, but it was the best option we had.  I think some players may actually have enjoyed every third game off.  Platooning does create some headaches for the coach though.  Every game day afternoon at about 3:30 (right when the boys get home from school), the calls and emails would start rolling in informing me that this player and that player could not make the game that night, was sick, etc.  I was then forced to start scouring the roster of the non-playing squad to find replacements.  Not a major issue but one that could not be ignored.

My team will play in 2 festivals this weekend.  These games will be purely for fun (are there any that aren’t?!).  Just one final weekend of Spring games before we move into the summer……………………….. and then summer travel lacrosse starts!!  However, this coach will be happily relaxing on the other side of the field as a spectator enjoying watching his son and teammates play and leaving the coaching to others!

For many, lacrosse is now a year-round endeavor.  If you are serious about it, keep a stick in your hands and keep working to improve!

Honor the game!

– Coach B

 

NCAA Division I Lacrosse Tournament on TV starting 5/14 – WATCH IT!

As I’ve said many times in the past, a great deal can be learned from watching elite lacrosse players.  The NCAA Division I lacrosse tournament starts this weekend and ALL the games will be carried on the ESPN family of networks (ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU).  I strongly suggest that our players spend at least some time this weekend watching some of these games.  The players in these games started out just like our young players.  Everything that takes place in these elite level games is based upon what we teach the players presently.

See below for the this weekend’s First Round schedule.

Saturday May 14, 2011:
Hofstra at No. 3 Johns Hopkins, noon (ESPN2/ESPN3.com)
Penn at No. 4 Notre Dame, 2:30 p.m. (ESPNU)
Delaware at No. 5 Duke, 5 p.m. (ESPNU)
Hartford at No. 2 Cornell, 7:30 p.m. (ESPNU)

Sunday May 15, 2011
Maryland at No. 8 North Carolina, 1 p.m. (ESPN/ESPN3.com)
Bucknell at No. 7 Virginia, 3 p.m. (ESPNU)
Villanova at No. 6 Denver, 5:15 p.m. (ESPNU)
Siena at No. 1 Syracuse, 7:30 p.m. (ESPNU)

After the weekend I’ll update the blog again for the next round based on this weekend’s results.

HONOR THE GAME!

– Coach B

It all starts now! The 2011 season is here!

Chiefs Lacrosse is set to begin!  Our first practice is Tuesday night March 1 at 5pm.  All practices will be held on the turf at New Providence H.S.

All boys should bring all their equipment and be ready to go.  Its going to be a great season!

See you tomorrow!

– Coach B
Go Chiefs – Honor the Game!

NCAA Lax has started – Watch the games on TV to learn!

In my December 20th 2010 post (you can access it by scrolling down), I posted a list of all the NCAA lacrosse games that will be broadcast on the different ESPN channels this Spring.

NCAA lacrosse has now begun!  The first game on ESPN is THIS Saturday (February 19) at noon when Johns Hopkins takes on Towson.  This game can be viewed live on the computer at www.espn3.com. 

THEN, on Sunday ESPN will broadcast live the Duke vs. Notre Dame game (a re-match of last year’s National Championship game!).  A top caliber game to get the season rolling!

I’ve added the entire ESPN Lacrosse TV broadcast schedule to the top of this blog.  The page is named LAX 2011 ON TV. 

As I’ve said time and time again, there is a lot a player can learn by watching top-notch players in action.  Parents: if your player cannot watch while these games are broadcast, set the DVR for them to watch it at a more convenient time.  The guys who play for these NCAA teams started out just like our Chiefs!!

HONOR THE GAME!

The Art of Lax – Holiday Redux

If you like the artwork on the CHIEFS LACROSSE t-shirt you can see more at: www.TheArtofLax.com
Great for the Holiday Season coming up.  The Art of Lax™ – for the player, coach, parent & lacrosse enthusiast in us!”

Pre-Summer Team Tryout Throw Around This Saturday (10/16/10)

As many of you know, tryouts for the Summer 2011 Select teams begin shortly (see my prior posting).  I will be holding an informal throw around at AirCast field on Saturday from 2-3pm (weather permitting).  The throw around is open to players on all Chiefs teams.  If your son is planning to try out for the first time or if your son has played Summer lacrosse before but wants to come out and throw around this is a great opportunity. Players can work on skills, ask questions and get some insight about the tryout process.

Feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

– Coach B

Big Win Over Watchung Hills. Long Hill Game Canceled

We had a huge 9-3 win over Watchung Hills today.  Very impressive passing and scoring from all our players.  Fantastic defense and stellar goaltending from Patrick Trezza, who played up from the 4th grade squad in Connor Morang and James Duffy’s absence.  Thanks a million Patrick! 

Our game tomorrow (Sunday 4/18) has been canceled by Long Hill.  They do not have enough 5th graders and so they have combined their 5th and 6th grade squad into one and will be playing our 6th grade Chiefs. 

Our next game is Wednesday night against Cranford at 6:30pm at GL.  More info to come.

Stats from the Watchung Hills game will be uploaded in the next couple of days.

– Coach B

Topics?

Parents/Players: if there are any lacrosse topics you would like to see addressed here, please leave a comment or email me.

– Coach B