Monday, March 31, 2003

GAME #7 COLO. COLLEGE 12 CSU 11
We are now 6-1

I hate to lose. We all hate to lose. Three or four players came to me after the game to "apologize" to me. In their minds they had lost the game for us. I appreciate how deeply they feel about the game and about losing, but that is not what happened. We play as a team, and therefore when we win, we all win. The same is true when we lose. It was no one’s fault. We played hard. There is much to build from. Besides, if anyone is at fault, it is me for being such a lousy man down defense coach. That is where we lost the game.

When I look at this game, and because I have so much "real life" to deal with, it won’t be for that long, I am pleased and proud of this team, and maybe especially of how well they played yesterday. Look at it. The team we played yesterday is made up almost exclusively of "recruited" players. Most of them are from back east and other established and successful lacrosse programs. They have their uniforms hanging in front of their lockers as they come into their locker room for a game. Everything they have, and it is plenty, is paid for by someone other than the kids. Above all else is the fact that they have practiced every day of the season. I don’t need to document how much of all that stuff that we don’t have or do. I don’t care about any of it except the practice part.

We have had to kick and scream and fight for anything and every little thing, yet still I hear barely a squawk from this team. We are of the mind-set that we will do what it takes to get where we want to be. We will do whatever it takes just to get an opportunity to just play lacrosse. This team has been through so much already, and yet, in a way we feel like we are just getting the season started even though the season is well into the second half. If and when this team gets some daylight, I believe they are capable of so much. Ultimately when I look at my teams and individual seasons, I don’t think of the record first. I do not aspire to be undefeated every year. I aspire to being someplace far better as a team and as individuals when we finish than we were when we started. Anything more that a team might have achieved has "trickled down" from this basic concept.

I feel proud and pleased that many CSU players from the past 6 years (alumni) came all the way down for the game. CSU had almost as many fans at this game as CC did. I thank them for their support, and I wish we could have given them what they came to see.

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