Coach Flip Naumburg's Journal

Sunday, February 27, 2005

Fortunately or unfortunately I still have a lot on my mind. Much, but not all of it is about the CC game yesterday.

STUDENT ATHLETE SOCIOLOGY

One (well, one coach) can easily overhear the conversations as the players prepare (dress) for practice each day.  This is particularly true I suspect in collegiate Club Ball since they (we) basically dress for practice out there in the university meadows where we graze.  I have always felt that I could get a small finger on the team pulse by eavesdropping on them from time to time at these times if and when I have time. 

This year the talk is pleasantly and surprisingly often been about classes that they might share with one another, and the tests and assignments for them.  I prefer what it sounds like now over the old days when these chats were predictably and almost exclusively about something that may or may not have happened with or without a girl at Sullivan's Tavern the night before or some such nonsense.  Occasionally I suppose I was amused.

We have mostly good examples of student athletes now.  Many, or at least some of the players actually like to go to school.  They will talk about it (class material) with me sometimes, too.  Players have even been known to email me a paper to have me look over or critique before they hand it in to a teacher.

Anyway, overall I just like the cultural, sociological, and even to some small degree ethnic diversity that we have inside our team family nowadays.  It gives this team added life and some special character traits.

TEAM REPORT CARD

I will get back to business now.  While I'm on the whole school thing I think I'll grade our performance yesterday, or at least a few parts of it.  Of course I just can't ever resist the whole "theme" thing.

WAY TO GO TEAM!

We did not allow CC one single fast break opportunity all day, even with the fatigue filled fourth quarter we had.  Not giving the Tigers a "break" was something we talked about all week, a large team goal, so that was a good non-eventuality.  I have to give them (us) some kind of an "A" grade for that, don't I?

SHOT – REBOUND - SHOT – BACK UP – SHOT – SCORE!

We controlled the ball well on offense.  At the same time we were never simply "killing time" on offensive possessions as so many teams currently try to do.  Time of possession in modern day lacrosse does not always register much of anything to me other than a number on a stat sheet or whatever. 

We pressured the C.C. goal with mostly smart choices and fairly clean offensive play yesterday.  This constant effort to put a certain kind of confident pressure on their goal was a mission for us this week, as it actually has been with us all along this season.  We do not want to let the other team off the hook by letting them have an easy defensive stand, an easy goalie save, and God forbid we commit a turnover or have an unforced error.

When our offense had the ball yesterday we were creating good scoring chances pretty much relentlessly against a decent defense, so we were and are in my mind "on the come" with our offensive strategy and execution. 

The offensive problem against CC (3 total CSU shots in the fourth quarter) came about when they (offense) did not have opportunity to touch the precious "rock" for most all of the final quarter because of all the penalties we were reeling in on the other end of that exquisite Nexturf field. 

I have to give our overall offensive performance at least some kind of "B" or "B+" for the day, though, especially for it being the early season, and for the fact that we were playing in a "hostile environment" against a pretty skilled opponent.  I can't believe that I am so satisfied with where we are in this area of team play, but I felt all day and really all season so far that if we just get the ball safely to our attack then good things would happen for us.

MIDFIELD OF DREAMS If you build it they will come……?

I don't really know exactly how to grade our overall performance in the midfield yesterday, but our midfield position depth is starting to take some early season roots, if just little ones.  Tim Chorey (#16 M) has now pretty much fully made the grafted transition from playing attack to living life at the midfield position, and he truly leads our offensive midfield corps. He throws himself at the game and at times does it with a Rothian (CSU reference) passion for the game, with verve as well as nerve that often inspires his teammates. 

Newcomers like David Ford (#23 M) and Tyler Bue (#19 M), the blond bombers, and others have begun to work well within a larger midfield unit and in complimenting" Sir Timmy" (#13 M), who is our only midfielder with much of any real offensive pedigree.  We don't use actual midfield lines very much.  That has pretty much always been true since I arrived here.  During time outs I usually just choose 3 middies I deem more or less right for that particular specialized situation, and out they go. 

Michael Murphy (#9 M) has become someone who could finally start to fill our very important midfield Rabbit position. It is an important yet almost indescribable role. When the original Rabbit (Jared Katz) graduated two years ago he left a great big rabbit hole in our "side".  As a player he was fast and versatile.  As a teammate there were none better.

Besides being able to run fast, Murphy is a fitness nut (works out, Physical Therapy major) and likely eats all his vegetables, too. I must admit that this combination of qualities works really well for me.  Murphy is, like Jared, a very versatile player, and with any luck he will continue to improve.  He is also now one of the Captains, the first captain of the midfield kind I think since the other Rabbit was one.

DEFENSE – IT REALLY NEEDS TO BE DA WALL, NOT JUST DA FENCE

Defensively we went over our allotted target number as far as goals against goes.  We hate to ever give up double digits (more than 9), so that part (11 goals allowed) stings a bit. 

The fact is, however, that holding the Tigers to 6 goals through three quarters as we did is quite acceptable.  We did not finish the game the way we would have liked, but at least that gives me fuel for the future fire.  Truthfully I can't grade our team defense too much below a "B" either and in spite of the 11 goals given up.  The whole penalty thing is different. We earned an easy "D-" for that part of the test.

This stuff is all easy for me to say and or grade.  I know this.  I can just judge everything however I want, and I never strap on anything more than something that my orthopedic surgeon hooked me up with.  I guess that's why they pay me the big bucks.

SUNDAY REFLECTIONS

At the end of the day we accomplished many things yesterday in our victory, and we hopefully can take many lessons from the way it all transpired as well.  It was pretty and then it wasn't, but it was by no means an "ugly" game to watch.  It was a fun game to be a part of.

WHATEVER!

The only thing that really sort of set off the petty, chip-on-the-shoulder side of me in a big way all day was when the P.A. announcer revealed the final score at the end of the game to one and all and for once and for all, he blatantly and suddenly referred to the game as an "Exhibition", as if now all of a sudden it really doesn't count.  My really mature (but mostly private) response to that was, "Fine!"  And thanks for playing the national anthem before our exhibition.

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