February '02

Actually, it is somewhere around 2:02 on 02/02/02. Time for a second beginning.

Yesterday was pretty much the perfect end to a lousy week for me. We met as a team at the rec center to do administrative (oh joy) things like pay/collect dues and fill out eligibility forms while we sat in the upstairs lounge, and watched a Syracuse vs. Princeton video, and the snow outside not melt. It was our third day of no practice, and I am pretty much at the "enough is enough" stage with that. We did have a team dinner at Panino's Thursday night. They love us.

After taking care of team business we had a "chalk talk" that I'm sure did nothing but confuse many about things they thought they had previously understood. Then I tried to talk about our team goals for the season, and that was okay, but I definitely, on this day, said nothing that was either interesting or motivating, let alone captivating. If I had talked five more minutes they all surely would have been snoring.

So then we went downstairs to find no place for a group workout, something we did have the day before when many on the team split into teams to play hoops on one of the five full courts they have at the rec center. Today we dispersed. Some metriculated in to the gym at the end of this "not much fun Friday", and presumably did something athletic. As a few of us sat in the rec center entryway and talked it became clear to me that all I really want is to be able to coach on some kind of field, and we will be back out there again one day, and that this too, will pass. I am not a classroom coach. I am a watcher and a screamer.

I could tell we are more athletic this year just by how many can actually play basketball.

Real Life And The Week That Wasn't

Bills and business battles are not things unique to or for me, but for the past couple weeks I feel like I have been buried under the pressure from the pile of "things to do" and pay for. My mental patterns have been projecting current and future images of Murphy's Law spinning out of control. At times I think I am a "young" Howard Hughes when it comes to paranoia. Like if I think of everything bad, then maybe none of it will happen.

Sunday we had a plumbing flood as a giant water storage tank couldn't say no to more water and was spewing overflow all over inside Rock-it House. Monday, Cheyenne the dog decided that he could no longer be held by the $1200 electronic fence and was running amok all over the territory for about the 5th time in a week. You can cut them off or tie him up, but you can not take the "alpha" out of this Siberian Husky (wolf). He most always manages to upset someone when he is out. Tuesday, came the 6" snow storm, and the central vacuum went out as a bonus calamity. Around here it has been like the final scene of a movie, "If You Build It, The Repairmen Will Have To Come" over the past 2 weeks, as the trucks file up to the Naumburg place on Coyote Ridge, and meanwhile our CSU "field of dreams" is covered with snow. Condo living and high HOA fees don't sound too bad to me right now, especially if the sun and a beach were involved.

Wednesday, my printer went out, and after half a day trying to figure out how to get it fixed, and paying people to talk to me on the phone, I ordered a new one. Meanwhile I am hand writing invoices and checks for Rock-it Pocket, which gives everything that real professional look.

As if the many dental appointments (+2 gold crown$) for root canal work in the last month weren't enough, I had spent much of the last few weeks focusing on something mysterious that had messed up my old bad knee in a whole new way. I don't even know what caused it, because there was no moment of trauma, but I knew it wasn't what "they" had said, which was tendonitis. All this self absorption is NOT the greatest for coaching inspiration, but as long as we had been practicing that was okay. This time in the season is about getting things into place, and conditioning as a team. The technical balancing and insight can come later. By Thursday, though, it was clear that it will be a week between practices, too. Monday is still no sure thing as far as the snow being gone is concerned. I was almost glum Friday.

I am more hopeful today, Saturday, and readying myself for Monday. A few hours with Jordan (in this case sledding) always gets my head right. I have decided to not practice Sunday night because that would be right after the Super Bowl, and I don't even want to picture that practice, let alone actually have it. No....Come snow or Hell fire we go good on Monday.......somewhere.

I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. I hope it is daylight, and not the oncoming train.

BYU (and I'm sure many others) is playing their second game today and we are parked in the handicapped snow zone again, but then it's not what's happening now that matters. We have two weeks until our first game.

I know it can't really happen, but I will pick New England to win tomorrow's Super game. I would say bet on the Rams, but how could you make any money doing that anyway?

-Wednesday, February 6, 2002

We had a practice while dodging snow "bergs" on the field yesterday. It (snow) will not melt. Where are the Chinook winds when you really need them? Anyway, we muttled through and made it a pretty good day by having a second indoor practice last night. To say we are preparing under ideal circumstances would be ridiculous, but we are preparing. These practices in no way resembled what I think of when the phrase "two a days" pops into my head.

This year we are trying something that is new for us here, but an old concept. When I looked around campus this past fall and saw a few players that were still in school, their fifth year, and not able to play because they had used up their 4 years of eligibility, things began to finally occur to me. A couple of them were players that, as freshmen, barely played, but they did play enough to use a year of eligibility. It dawned on me that I would much prefer to have those players now, as 23 year old men. So, I have offered players an option to "red shirt a season. They can learn the system, get up to speed with school work, etc., but by not playing in games they would not lose a year of eligibility. Dues are minimal for red shirts, too, but they must come to three or more practices a week. Ten or 12 have decided to go this route (It sounds like a lot, but we have over 50 players). If they plan to be here 5 years, and they do all the things to prepare for next year, including improve, then I think it can be very positive for us. It is an experiment, because red shirting in my mind definitely is not waiting until next year to play. It is being an active part of the team without the reward of playing in games. It sounds fine now, before we have played any (games), but can I keep them interested and motivated all season?

We have much to do in the ten days before our first game with Mines next Saturday. Our defense has me a little concerned, but part of that is that we really need to practice team defense as a team, with calls and changes and recognition. Much of our defense is about listening, and you have to condition simple things like that. Defense is about making the right choice. This takes practice, too, and since yesterday was our first one in a week, I guess I need to be a little bit patient, not something I am good at. We will be "breaking the defense down" in many ways over the next few days.

The train is in the station and the journey starts next Saturday (2/16) in Fort Collins.

-Thursday, February 7, 2002

Today I seem to be full of random thoughts concerning lacrosse and this team.

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I am not sure if we are actually "game ready", but whether we are or not I can't wait for us to play one. Games are the only real tests that tell you how you are doing. If I am antsy I can only imagine how the players are beginning to feel.

It has been a lengthy pre season because, while we have progressed, it has been a bit of a grind to just get 10 or so decent practices over a period of three and a half weeks.

I like the "real" games for a lot of reasons. As a coach I can use them to piece together a road map. I can really see what we do or don't do well as a team, and often so can the team. When you are playing only one another in practice, there is no barometer, no way to measure where you really are. You can tell yourself lies and start to believe them unless you play a good team capable of showing you your shortcomings or weaknesses; the parts that must be improved. Opponents can sometimes show you what you do well as a team, too, and I want to always work on doing those things more and better as well.

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One of my coaching goals this year is that I want us to own the ball, and to have a big advantage in time of possession, no matter who we play. This is not easy because we like to play at a fast pace here, and I am not talking about stalling. I am talking about getting as many real quality shots that we need in order to score when we have the ball on offense. I hate to let teams off the hook by taking a poor shot or turning the ball over. I want to put constant pressure on the other team's goal and goalie. I want to methodically break down the other team's defense in the process.

Winning face-offs as a team is a big part of owning the ball.

If a team can take care of the ball and not slow the game down, it increases the chances of good things happening for that team.

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I remain worried that our defense has too many holes. I am not that worried about our ability to get shots on offense. I am concerned about who takes them, when they take them, and how the offense flows in general. Right now we are a tad Helter Skelter with the ball as a team, and it is my job to fix it. It may sound a little silly, but I believe that quality possessions on offense will make your defense better.

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I am feeling like the "Lone Coach" out there these days. My kingdom for an assistant. Other teams have assistants. I know we don't have any money, but I guess I always thought one of the graduating players would metriculate back here eventually and become part of the other side of the program. I guess I also thought money would be flying into the program by now, and while more sound fiscally now than we have ever been, there is never enough $.

Yesterday I mentioned that we had 12 red shirts and how that wasn't a very big number for this team. It reminded me (later) that when I was at Pepperdine in the early 90's, we never had that many for practices, and only rarely did we have 12 players for a game. Wow, things have certainly changed. There I had 10 players and 5 assistants. Here I have 50 players and .one part time assistant who has a real job. There, we sucked and were on "Entertainment Tonight" with Mary Hart, and channel 9 in L.A. did a feature on us. Here, we are becoming a real solid program and team, but can't get in the local paper. We (CSU)certainly got a nice Lacrosse magazine cover last month, though.

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Always catching the ball does not come from just practice. The stick can become a "wand" when there is a deep commitment to the importance of what it does. It can evolve to the feeling that you are simply following your stick around. This comes only from the love of playing the game.

-Friday, February 8, 2002

We have a game one week from tomorrow at 1:00 in the Fort vs. Mines. Four days later we play CU in Boulder at 3:30. Now we must focus on preparing for those moments in time, one at a time. I like thinking about not just the date, but the time of day, and as the day gets closer, I want everyone on the team to feel their absolute best at that particular hour in the day. Almost time to bust out the Super Blue Green Algae pellets. While I prefer they eat them with lots of purified water, it is often Red Bull that they are washing the little greenies down with.

Yesterday's (Thursday) practice was very hard (for them) and very good. It was great to have Jason back as an assistant. Matt Smith continues to threaten to become a full time assistant. Matt was on my first team here in '97, and since has always shown up at practice now and again, and he knows stuff about the game. He was a full time assistant when we won in '99.

Practice evaluation for me is pretty often based on pace and how much fun we have. Those two things are often one and the same. Yesterday we did a bunch of different things, and because we did them well it worked great to just do a couple of reps of each thing. Scrimmage was short. Man up and man down practice was tiny, but the EMO did a couple of really good things. Although many were not happy with the number of 440's they ran during the session, they know it is good for them. After all, it is my job to herd them places that they might not go by themselves.

I did a little line tinkering before yesterday's practice, and the the 6 on 6 showed me two middie lines that look like they could really click. Now, if we can just get another one settled in that would be excellent. We will likely have 5 or 6 middie lines, and will need much of that depth with all these little 3 and 4 day back to back to back games that are part of our road in 2002..

In the tradition of CSU captain elections we openly elected our 5th captain for the upcoming season yesterday. Congratulations to Defensive Captain elect, Junior Nick Tabachi. The other captains on this team so deep with leadership are second year captains Junior Kale Nelson and Senior Mike Napolilli. Junior Jared Katz, and Senior Ryan Davis were both chosen in the fall. It must be scarey but also exciting to see the number of people who vote for you, or don't. Either way, know the truth and the truth shall set you free, and it is team empowering every time we make open decisions as a unified brotherhood with no secrets. Sometimes I let them choose teams for scrimmages. In a way it serves the same purpose of openly knowing where you stand.

Today (it is Friday morning) has been designated "Fun Friday" by some seniors. We shall see how much fun we can have with the forecasted 70mph winds. I do plan on making today more fun than grueling. The work we did yesterday needs a day or two to "soak in".. The worst thing I could do today would be to be as demanding as I was yesterday.

It's funny, but after all these years of thinking of myself as a coach who is constantly motivated to "build a better drill" so we can learn things "as a team", sometimes I find that the amazingly simple, original one on one drill can help me teach the points better than almost anything. Yesterday was a good illustration of that. I do like to progress, to build on it. One on one becomes two on two and so on. As the drill progresses so do the points of emphasis.

We have to cut down on temper tantrums. There are more of those than I would like, but other than that this team is starting to look and act like a team going somewhere. "Your mission, should you choose to accept it"...........

If we can get to where we can play great defense all over the field (includes "ride") this team could be hell on wheels. We have a long way to go to get to be the kind of team we will need to be to achieve our goals, but I would be lying if I said I wasn't sure if we had the talent to get there, because I know we do. Yes, the changeover has been extensive, but in many ways it doesn't change at all for me. I am still out there trying to create the same nearly impossible vision that I have of lacrosse perfection. It doesn't matter how old I get, boy's still gotta have a dream.

-Saturday, February 9, 2002

THE "TOMMY" PRACTICE

We practiced yesterday in "silly" conditions that included cold but featured wind. The wind chill was off the chart. The chain link fence around the CSU football practice field had so many Burger King wrappers flattened up against it that it looked like a billboard. Guys were throwing their lacrosse sticks up in the air just to watch them fly and tumble about 75 yards. It was a short practice, but they actually dealt with the elements and played in pretty good fashion. These were conditions that completely change the way the game is played. It was an exercise in sense deprivation. First, you couldn't hear a thing because the wind was so fierce. Then the dust got in your eyes and you couldn't see. Meanwhile the cold was numbing any other senses that might help. We were done and gone in a little over an hour. I'm starting to rethink my whole global warming theory.

When we came together at the end of practice we were about as close together as 40 people could possibly be, squeezed together like a fist. It was only slight relief from the elements, but they could sort of hear me. My frozen lips could barely form words at this point. I told them that someday they could tell their grandchildren that in college they had this a__ h__e for a coach who made them practice in seventy mile per hour winds.........., I also told them that I was impressed with how well they coped with it all..

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I just cancelled today's planned scrimmage. The weather has been threatening to change, but not very convincingly. I am looking down towards Loveland to the south as I write, and the windswept prarie looks like something out of The Grapes of Wrath. Dust rivers are swirling around in the grey air. Gusts in the distance dot the landscape with "dirt explosions". rising like tiny nuclear bombs. We proved yesterday that if we indeed had to play in above described weather, we could. Since there was no snow, we could have played a game. We might see more of this I know, but I see no reason that we need to prove we can play in unplayable conditions two days in a row. It would not be the fun scrimmage that I had envisioned for a Saturday afternoon..

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I am finishing up our roster, and it looks like we have 10 seniors, 10 juniors, 10 sophomores, and 10 freshmen on the 40 man "active roster". Even if it changes a little before we are done, it seems an nteresting balance. I guess this is what you might consider an ideal breakdown as far as continuity for the program goes. Thirteen played high school somewhere other than Colorado, probably the most we ever had. The second year I was here I think it was only 4 or 5 out of staters.

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We have been granted the CSU football (Hughes Stadium) to play our game with BYU on March 23. I am surprised and pleased. I really want to get as big of a crowd as we possibly can so that we can show the university that we have something good going on here in our little lacrosse program

-Wednesday, February 13, 2002

We have had somewhat underwhelming practices as of late, but hopefully these, too, will help us hone (grind) and polish the sword for the battles to come. We are almost 4 weeks without a game now, but only three days away from having them hopefully happen on a fairly regular basis. I would say practice is getting stale, but really it hasn't. Some days are just better than others, but we are united in doing the dirty work that is pre season preparation. Some are united a little later in the afternoon than others, but school is what they are here for, and some actually do have classes until 3:50. I learned long ago how to handle the parts I have no control of. I just move forward, press on, as it were..

We have a few injuries, a shoulder and one knee (two if you count mine) that has me a bit concerned. He (knee) hasn't been able to play through something that seemed not major and it has been a few weeks now..

Today will be the beginning of pre game preparation. We will run a lot for the final time before the game. Tomorrow and Friday will be all about focus and preparation, actually doing the things we will hopefully do Saturday and beyond.

I have a few people that I need to talk to specifically today or tomorrow so that they understand exactly what their role is, and how it will work on Saturday.

I had been fretting about the defense for a couple of weeks. I'm not positive how it is going, but it might be much better if the offense is any kind of indicator. I have 180'd in my focus because we are doing a lot of things on offense now that are stressing me out. Today I am going to discuss "the" philosophy of offense in "our" system. I always liked selling the philosophy first. Here is a good chance, because while we are starting to think more in a single direction as a team on defense, I see mavericks popping up on offense. A few must just learn what most of them already know about me. That is that scoring goals is not enough to sustain my apetite. It's about so much more than just winning/scoring. They will learn, or they will learn to hate me is what I usually say, even though deep down I would never really want that. I don't think of myself as a my way or the highway kind of guy. I prefer to think of it as our way is the more people are happy way. Family is everywhere the way I see it, or it is nowhere.

SECRET KEY TO PT

Hint for players wondering: When you get your chance to be in the game, make me want to keep you in or see you out there again real soon. This comes from making the team better during your time on the field. This most likely has nothing to do with any kind of statistic that will be on the score sheet.

Plus minus is becoming an important part of my player evaluation. How do WE do when you are in?

THINKING OUT LOUD AGAIN

I try not to rely too much on one defender's individual ability, but I always rely on him to play in the "system", and as part of the team. This does not mean that great one on one defenders are not allowed to use their skills in match-up one on one situations, because I never want to "steal" greatness or creativity from a player whatever his position is. At the same time, if a great defensive play doesn't end up with us having the ball, then tell me what is the point? Knocking the ball out of someone's stick doesn't automatically get it for us.

-Thursday, February 14, 2002

Two days until game time. Please don't snow.......

This is from a "chapter" on Team Defense that I have been working on:

Through many years of coaching one thing that remains constant in my approach is how far you can take the so-called "team concept", and how you can always achieve more when you play "together". Team defense is at the heart of "my" team concept. It’s the place where the team must come together and trust one another the most. Team defense is not just about keeping the ball out of "our" net, although that is the main idea in the final analysis. It’s much more. In our system of team defense it is also about "hunting" the ball down. We want that little, white, round, bouncy thing. Simple savagery (match-up one on one defense) doesn’t always get that done in an era when everyone is looking to get "their" best offensive player working against "your" weakest defender. Worrying about too many "match-ups" is not where I want us to expend too much energy anyway.

You have to play smart to get the ball when you don’t have it. The smarter a team plays defense, the more it can get the ball back. The simpler that it is for individual defenders to make good "choices" on defense, the more "your" team will have the ball, and most importantly, "they" won’t. At least that’s my approach.

THE PRINCETON DEFENSE

I took the college lacrosse coaching "job" at CSU in the fall of 1996. After fall ball I was searching mightily (desperately) for a team defensive concept we could grab on to, because the team (for a variety of reasons) was not, shall we say, "buying" what I was "selling".

If timing is everything, then my timing at this moment was fortunate, because I went to the National lacrosse coaches convention in January of 1997, as I did every year, but at this one I found some golden coaching nuggets that would eventually help light my way. I eagerly bought all the tapes of the speakers addressing hundreds of mostly high school coaches. These were renowned college coaches speaking about specific coaching techniques. They were coaches who really "knew what they were doing", and that sounded great to someone (me) who was beginning to wonder if he knew anything about coaching. I did not see the live presentations because I was busy selling Rock-it Pockets, but the fact that US Lacrosse was offering the tapes for sale for the first time more than fixed that.

I was searching for an "anchor" for myself and this team. I felt a little "lost at sea". I found and devoured the tape of Bill Tierney’s presentation on defense. He was more compelling than any other speaker on the tapes, and he was talking about exactly the thing I wanted to know more about. Bill is the Princeton coach and perennial national champion at the Division I level (I think 7 total). He presented this so-called "Princeton Defense" to the world at this 1997 convention. I loved the way he reasoned the defense, and how it was aggressive, and most importantly, how it allowed your team to not worry as much about one on one match-ups. Getting everyone’s energy focused on refining team defensive techniques, and knowing what to do in different situations rather than worrying about which hand to "hold" with, or what is the best way to whack somebody made all the sense in the world to me.

I had always believed in team defensive fundamentals for team success, but in a more passive way, always just defending the goal as a team, trying not to make big mistakes. Everything was designed to give the goalie a better chance to make a save. Team defense (for me) had always been (and still is) about giving the goalie a better chance to make a save, but now I was looking at a much more aggressive approach to defense. With the Princeton Defense we were trying to do things all the time (slide) that we previously had only done when we absolutely had to (after somebody got beat). It was a completely different mind set. The Princeton defense is daring the opponent to dodge, so that it can create a turnover by sliding to and trapping the ball carrier.

Over the years I think we have learned a lot about this defense, and we have "tweaked" it as other teams learn how to adjust to what we do, but the basic concepts remain true.

THE SEVEN STOOGES

The question I heard the most that first year of ’97 about the team defense experiment was "Why slide if you don’t have to?" It is a very good question. Ultimately the answer was easy, though. We were not having success when we matched up. Giving up 20 or more goals to every good team we played was not the plan in my mind. Right or wrong I figured that I may never have enough talent to play teams "straight up", and doing things as a team always held more appeal to me anyway. I wanted to see how far you could take a good defensive plan. I now believe that there may be almost no limit, because when players understand how to "read" situations and other teams, they can sometimes really take charge of another team’s offense.

I watched the Tierney tape so many times the first year that I had to duplicate it for fear the precious tape might break. The Princeton D was in so many ways the thing I had been looking for, and it eventually became the thing that turned our program around, but team defensive improvement, fueled by the Princeton concepts did not come without growing pains. Those that were there will always remember 1997 as the year of the "Larry, Moe, and Curly" defense. I apologize to that first team. This 1997 defense was aptly named (although it was lost on me at the time) for its resemblance to actual Stooges on the field. I was trying to teach them.

-Friday, February 15, 2002

Yesterday's potential blizzard turned out to be a tease, and we scrimmaged all afternoon in cold but excellent conditions. I must admit that there were a few moments yesterday that were really exciting to watch. The defense held together against and despite a massive onslaught of pressure from the offense. The offense, by being smart and patient as well as aggressive and mistake free, maintained the ball for quality shot after quality shot. Yet, there was the defense again and again, thinking, scraping, and hustling to cover its own ass, and when it needed help, the goalie was there. Plenty to work on, but finally some really good stuff.

It was a controlled scrimmage, and we worked on many situations. I could be wrong, but I feel like the quality of our depth allows us to have scrimmages that I'm hoping other teams can't match, and this will help toughen us up in a way. Our schedule is "strong", but chopped up in some places. I am always looking for ways to keep it fresh and the team sharp and hungry. That was one of my chief worries going into this season.

I believe that we are now much farther along as a team in many ways then we were early last year, but we were a much more "familiar" group going into last year, too. Many of those "stars" are gone. This family still has some "finding each other" to do. I love the sheer potential of this team. I think they can make magic. I knew what they could and ultimately would do last year, but this year, for all our depth, it would seem that I must always keep a delicate balance. I cannot neglect this team. To use chauvinist vernacular for a minute, if this team were a woman, she would be in the high maintenance category, hissy fits and all, but the up side.... wow.

It is not always easy to make 40 people feel "special", but it is fun to run around and try. As a coach, you really do have to bring them little gifts, metaphorically speaking. You have to whisper sweet somethings in their ear quite often, too.

Today is lovely, and tomorrow is looking very promising as well.

"It is never about who we play. It is always about how we play".

-Sunday, February 17, 2002

I guess you could say we "schooled" the Colorado School of Mines yesterday, 25-3. Their coach was using us as a way to teach his team, as in, "See how they do this?", etc. We did not run up the score. The one important thing that I take from this game is that we came out and established our style and put our "stamp" on the game immediately. After that we played the way we play. It is the easiest thing in the world to be sloppy and even lazy when you play an opponent that is no match. We were not. We were fairly crisp and sharp. It was 9-0 after one, and the bench was already half empty. By the way, we had actual benches for the first time that I can recall.

For the game we outshot the Orediggers 42-8. How did they get 8? We made some mistakes on defense to be sure, and a few that could hurt us Wednesday when we play CU. The up side is that we achieved our goal of five fouls or less with 5, but, come to think of it since we had the ball the entire game, how did we even get that many? We will "spotlight" defense Monday and Tuesday.

Just so there is no mistake, I am writing down the fact that I hate getting penalties called on attackmen who hack on the ball carrier in a riding (defensive) situation. Middies have been known to do it, too, but it is more prevalent in attackmen who just DIDN'T score or just ALMOST scored and are mad at themselves. They chase and whack the guy with the ball until the yellow flag goes up and so does my blood pressure. This does not help the overall defensive cause, and virtually never gets the ball back anyway. My philosophy for the ride is: I want to help the other team screw up, somehow intercept their error and then return it for a "touchdown" of some sort.

Pretty much other than Mike Roth I have seen very little attackman whacking that I have ever approved of. He, as a freak of nature, could have played any position that he wanted to. He was much more of a head hunter than most attackmen. We have a new identity now, and I really want this team to do some new things, and create new chemistry. The ride is an area where I think we have great potential. So much to do, so little time.

I liked our midfield lines very much, and I loved having two assistants. For a first game the crowd was excellent, 2-3 hundred or so.

The family part of things felt great yesterday. We had parents there two hours before the game. We had Dad's on all 4's trying to excavate ice from in-ground sleeves (couldn't be done) so we could put our game goals in place. We ended up using the practice goals, but the effort was great and appreciated. Meanwhile, engineer goalie boy has sledged $80 worth of brand new shafts into uselessness as part of the effort. Oh well, it worked last year. I'm guessing we'll be able to use those game goals by May. We were lucky that we were not flagged and penalized for this.

I will always remember something else about yesterday. It was a lovely day, not a cloud in the sky, and somewhat mild. After we broke our pre game huddle and they were all on the field, ready to start the game and the season, I was feeling truly in the moment, and thought out loud, "God, I missed this". I think I simply spoke what we all felt. Here we were once again, all together, living a single moment in time. The destination only matters when the journey does, too.

gs I did not yet fully understand, and the change was not being embraced anyway. The most vivid illustration of this sad fact was my first game as CSU head coach in Boulder when we lost by the final score of something like 25-7. They opened our defense like a can and poured fast break goals on us all day. Players were whispering in my ear that I needed a new goalie, as if he was the problem. This was not exactly what I had visualized for my triumphant return to Colorado, and in fact it left me reeling and feeling completely shell shocked. Somehow, among the ruins of that day I was even more determined to implement these crazy defensive concepts.

TEAM DEFENSE AND ANTHROPOLOGY

I have a totally useless BA in Anthropology, but I make no apology because I was interested in pretty much everything anyway, and the "study of man" seemed useful in some vague way. We were going on archeological digs, camping and doing stuff in the field a lot. I loved learning "outside" the classroom environment. In a way I think studying pre-historic man fueled my love for lacrosse, because it is a very old, and a very spiritual game, having been played in various forms by North American "Indians" for many hundreds (thousands) of years. This was a natural part of the anthropological focus for someone like me.

One thing I remember studying was how early man learned to hunt together, as a team, if you will, with only limited weapons (some kind of stick), and a means of communicating consisting of only grunts, and basic hand commands (mouth guard factor). First it was important that pre historic man originally decided to come to work together in extended "family" groups to achieve "larger goals". They could feed more and use less time to get the job done, and therefore they had more time to do other stuff. These are all good concepts. Hunting together also bonded them in a new way.

Anyway, they had many techniques for trapping their prey. One that I really admired was when they (a group of males) would isolate an animal (or more) and herd it (them) to near the edge of a cliff, and then basically chase it (them) off that cliff. Bang, you’re (dead) meat, and not a shot was fired. Meanwhile the folks at the bottom of the cliff are there to, shall we say "pick up the pieces"(Goalie). No whacking was involved. If you stretch the metaphor so that the prey is the ball carrier on the other team, this becomes an example of TEAM DEFENSE at its best. It sounds fairly "offensive", doesn’t it? Well, to me team defense is. I never want to just watch the other team have the ball. In fact I can’t stand it. I want us to "own" it. We must chase "them" to a spot where we try to create a "trap" or a situation where it is easy for "them" to screw up in a way that "we" end up with the ball.

The team can take the defense to new heights by the way they play and communicate as a unit, at least that's my theory.

I didn't think the weather could ever be as brutal as the other day, but it's working on it right now.

-Wednesday, February 20, 2002

I am worried about the game with CU today. Our last two practices were not that smooth and kind of sloppy, especially yesterday. I felt we needed a high energy practice, and planned what I was sure would be a good one, but injuries and sickness that is going around made it a much less than remarkable afternoon. The defense looked better, though, and if there is anything I wanted going into the game today, it was for the defense to be more confident and playing better and tighter.

BYU was "upset" by UC Santa Barbara in California on Monday, 10-7. Way to go Gauchos. Jason Lamb, the BYU coach had said they were "practicing their St. Louis Experience, trying to simulate the run they would need to win the USLIA National Championship" with 4 games in 5 days out there. I'm pretty sure losing to UCSB was not part of the plan. I'll bet the Santa Barbara fans were in "rare form", banging away on those metal stadium seats and heckling the Mormons to the best of their formidable abilities. I think Alex (goalie) asked the right question, which was, "Is one team better than we thought, or the other one not as good?" The answer is "blowing in the wind", but either way BYU will be one of THE teams we will have to contend with, and most likely more than once. They (BYU) represent the tape that many teams in the USLIA use to measure themselves, and we are no exception. The only place we might play UCSB would be St. Louis. Wouldn't that be fun? Besides, sometimes there are too many rematches in St. Louis anyway.

All this probably means that we will be voted #1 in the USLIA poll that comes out today, unless they give it to UCSB or Sonoma State, but that is doubtful. For the seven thousandth time, this kind of stuff is nice, and it is flattering, but it doesn't mean anything. The only thing that means anything is how you perform as a team. The only poll I really care about being number one in is the one poll they don't take in mid May. However, if it is so (ranked #1), then I want us to defend it. I am no longer married to being the "under dog".

The thing I am trying hard to sell to this team is one game at a time and one play at a time. It is hard. With such high expectations it takes effort to keep their feet on the ground. They want to fly all the time, but I fear that our "wings" are made of wax right now, vulnerable to the heat from the sun. As we improve and do the "foundry work", the wax will be burned away, replaced by a solid metallic alloy (titanium, of course) which will allow us to soar, at least that is the metaphorical hypotheses.

MUCH LATER, BUT STILL THE SAME DAY.......

My worst fears were somewhat realized as we were really tested today in Boulder, but so were some of my greatest hopes. We continually made mistakes in the first half, silly ones (not catching the ball, etc.) that would set off a chain of bad events that CU would take advantage of and it breathed fire into them. At the end of a 3-3 first quarter they (CU) were a pretty pumped up group. We were still facing the reality that we were playing a really good team. It is not going to just be skipping down the primrose lane all the way to St. Louis, gathering victories as if we were picking flowers for the bouquet on the way.

C.U. made some early mistakes which might have allowed us to bury them, but they hung in there. I really liked the way the Buffs came out, hungry, confident, "primed for the upset". They knew they were better than we thought they were, and they played that way all day. They hung together and they did not make mistakes. They were not beating themselves. At some point we would have to do it.

The half ended with us leading 7-5, and I have no stats to look at as I sit here, but the second quarter was not looking that much better than the first, even though we now had the lead. The fact that we had given up 5 goals by half time had me concerned as well.

The second half was different. We made some adjustments, and made far fewer fundamental mistakes as a team. We really took control of the game as it went on. Then we jumped on Mark Plonkey's back and rode him like the pony that he is, all the way to the finish line. Davis, Katz, Harper, and Napolilli stepped up and led us to an 8-1 second half and a 15-6 victory. I know it sounds strange, but I am so glad that they (CU) are a really good team, capable of beating us.

I am glad that, for once, it looked like a CU vs CSU game that was a good match of two teams that had respect for one another. I must admit that I don't hear all the "smack", but it just felt better that way. It also appeared that we had easily as many fans present as they. That's cool.

When I was delivering my little halftime sermon (I was calm) it might have seemed inconceivable that I could be as content with where we are as a team right now as I am, but I am. We have a long way to go, but we are on the right track. Some young players played well, and we filled cracks and fixed leaks pretty well. After we settled down and got a rhythym going, the defense was solid, and Alex's goal tending was excellent. In the second half, the Buffs had to work hard for every shot opportunity. They held our attack trio down for a while, but we kept putting pressure on the CU goal, and eventually they (our attack) got their 20 points (goals and assists combined) or whatever. We got some big points from the middies, too.

We cleared pretty well. At times we rode well and at times not at all, but truthfully, as long as we can make the other team play settled offense I am happy. I'm sure I will have more thoughts from the game tomorrow, but I daresay I have no more now.

When I got home tonight I once again was reminded of the things that really matter, as well as my true station in life, when the first thing that my wife did when I got home, before she said a word to me (she was talking to Jordan), was to hand me two bags of garbage to take out. I dutifully and and happily took the bags to their place, because I know my role.

Now comes my biggest challenge ever: to have "my" team play a game without me actually there, which they will do on Saturday vs. Utah Valley State in the Fort, as I will be in Santa Fe at my nephew's Bar Mitzvah. Is there a way I could call, "DOG" over a cell phone? I guess I just have to breathe deep and trust........

-Monday, February 25, 2002

It wasn’t easy for me going into Saturday. Knowing the team would be playing without me standing in front of them, yelling at them, etc. was torture for me to think about. What if they decided they liked playing better without me yelling at them, for example? Plus, I knew they wouldn’t "need" me on this day. In fact, since I used up my eligibility in 1975, it has been a while since I had an assist, goal, or even a meaningful ground ball in a college lacrosse game of any kind. Chances are that more often than not, they don’t ever NEED me for a game. It still made me crazy as the day approached when they would be playing a game without me there. We are a family after all, and I am papa.

When I learned before the game started (via cell phone) that UVSC had been beaten the day before by CU, 17-4, I began to relax a little. Knowing this told me that there was not a way that these Wolverines could give us a game, even if they were to bring along some extra "Angels in the midfield".

It is not easy for me to write about something that took place more than 400 miles from my actual location, but Saturday’s game with Utah Valley seemed to go much like it might have had I been right there on the sidelines. The 15-0 count we were up by at halftime (Hammy called me) meshed well with the 20-3 final score to my way of thinking. All who were present and in uniform played. Thirteen different players scored, and there were 14 assists on our 20 goals. These are two "quality keys" that I always look for statistically after this type of game. If lots of different people score, and most of them are assisted I am usually pleased. There was a referee "glitch" that got the game started late, but ultimately we finished the day with our third win of the season, and with any luck at all this will be the last game I will miss for a while. Everyone agreed that Jason and Matt did great coaching in my absence.

The 72 degree weather that showed up for the game on Saturday was obviously part of a cruel joke being played on me, because it is only Monday, not even 48 hours later, and I am peering out at drifted snow pasted to the ground. Snow flurries are currently swirling around in air measuring somewhere in the low teens. This is the part of the day that is normally warmest in the winter time. Seventy-two you say?

The best I can hope for today, Monday, is some sort of chalk talk and perhaps some indoor running. It is supposed to be cold all week and we have two home games scheduled for the upcoming weekend, and one of those teams is roading out here from Minnesota on a bus so they can play "outside the snow belt". I am nervous about the ground being playable, especially now that DU, so gracious to allow us to play on their turf last year, has turned a cold shoulder and will not even rent us their field this year. I was trying to put that (DU turf field) in place as a possible back up location in case there is too much snow to play on our grass field (and I use this word grass very loosely). Turf can always be shoveled and or swept to be made playable, but probably not our tundra.

SEVEN HOURS IN THE CAR IS PLENTY OF TIME TO THINK

I didn’t take my lap top computer on the Bar Mitzvah trip to Santa Fe. I didn’t think I would have time to write, but I did find a little time, and started to write down some thoughts to put in the journal when I got back. As I scratched pen on paper, I began to wonder, "How did people write anything before the computer?" How did I write papers in college before the "personal" computer existed? Answer to both questions is, "I have no idea." I guess people had to really collect and organize their thoughts before putting them down on a piece of paper, first as an outline, then as a first draft, and so on. Now, you can pound out partial thoughts on a key board, store them in any of several programs available in the electric "box", and easily cut and paste them together later, all nice and neat. Can’t spell? No problem, spell check is available with a click, 24 hours a day. Not sure what a word means? Click the thesaurus tool and you are Ernest Hemmingway. Needless to say, the novelty of the renaissance idea of writing as in days of yore, pen in hand, paper sitting white and lifeless on the top of a desk, primitive literary crafting as it were, wore off quickly. My "writing" turned out to be jotting down 4 categories of thought on a 4x5 piece of La Posada note paper, to be expounded upon later (now).

Even though I wasn’t with the team, I had a few revelations about where we need to go next. As I thought more about it, it became clear to me what the points of emphasis should be in the weeks to come. I am still getting used to the fact that this team is so capable, but realizing this is important. I don’t want to hold them back or screw them up. I want to help condition them to perform at a high level. I don’t want to over teach them things they already understand. I want to dangle new "carrots" for them to move toward every day. Right now we have frozen carrots.

We leave one week from Thursday for three games in California that will help a lot to define and shape our season, as well as showing us what kind of team we are now. I relish these opportunities, and this kind of road trip.