Not ready for the speed

Quite a game against Chapman. And when I say quite a game, I mean that they played quite a game, and we realized how much work that we need to do. There is one statistic that tells you more then any other as to which team is winning, and that is the score. They had 15 and we had 2.

I knew that we were going to be in a bit of trouble, based on practices and just simply not being ready yet, but that isn't an excuse for how we performed. Chapman was just a lot better, and was greatly more prepared. I really commend their Assistant Coaches, particularly on defense, for the game plan that they had devised for us.

Our game plan hinged on a couple of key components, one of them being how we did at the face-0ff X. Chapman has one of the better face-off guys in the league, but based on how we did against SDSU in the scrimmage last week, I thought we could at least make it a 50-50 contest. I was soundly mistaken, as we only won 4 out of 21 face-offs. This one let down in the special teams, and our inability to make a change, kept us from being able to run what we wanted to. We were down 6-0 before we had the ball on offense.

I scheduled games like this early this season (and we have a lot of them, as we have one of the hardest schedules in the country), because it is important that the players on my team see what the speed of the game should be like. We play, and more importantly practice, at WAY too slow of a pace. In my players defense, I just don't think that they know any other way.

Well, they do now.......Chapman was so much faster then us, and we were simply not ready for their speed. They ran faster then us, the moved the ball faster then us, they shot harder then us, and most importantly they made decisions fast then us.. As I said, they were playing at a different speed.

In situations like this, I always find it interesting to see how certain players react. Will they go back to their fundamentals to slow the game down, or will they panic and become frustrated because they can't figure out what to do? Unfortunately, a lot of our guys panicked.

As stupid as this sounds, that is okay......for now. I really hope that this serves as a wake up call to them about how much better that they need to get, and you can only do that by playing against top competition, and seeing how good they are. Hopefully this serves as a turning point for the way that we prepare and focus during the week. I have said over and over again to these young men, "work extremely hard Monday through Friday at practice, and the games will be easy." The game last night was nothing close to easy.

There were a couple of things last night that really stood out to me:
1) our goalie is eventually going to be the real deal. He was under an absolute barrage last night, and where as most guys would have thrown in the towel, he stayed with it and made some great saves late.
2) I am starting to realize that I would rather play a kid who is less skilled and has a big heart, then wait for some cowardly lions to find theirs.
3) Connor Martin is the real deal. And it has nothing to do with his first step, or his ability when he shoots to put the ball in a cup. That guy plays with great enthusiasm. His level of energy is what makes that team go. I wish more players enjoyed playing lacrosse with the exuberance that he displays on every play.

Oh well, as I have said before, one game will not make the season. Saturday night was awesome, if for no other reason then to really learn about yourself in a butt kicking, to see how fast the game should be played, and to figure out what we need to work on most for the team.

We will have a tough week of practice, I am gone for four days for work, and we are still kicked off of our practice field which is being repaired. Claremont awaits this weekend, time to see how much one team can improve in a week.

All thanks and glory to God our Creator, and to his son, the Christ