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The Season is Here… it’s Always Here.

Lacrosse, per NCAA definition, is a “spring” sport.  I know it’s February and there’s snow on the ground outside my window, but games have started so to me, it’s spring.

Five years ago, I’d be cranking through classes all day before a team lift (always legs on Monday), then I’d put in 2.5 hours battling through drills on a turf field on the roof of the Brown gymnasium, (Yes, on the roof.  No, it wasn’t cool.  It was cold, windy, and half the field was covered in building exhaust… ok, yeah, we sort of relished it), then we’d head inside to watch game film for 30 minutes and finally sit in the ice bath to soak up the soreness.

The coolest part was I did all of this surrounded by 40 other guys who all had the same mission as I - win game #1.  Then #2, #3, #4 and so on…

These days, my competitive career is entirely different.

I probably stay more active in lacrosse than my teammates on the NYAC.  Already this year I took a trip to Miami to play in a tournament.  I had a blast playing with some other amazing players, the competition was solid and I even took an 80mph shot in the ribs that has been painfully reminding me of the trip for a month now.  (Seriously, this bruised rib is one of the most nagging injuries I’ve ever had).

And last weekend, I headed back to Brown with some other alums for a preseason scrimmage against the current Bears team (Unsurprisingly, Providence hadn’t warmed up since I graduated.  Wind chill had the temp around 7 degrees).  Still, it was a great day and us veterans were able to pull out a close win over the young pups.

The win was fun for a moment, but there was still a fundamental lacking for me and I’m realizing how much I miss the bonding of a team working towards a common goal and the inherently high level of competition on a daily basis.

Sure, when my NYAC team starts up soon we will all be focused on winning our 4th straight A.L.L. Championship, but we don’t even practice.  We just show up on Sundays and play.  It’s easier on the calendar, but I know deep down every teammate of mine, and every true competitor out there, needs that battle and that feeling of true team.

But since my lacrosse career won’t last forever, I’ve assembled a new team (different “sport”), uber-competitive, we all have the same mission… and this game is played 24/7.

Brown Lacrosse Compliment

We’ve started partnering with a few other sports/lacrosse communities online - in particular LacrosseAllstars.com - and so far the relationship has been fantastic. You’ll hear a lot more about this partnership in the coming months, but yesterday I had a conference call with a student-athlete at Brown and one of the guys from LacrosseAllstars who followed up with this:

“So far it seems like Brown students/players know how to get sh*t done. Love it!”

I really appreciate that comment personally, but even more so because I know it’s true of most of my teammates. The Brown Lacrosse program produces some really high-caliber young men, and I’m proud to be a part of it.

Original post at the Overtime Media blog.

Re: @LaxAllStars post “Where’s the Love?”

I left this comment on a recent LacrosseAllstars.com post discussing the reputation of lacrosse around the sports community.

“There has been a ton of damage to the reputation of lacrosse over the years - starting with its appropriation from the Native Americans, its niche community hold in prep schools and the Ivy League giving it that snotty air (which is still healthy with that horrible A&F video), a situation made worse by the Duke Scandal, certainly not helped at all by the NLL (which makes it uber-violent) or the MLL (which just makes it uber-desperate for ___________ [Fill in the blank: fans, $$, a website that works, players who care…]) and finally made worse by tragic marketing (here and worse here) by the likes of Warrior.

Lacrosse is one of the truly great games on this planet and lacrosse players are real athletes.  While it’s a shame that we have a bad reputation around town, it’s not insurmountable.

The fix(es)?

- Be a great lacrosse player.  Play hard on the field and outwork every other team around you, regardless of sport.

- And be a great person, too.  Sure, start your usual shenanigans, but when you tally it up at the end of the day, don’t be a douche.

- Coach younger kids!  Help improve play at every level and we will all be better for it.

- Be an ambassador!  I was once somewhat ashamed to be a lacrosse player, given the reputation on campus at the time.  I didn’t tell people I played, because I didn’t want it to reflect poorly on me.  Wrong approach!  If you’re a good guy, there’s no reason to be ashamed!  Tell people you’re a lacrosse player and next time you invite people to a game they’ll say “Oh I know one of those guys, he’s cool.  Yeah, I’ll go to their game.”

These are just a few things we can do.  I don’t have the time to write out the solutions for the NLL/MLL/marketing debacle (though I’ll find some soon).”

Weekend Highlights

I realized I neglected to post last weekend’s highlights. Here they are:

Friday night: A sunset walk, a nice birthday dinner for @daisyames in North Beach, San Francisco and a great stay at the Olympic Club.

Saturday morning: Beating the Olympic Club with just a skeleton crew from the NYAC.

Meeting John Gagliardi, founder of Maverick Lacrosse, and talking about the industry.

Driving through the night, all the way to LA, and catching up with friends from study abroad Australia at Canter’s Deli.

Mowing a Canter’s grilled cheese at 1AM.

Sunday morning, driving up the Pacific Coast Highway to hang by the beach and talk about life, change, and progress with an old friend in Malibu, before jumping in the ocean for a bit.

A new found appreciation for late night dinner options in NYC - precipitated by a long, hungry walk around Berkeley.

Spending Columbus Day working on Berkeley campus, checking out their entrepreneurship program at Haas B-school and scouting their lacrosse team.

And this weekend…

Another birthday celebration for @daisyames, this time with a few friends at b-bar.

Sleeping in and getting some work done on a rainy Saturday.

NYAC lacrosse - beating Team England AND Team Ireland in back to back games on a coldddd and rainy day.

One last birthday dinner for @daisyames, this time with the family at Barolo in SoHo.

Still Competitive After All These Years/I Want @HomeField Mobile

I am a former college lacrosse player. I am a former pro, too. But for me now, the seriousness of the game is supposed to be over…

And yet, here I am, on a rainy Saturday, on a team bus to Philadelphia, heading to the championship game of the American Lacrosse League, reading an email scouting report about our opponent, wondering how soon I’ll be able to see game film of my opponent on my iPhone…

‘Club’ lacrosse is supposed to be just that - a club. No practices. Show up and play. Fun. But let’s face it, for competitive athletes, it’s only fun when you’re winning, and being ready for every play is one of the keys to success.

Watching game film on a mobile device wasn’t possible when I or any of my teammates played in college. The tech just wasn’t there yet. But it’s so close now, I can taste it, and I’m dying to see how we @OvertimeMedia can keep evolving athletic performance for the serious athlete.

Preparing to Win: Stat Analysis of the Men’s Lax Championships

Memorial Day weekend just isn’t complete without the NCAA men’s lacrosse championship. So, despite the fact that my dear Brown University Bears didn’t get to dance in the Final Four, I piled the Overtime Media team (minus Dan, with his prior obligations to “his wife”) into the official HomeField-mobile and headed North.

The Division 1 semi-finals weren’t nearly as exciting as lacrosse fans usually like - Syracuse rolled over Duke with ease and Cornell dominated Virginia. I was happy for Cornell - representing the Ivy League well and further showing they are an excellent team (thereby making Brown’s win over them earlier in the year that much more sweet. Maybe bitter-sweet. Cool nonetheless.). What really impressed me was Cornell’s focus and discipline. They had a game plan and they stuck to it. Virginia, who seemed unstoppable most of the year, didn’t seem to show up. Perhaps they were looking ahead to Syracuse in the final, when they should’ve focused on the steps to get there.

On Sunday, we were at Gillette for the D-III Final see Gettysburg against Cortland State. Gettysburg battled the higher ranked Cortland hard all day, and they held a good lead for most of the game. In the end though, they played too much defense and couldn’t get the ball going on offense against a solid Cortland D with a good goalie. The box score shows that the game was really evenly matched:
Looking at these numbers, you can’t say either team had some major advantage over the other like a dominant face-off man or a stud goalie. So the difference in score at the end of the day was a matter of a few possessions, just a couple plays really. A tough loss to swallow for Gettysburg, as those little differences in the game will always stay with them and it’s hard to pin-point which play it was that cost them the game.

Conversely, Monday saw an upstate showdown between Syracuse and Cornell that one may attribute to ‘Cuse’s OT game-winner, but really Cornell broke down in a few areas along the way. Cornell took a lead throughout the game and held fast until the fourth quarter when Syracuse slowly but surely crept back to within striking distance. Again, let’s look at the box score:
The game was evenly matched in most stats except that Cornell failed to clear the ball four times (to ‘Cuse’s one failed clear). In particular, the Big Red didn’t clear the ball in the final seconds of the 4th quarter, which led to the Orange’s tying goal with 4.5 seconds left in the game, and eventually, this photograph…

Again, I don’t think any one or two goal losses can ever be directly associated with a single play. Cornell could’ve failed to clear that ball, then won in OT. Or they could’ve cleared it and won the game. Either way, it’s the accumulative effect of every single play of the game that makes the difference in close battles like these. Every shot, every save, every possession, every turnover… they all matter.

Interestingly enough, do you know how many Division I men’s games were decided by one goal this year? It’s about 25%. That’s a lot. Patrick’s been running numbers on this and will post more info later.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not trying to say that Gettysburg or Cornell failed to prepare for their games. These teams battled all year and worked hard to get to the championship. Both games could’ve gone either way based on a few plays. What I am saying, is that being prepared for your contest both physically AND mentally is absolutely crucial to succeeding on the field. Whether it’s studying the game film or practicing the “little things” - the basic mechanics of the game - you’ve got to prepare to win.
Patrick and Joe, reppin’ HomeField in our “Prepare to Win” T’s.