Watching a championship team is like watching a duck gliding smoothly across the water. No one sees that beneath the surface is a ferocious churning of feet and an exhausting amount of hard work and determination.
For Men’s Lacrosse, feet have already started churning, months before the spring season will begin, as they participate in “fall ball” practices filled with drills and conditioning.
The Riverhawks are not alone. Lacrosse programs across the country already are running practices, trying to gain a leg up on the competition for the spring season.
Last season, Men’s Lacrosse finished fifth in the country, but second-year head coach Joe Stanilaus said he expects to do better this year because the team is larger.
“This year is different,” Stanilaus said. “Instead of the 13 or 14 kids in practice, we are closer to 50.”
Second-year player Charlie Ellis said the extra players could give the team a better chance of staying in games longer.
Ellis and his coach agreed fall ball practices are crucial to the success of the upcoming spring season.
Ellis said athletes who attend fall practices are more “dedicated to being better, and willing to give their time up to knock some of the rust off of their sticks” than athletes who only play in the spring.
“Fall ball is important because it gives us a chance to come together, learn all the other players’ skills and how we play together,” team captain and second-year attacker Dylan Morton said. “[It] builds up our chemistry for the upcoming spring season.”
Stanilaus said athletes who missed this fall season and would like to play in spring should get in touch with him “immediately.”
“If you’re not enrolled yet, that’s one thing, but if you’re just missing practice and skipping the fall, then you’re going to be behind the curve and at the end of the list for the spring season,” Stanilaus said.
Men’s Lacrosse practices every Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 3:30 to 5 p.m. behind the baseball field.
The team will scrimmage against George Washington College on Oct. 14, and will participate in a round-robin tournament with Catholic University, Fairleigh Dickenson University and Southern Virginia University on Oct. 21.