Didn’t proof read this one so it may sound funky.
So now we have the Orangemen of Syracuse. Obviously I do not need to explain about the history of the lacrosse teams of Syracuse. They have produced probably the best players of all time in the Gaits and the Powells, as well as numerous other all-american and world-team players. They play in a 100,000 seat indoor dome called “The Carrier Dome,” that has to be entered like a space shuttle. You go in one door, close it to seal the air pressure, then open another door into the actual arena. That’s all well and good, but this is a home game for Loyola, and we aren’t playing a jersey, we are playing against a bunch of kids from up-state New York, and Loyola has stolen the best up-staters that that misbegotten land has produced in the past 3 years anyways, so I would call them the under-dogs. The Syracuse of the past is gone. This Syracuse team is a bunch of individuals who are thinking about their own legacy… as individuals. God I want to win this game…
Still, it is always best to play with confidence yet with an underdogs mentality, so I still call us the true under-dogs. To be quite honest with you, I am terrified before every game I play…I don’t know why, I just am. I mean maybe terrified is the wrong word. I am nervous, excited, scared, tensed up… just all-around energized. I just try to let that emotion run its course though, and then let my instincts take over once the game starts. That nervous energy then becomes useful energy to add that extra boost in my split dodge, that extra snap in my shot, and that extra keeness in my mind. I trust those elements, and that is where I have grown…
Every game is different though, so I try not to worry to much about the little things that go on before the game. I realize the game is played on the field, and all of the build-up has an effect, but nothing irreversible.
This probably has sounded like a bunch of nonsense to most people, but this is my blog and I will vent how I choose.
Back to Syracuse. They are a good team, with a lot of talent. Their first 7 offensive players would all be stars on any other team in the country. Kind of like the New York Knickerbockers.
With a team like this, we have decided that we are going to slide near-man, or adjacent. This means that rather than slide from the inside guy on defense, we will slide from the player who is the next player around the outside of the offense. To rephrase this, we haven’t changed our slide package, we just know that we are going to be required to slide near man a whole lot when the game calls for it, so we are ready to do that. If you don’t know the difference between sliding near man/adjacent or sliding from the crease, ask someone who knows. It is important to know if you want to know how defenses work, and you cannot play offense unless you know how defenses work.
By sliding this way, we are forcing a team that likes to go to the goal for themselves or for an assist, to instead make multiple passes after their initial dodge to score their goals. This means unless they play very unselfishly and share the ball exceptionally well, we are going to make them make very difficult plays.
Offensively we are going to go right at them. We are going to attack their short sticks on defense, and we are going to run right by them. They are players who like to throw checks and like to put the ball on the ground. This means they take risks, and this means they open themselves up for defeat if the risks fail. There is something to be said for running hard with the ball, and running strong with the ball. Power cradling and keeping your feet moving can get you out of a lot of bad situations. My tendency as a younger player, and still sometimes, was to hold my stick out away from my body with one hand and try to keep it out away from the defender when I got into a bad spot. This makes me weak with the ball because a light check would dislodge it. As I have matured, I have noticed that there are times when it is better to keep the stick in tight with two hands and power cradle through traffic when that happens. Of course being fast and running away from or through trouble is a must to, and always keeping you feet moving.
So we are going to go right at them and stick our shots when we have the opportunity. We are going to try and shake up the goalie because we think that he is sort of a head case who will start to open up and let easy goals in when you get on him. This means shooting with discipline and confidence. Shooting to the right spots in the goal, and trusting that it will get there.
Finally, we are just going to play as hard as we can. There is nothing to substitute that. Playing hard and having fun when you are playing are the two of the most key ingredients to being successful in sports. Learning to play hard all of the time is what separates talented and good players from great players. It is a practice of discipline. As much as people hate on him, Kobe Bryant is a prime example of playing hard all the time. He wills himself to where he gets to (with some help from God he says), and it shows in his play.
I want this one tomorrow. I believe we can win. It is going to be sunny and the local pub is all you can drink for 10 bucks from 10-12, so I expect a rowdy crowd. It’s going to be a good day to be a Hound’. Thank you God for making me one.
