Hawk Talk, Ep. 2: Where do we go from here?
Desert Island Top 5
It’s been an interesting second week of games for the Hawks. We went 2-1 with dominant wins against Kearsarge and Gilford. I don’t recall much from those games other than the performance of our defense, which has three lockdown defenders switching onto threats all game long. I cannot recall the last time I coached a team (college or high school) that was so reliant on defensive matchups to break gameplans. They are destroyers and eliminators and they work harder than anyone else on the team. It almost makes me want to go back to being a defensive coach.
Almost.
Instead, I am tasked with getting our offense to produce points however I can. From fresh drills in practice to newer schemes that utilize picks and switches the work has been put in, but the execution has been inconsistent.
We lost our Friday game against Campbell, 4-2. Yes, that’s a lacrosse score, not a hockey or soccer score. We went into the half tied at 1 as each team struggled to get inside for good shots. We didn’t deal with the pressure very well in the second half and lost the game on the scoreboard, but in nearly every statistical category - including possession - we were on top.
When the game was over, the varsity players were upset on the bench. Heads down, eyes sullen, and digging through bags.
I marched over to the sideline from the JV squad in the midst of our five-on-four Endicott drill.
“Hey, pick your heads up,” I yelled. “We played great. That’s the best team we have played and went at them! No feeling sorry for yourself, do you understand me?”
Stunned faces and slow nods were all I saw before I spun on my heel and marched back to the JV warm-up. It’s not great to lose, but it is great to acknowledge the effort and take lessons from it.
So, with that outburst in mind, I’ve decided to catalog the top five things I scream from the sideline as an assistant coach so far this season.
Move your feet!
I have yelled this more times this season than I have in any other season and we are five games in. We are not Canadian. We cannot rip 40-yard passes.
Move the ball!
This is a close second to the previous phrase, but I can tell you that I say it with more and more…gusto each time I iterate it. Moving the ball off the ground is a concept we’re starting to get used to and I like it, but it is increasing the number of times that I have to express this instruction.
Go!
This is my substitution call for our sequential sub-pattern. Players don’t look to wait for their man to come off so they can go on, I do and yell “GO!” so they can just run onto the field and into position without thinking too much about it. Or we just run into the middle of the field and look for a guy to guard. Either/or.
Get it through X!
Man. This is the thing that my coach yelled at me for my entire college career. And now I’m doing it to my attackman. As a wing shooter, I never ever wanted to do this when I got the ball because I always wanted to see if I could dodge my man and get into a shooting lane. Now, I see that settling the ball is the key to getting more early chances.
Push it!
No, it’s not me yelling for push calls to the ref. How dare you. I yell this if and when we get a chance to create a fast break near the half line.
We were set to play Coe-Brown today minus a number of key players due to April vacation. However, the game was moved to later in May thanks to the monsoon conditions of this past weekend.
This is where I morph into an old man shaking his fist at a cloud.
Ready?
Back in MY day, we didn’t skip practice or games for a family vacation during lacrosse season. We still practiced for 2 hours every afternoon on a rock-crusted field on Old Concord Road in Henniker because the school didn’t have any space for us. I still have scars on my knee from pebbles being embedded into my flesh chasing down shots behind the cage. Lacrosse practice was my vacation.
I know that things are different now. Post-COVID vacations are more than a respite. No one is casting shade.
But I also know the practice would make us better.
And it already feels like time is running out.