Hawk Talk, Season 2, Episode 1: The Jayves

Technically it's season 4, but we'll get into that...

Welcome back to Hawk Talk, a segment of LacroCity where I detail the everyday struggles, triumphs, and oddities of being a Head JV Coach and a Varsity Assistant.

If you’re new here, this is my fourth year coaching in the Hopkinton High School Program. Last season, we went on a wild run that culminated in our victory at the NHIAA Division Three State Championship. I was named the Assistant Coach of the year for D-3 in N.H. That team was goofy, funny, and wildly rebellious. They drove me nuts every day, but I wouldn't change the experience for the world. They made me a better coach; they made me a better person.

But that year is done. Key seniors have departed, including our most skilled defensive player, both of our leading midfield scorers, and our second-highest scoring attackman. In their place, we have welcomed 12 freshmen to build on a strong core of returning upperclassmen. There aren’t a lot of guys in the middle classes, which is making things…interesting during the first few weeks of practice.

We have dubbed this class of freshmen as “the Jayves” - pronounced like “Shaves” but with a “J”.

Do you have any idea what it’s like to gather a dozen 14-year-olds in one space and get them to listen? It is not easy. It is not fun. It is draining.

It’s like herding squirrels.

But the squirrels are also aliens who only hear something if you repeat it three times.

I know, I know. I shouldn’t be complaining. But, if I wanted to be the old man shaking his fist at a cloud, I would be blaming video games and TikTok. I know it’s a lot of players and personalities to manage.

I can’t be the coach that is like, “Why don’t you know how to do this? You have been playing lacrosse for years!” Which is something I yelled when I put out six offensive players and five defensive players and no player on the field seemed to notice the man up/man down-ness of it all.

The reality is that it is also a lot of kids making a transition that is very difficult. The jump from Middle School to High School is, in my opinion, harder than the jump from High School to College.

I’ve never coached this many freshmen in college, much less high school. So the adjustment is this: slow it all down.

Stick work.

2 on 2 ground balls.

We are going to walk through the defense.

Then we will walk through the offense.

Emphasize the ground ball play (again).

Reward all successes.

Encourage after all failures.

Go full sixes.

Live, Laugh, Shove [them gently forward].

For the last three years, JV has been a vibe. This year, the Jayves are a different vibe - so I have to change mine.

Slow it down, coach Dev.

Uhm…how do I do that?

#GoHawks.