The IL ID X Experience

So, I guess I'm a recruiting writer now?

This piece originally appeared on Inside Lacrosse. However, I found it worth sharing with all of you as it was quickly leapfrogged by more important content so you probably missed it. It happens; only the algorithm forgives. This is also the first step forward into a familiar (as I was a college coach [take a drink] for 12 years) yet terrifying new terrain: lacrosse recruiting. As is my custom, I tried to make it weird. Look for the first part of a special two-part podcast early this week and thank you for subscribing to the LacroCity newsletter.

It rained Sunday morning at Troy Park in Elkridge, Md. We're at the inaugural IL ID X, a collection of six teams of 2022s and six teams of 2023s — representing a cross-section of the best players in the country. Saturday started with three hours of practice before teams played two games; Sunday featured two hours of practice before players suited up for three games.

The rain is less torturous than it is annoying and constant.

Players are grouped by age and position on four different fields. All of them slowly losing the warmth, it’s not the most comfortable situation for anyone, and yet the work persists.

"Who gets excited to work on drills?"

"How does this star passing with two balls make me better?"

Those are questions never asked, not by these players. Not here. Not today.

“Get out of the way after you shoot — don’t admire your shot!” Joel Tinney warns. “Focus, pay attention!”

On an adjacent field, the goalies work together on four different nets, groups lining up to make in-tight stops, testing their reflexes and sharpness against Goaliesmith coaches who rotate in and out, cheering saves and offering praise and instruction as they go.

It’s raining harder now, the weather is colder and more invasive. Parents watch, masked, and socially distanced, from the shelter provided by layers and multiple umbrellas.

On the same field, face-off men test their mettle against one another, paired off as they always are, relentlessly battle-tested by the nature of their position. Win. Lose. Again. Short memories, long work. Not-so-surprisingly, they have the most parents watching, umbrellas deployed, feet shuffling to stay warm, repeating sentences obscured by their mandatory facemasks.

“One more! Down! Set! ::WHISTLE:: They still saying set?”

It’s a rhetorical question, but the players answer anyway. Some small chuckles leak out. Plastic crashes into itself in perpetuity. A quarter of a mile away, a smattering of 2023 attackmen and defensemen are gathered. In front of them are a pair of attackmen from two different generations — Mark Millon and Grant Ament — lead a group of poles and attackmen through a drill that focuses on quick shots, quicker slides, and the quickest thoughts.

“There is a difference between a smart play and a hustle play!” Ament explains. The players are rapt, but also moving into place as they change lines. “Don’t just sprint to a place; know where you’re going!” A sea of nods responds.

“You know, I live up the road and didn’t pack any gloves,” Millon remarks, smiling. He’s not complaining, just cursing his lack of foresight. He and Ament take 30 seconds to discuss behind the back passes and goals. Lamenting the overuse of them and why they’re so hyped. It’s sort of like being asked why basketball fans love dunks, but with a less obvious answer.

“It’s because it looks cool,” I say trying to disguise my nervous energy as confidence. There’s no time to react as a voice booms behind all of us.

“GOALIES!!!” Yells Danny Cocchi, waving his arms. “Let’s go goalies!”

“I can’t believe they’re walking!” Millon muses as he continues to demonstrate the proper technique of changing release points in lieu of behind the back technique. Ament turns and does the same, but demonstrates how it can be easy to throw a BTB on an angle, then flips back to the drill, “It’s easy to score on a 2-on-1! One more! There’s no two-point arc!”

“Get a goalie in that net!” yells Cocchi as he mentally chases the keepers into position at midfield.

“Keep cutting, keep trusting him with that pass!” Millon screams.

At the farthest field, the 2022 defensemen and attackmen are being run through a series of chaser 4-on-3 drills to find the best shot and see if it can be met with the cheater slide. Pat Spencer, Matt Dunn, and Joe Spallina decide to work defensemen into the offensive spots and vice-versa. Guess which group is more excited about that.

“DONT worry, you won’t be one of the defensemen playing defense, I’ve seen you shoot!” Spallina jokes as the drill transitions.

Two-on-twos rolls onward with the coaches competing against each other: Dunn picks defenders, Spencer steps in and chooses attackmen. The energy shifts.

“SHOT! GOAL!”

I look up and across from my spot on the right side — the defenders are playing offense, the attackmen are getting stops instead of goals, an attackman intercepts a foolhardy pass to the interior and chucks it across the field. The crowd erupts.

“Defense always cheating!” Spallina laughs.

A pole throws a hard fake over the top, brings the ball back, and softly dunks it over the goalie’s head. The crowd explodes. “We like that!” It’s an absurd blend of fun and speed, but not without its intensity. Even here, cold and wet, there’s something to win. “MAKE A DECISION!” yells an attackman down the lane of a shot. “Enjoy that! Enjoy it!” Spallina says.

The final shot ends the drill but there is one more lesson more before the games begin. Dunn calmly directs the defensemen. They are no longer laughing but listening intently to the reigning PLL Defenseman of the Year.

“The game happens so much faster at the next level. You need to be able to lock in mentally. The next step will be to do that. Can you be great on the ball and off? That’s the hard part about playing defense. That’s your challenge today.”

Ty Xanders stands next to me, trying not to block my photo capturing the scene for social media. The session ends with all the players chanting a fractured “Hard Work!”

“They tried to get them to say “Ty” but they wouldn’t do it,” Spallina jokes. Ty bows his head, embarrassed for a moment. “Hey, you're wearing your signature on your head, bud!” I say. The laughs return, but just for the coaches. Ty fake tackles me, and he feigns being upset, but for just a second, he smiles.

The players don’t notice any of it. They are already on to the next game. The next challenge. The next step. The next experience.