For The Good And Welfare Of .....Lacrosse

To realize the value of a sister or brother,

Ask someone who doesn’t have one.

To realize the value of four years:

Ask a graduate.

To realize the value of one year:

Ask a student who has failed a final exam.

To realize the value of one month:

Ask the mother who has given birth to a premature baby.

To realize the value of one week:

Ask the editor of a weekly newspaper.

To realize the value of one minute:

Ask the person who has missed a train, bus, or plane.

To realize the value of one second:

Ask the survivor of an accident.

To realize the value of a friend or family member:

Lose one.

Time waits for no one, treasure every moment you have,

Share those moments with those who are special to you.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all!

FOR THE GOOD AND WEFARE OF...LACROSSE

A Thanksgiving Message

I am thankful

For the wife that says its hot dogs tonight, because she’s home with me and not out with somebody else.

For the husband who is on the sofa being a couch potato, because he’s home with me and not out at the corner tavern.

For the teenager who is complaining about doing the dishes, because it means he/she is home and not out on the streets.

For the taxes that I pay, because it means I’m employed.

For the mess to clean up after the party, because it means that I have been surrounded by friends.

For the clothes that fit a little too snug, because it means I have enough to eat.

For my shadow that watches me work, because it means I am out in the sunshine.

For a lawn that needs mowing, windows that need cleaning, and gutters that need fixing, because it means I have a home.

For all the complaining I hear about our government, because it means that we have freedom of speech.

For the parking spot I find at the far end of the parking lot, because it means I am capable of walking and have transportation.

For my huge heating bill, because I am warm.

For the lady behind me in church that sings off key, because it means that I can hear.

For the pile of laundry and ironing, because I have clothes to wear.

For the weariness and aching muscles at the end of the day, because it means I have been capable of working hard.

For the alarm clock that goes off in the early morning hours, because it means that I am alive!

Happy Thanksgiving to all!!!!!

For the Good and Welfare of Lacrosse

The following quote has been displayed on my office wall wherever I have been. It has always been a topic for discussion and contemplation. Do with it as you wish.

                    "Excellence is an art won by training and habituation (repetition).
                     We do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence, but
                      rather we have those because we have acted rightly.
                      We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but
                      a habit."

                                                                                                                                      - Aristotle-

For the Good and Welfare of....Lacrosse

A re-print of my May 30th musings is in order, considering the Laxpower.com Survey that I viewed today.

 Another championship has come and gone. Virginia with a new philosophy and team effort grinding out a win.  Mercyhurst hanging on to win and Salisbury flexing their collective muscle. It is now time, after observing the Men’s NCAA tournament games on the Division I, II, and III levels, to discuss bringing men’s lacrosse back to the essence of the game we love. Just as the collective administrative and coaching brain trust instituted the shot clock in college basketball, men’s college lacrosse must implement the same initiatve.

The advantages far outweigh the disadvantages. 1. a shot clock would allow the game officials to officiate the game and not be time keepers, “get it in and keep it in” will become a lost piece of lacrosse history. 2. The shot clock would allow players to think for themselves on the field, make decisions within the flow of the game, isn’t that what practice is all about.( Salisbury is a great example)  3. It would minimize the micromanagement of the game by coaches. It will, obviously, speed up the game.

Does it have to be a 45 second clock like the MLL or the International game? No, it could be 6o seconds, 90 seconds, as long as it puts an end to the stalling techniques used by coaches and their teams to change the game to something it was never meant to be. The vast majority of facilities that host men’s varsity lacrosse games have the ability, now, to initiate a shot clock. The game management people in athletic departments have personnel that have tended to the shot clock in men’s and women’s basketball.   

It is of the utmost importance for the game itself that this decision is forthcoming.

FOR THE GOOD AND WELFARE OF ...LACROSSE

The summer recruiting season is upon us, from Massachusetts to Texas, Washington State to Florida, Northern and Southern California and the myriad of camps and showcases in the Northeast. College coaches of all stripes are assembled to try and find the next male or female superstar.

 As we travel along this traveling road show, certain thoughts, ideas, musings; run through my mind: 1. how great are these kids! If it was tough for me to sit in 100 degree heat for three days in Dallas; how unbearably difficult was it for them to push their bodies those same three days? 2. the parents of these athletes are loving, controlling, irascible, friendly, pushy, and incredibly committed to their offspring. 3. I’m convinced that every lacrosse player I have observed in Texas, Georgia, Florida and Tennessee has a twin playing in Maryland, New Jersey and on Long Island; they merely were separated at birth and have different regional accents.

The pleasure of it all is to see the wealth of lacrosse talent out there. It is as strong now as ever in the hotbeds of Long Island, Maryland, and upstate New York, but, the Northeast, the Southeast, the Southwest and the West are impressing all of us with their talent, growth and commitment to this game that we love. The future is bright!

For the Good and Welfare of...Lacrosse

Another championship has come and gone. Virginia with a new philosophy and team effort grinding out a win.  Mercyhurst hanging on to win and Salisbury flexing their collective muscle. It is now time, after observing the Men’s NCAA tournament games on the Division I, II, and III levels, to discuss bringing men’s lacrosse back to the essence of the game we love. Just as the collective administrative and coaching brain trust instituted the shot clock in college basketball, men’s college lacrosse must implement the same initiatve.

The advantages far outweigh the disadvantages. 1. a shot clock would allow the game officials to officiate the game and not be time keepers, “get it in and keep it in” will become a lost piece of lacrosse history. 2. The shot clock would allow players to think for themselves on the field, make decisions within the flow of the game, isn’t that what practice is all about.( Salisbury is a great example)  3. It would minimize the micromanagement of the game by coaches. It will, obviously, speed up the game.

Does it have to be a 45 second clock like the MLL or the International game? No, it could be 6o seconds, 90 seconds, as long as it puts an end to the stalling techniques used by coaches and their teams to change the game to something it was never supposed to be. The vast majority of facilities that host men’s varsity lacrosse games have the ability, now, to initiate a shot clock. The game management people in athletic departments have personnel that have tended to the shot clock in men’s and women’s basketball.   

It is of the utmost importance for the game itself that this decision be discussed and acted upon ASAP.

Congratulations to Northwestern, Adelphi and Gettysburg and their respective championship accomplishments. Kudos to those responsible for hosting those games on Long Island, obviously the hot bed for women’s lacrosse, check out the rosters of the teams in the finals. It must be a nice change for the women to play in front of crowds that appreciate their effort.

FOR THE GOOD AND WELFARE OF LACROSSE

Tournament time has arrived. Many have awaited these selections with anticipation, and inevitably, some are upset by the pairings. As one who has been a member of the selection committee for the Men’s Division III tournament, I feel your pain! Many times it is a painful process to see a personal friend eliminated by “the formula” that is used to make these placements and pairings. It is also disheartening to see a rival receive a high seed and a seemingly easy ride to the semifinals.

But, it, “the formula”, truly is the only way to make these decisions. Be assured that every person in that room or on that conference call has done their homework, spent myriad hours reworking every scenario, to make sure the proper teams are selected and seeded appropriately. Yes, there are times when it doesn’t seem logical to the casual observer, UNC vs. Maryland, Adelphi vs. Limestone, Tufts and Cortland in the same quarterfinal bracket; but, it energizes the scope of the tournaments themselves.

It is for the fans to embrace the committee’s decisions and root for their favorites to advance wherever they may be.

FOR THE GOOD AND WELFARE...OF LACROSSE

Snow, snow, go away come again another day! Perhaps not until next January! So goes the lament of lacrosse coaches across the United States at the beginning of the 2011 season. Many of you on the college level wonder why lacrosse is considered a spring sport when the snow is two feet deep, with three inches of ice on the top. It wrecks havoc with practice plans, conditioning, rescheduling, et al. Then the thaw will occur and lakes will appear causing more headaches.

Speaking of headaches, I was privy to the pre-season instructions given to two college teams by a three man crew of officials recently. If this was any indication of the new face off rules and “Get it in, Keep it in” interpretations, coaches, players and fans will be in for an incredible lack of consistency this spring in the Men’s game. If they, themselves, cannot agree, how are the aforementioned players, coaches and fans supposed to. This will be an ongoing saga.

The women’s game dodged the “helmet bullet” this spring, but, will it rear its ugly head again in the near future. Certainly on the high school level, the liability issues will remain the same. Is there an answer to this dilemma? What are your thoughts? Let us know.