Navy 2022

[genesrfree]

yeah its easy freshman year 18 credits , critics never did it what ever , calculus , physics , 2 hrs practice , back the f off

And remember he’s a mod emeritus.....not on this forum dude.

[HealthyDebate]

What can we say, a tale of two different halves on Saturday. One can argue the Mids should have been up 6-1 at half,heck possibly after the 1st Qtr. Bad shooting by us and great goaltending by Lehigh. I see a good Navy team I just don't see a mentally stable Navy team. They seem to get the woo-is-me stare when things start to go wrong. I, for one, feel good about this team. They have a challenging test this weekend, on the road at Holy Cross, which is, no matter what, just a tough place to play. While the score might not be indicative of the progress, I DO believe the defense is getting better. I would love to see everyone play better at the same time, and by everyone, I mean the whole darn team. I hope the staff practices tough GB's, because that Lehigh squad was around every tough GB and usually came up with it.

Keep positive, we have 5 games left. The results have not been there lately, but with only 2 seniors seeing serious time and only 3 juniors logging minutes the plebes and sophomores have gained valuable playing time and experience to prepare them for the stretch....

[youthathletics]

Thought provoking article on Navy Football, being in a highly competitive league, doing more with less, etc. etc.

This quote from the article draws a parallel with the state of D1 Lacrosse and his last sentence speaks volumes:

“Division I football is hard as crap – hard, hard, hard. You have to be all-in as an entire institution – administration, athletic department – and you have to set some priorities about where you’re program is at,” Niumatalolo said.

“Not everybody can get what football gets. That’s just the truth. I don’t want to hear that so and so is not getting Muscle Milk. My response is that so and so is not playing Notre Dame,” Niumatalolo added. “We can’t worry about distributing things evenly. Those are the kinds of battles that I’ve been fighting behind the scenes for 12 years that nobody knows about. I think we’ve been winning for so long there has been this feeling that football will be okay.”

[HealthyDebate]

Read the article, not seeing the parallel. Are you saying MLAX is getting everything, some or NOTHING?

[youthathletics]

I'm past the questionable officiating, I sure hope that dive call is explained this week to Coach Sowell by the officiating front office, I surely can not understand it. Also the missed off-sides by Lehigh at the bench side for goal 6 at the 7 minute mark when the ball was tipped by lehigh on our offensive side and went over midline.

1 - My suggestion to coaching staff and players. introduce new formats to practice, like what was suggested last year. more pass down pick down, pass down pick away, pairs offense, stop under utilizing your attackmen by burying them in the crease and feeding form X just so you can have 6 dodge all game and smoke his legs. We get it he can dodge, spend time teaching him to feed with touch passes, lever passes, etc. Then when he does go..he is fresh(er).

2 - Add drills that have a time limit vs. touches to get the ball moving FASTER: Each practice the goal is to increase the amount touches in a minute. We dodge pass-pass only to then re-evaluate before attacking, allowing the D to re-organize. You could see when Navy doubled, Lehigh moved the ball to the backside so fast to capitalize.

3 - Small sided games on a shorter field in tighter quarters: Stresses better passing, helps finishers in tight spaces, more creative finishing. defense is required to be more alert. I think our offense allows our defense to relax too much, which translates come game time. (Jamie Monroe) can help you here.

4 - As noted in bullet 1 regarding pairs - I did see where there was a new offensive set introduced yesterday. It is a start. These young men can absorb a few new sets each week. And you know what, if they forget some of it, that is okay as well....at least they will be moving off ball.

5 - Pick a day and tell the captains the first 20-30 minutes of practice is yours. We'll sit inside the booth and observe, we want to learn from you...stretch their abilities by giving them some more rope, don't let go of the rope...they need you.

6. Coach Parks offense? - it may be something as simple as a different voice introducing a new play of his that creates a spark, try it.

7. Defensively - As noted in bullet 3, we all become creatures of habit. I know Wellner is a fundamental guy so I will not question the teaching, but I believe our defensemen are not being stressed by high pace enough during practices. It gets too easy to find fault while watching film as it relates to schematic, but when the schematic breaks down because of offensive pace....that requires adaptation and reps at practice, I question if the offense is providing that?

In closing, I agree completely with Healthydebate and hofpride.

Back to work and safe travels to the team this week.

[youthathletics]

Read the article, not seeing the parallel. Are you saying MLAX is getting everything, some or NOTHING?

Sorry, parallel as it relates to competition in a more highly competitive environment.

[old salt]

Thought provoking article on Navy Football, being in a highly competitive league, doing more with less, etc. etc.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/c ... 341df3b029

[old salt]

Thought provoking article on Navy Football, being in a highly competitive league, doing more with less, etc. etc.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/c ... 341df3b029

For Navy football, the cost of joining the AAC might only now be coming due

This is the danger of giving up independence to join what has become a solid conference. In 2014, Navy’s last season as an independent, the schedule included Texas State, Western Kentucky, VMI, San Jose State, Georgia Southern and South Alabama. The Mids went 5-1 in those games.

[TheBigIguana]

Navy's defense just isn't getting stops against good offenses. If that doesn't improve rapidly the only thing to play for is beating Army. They aren't an at large candidate and winning 3 games in a week for the AQ is unrealistic. It's strange because 2-3 years ago the defense was strong and it was always a question of where are the goals coming from. I'll say part of that is down to coaching and being unable to elevate the personnel. You can't always have guys like Fennell, Rees, Connors etc.

[HealthyDebate]

You sound like a disgruntled alum.....7 years of Top 20 defense (NCAA.com). The coaches didn't just forget to Coach.

[MDlaxfan76]

yeah its easy freshman year 18 credits , critics never did it what ever , calculus , physics , 2 hrs practice , back the f off

And remember he’s a mod emeritus.....not on this forum dude.

Pretty sure that Wombat is actually a Navy lax fan and full well appreciates the 'higher calling' as well. I assume he also is fully aware of the challenges faced by a student-athlete at Navy, including plebes.

Pretty sure hofpride is a Hofstra fan; perhaps Wombat assumed sarcasm from hofpride (perhaps mistakenly) and was responding in kind.

On the merits of the back and forth, yes, the service academy players are part of a larger mission and 'calling'. That should be, and generally is, respected and honored by most others, whether fans/alums of that specific program or not. (I'd prefer to assume that hofpride was just making that point, not trolling)

And sure, the demands are very significant on the student athlete. However, I'd agree with any poster who responds (as my Swiss friend says), "Ya... und?".

Navy plays sports. We'd expect them to do so with the same effort they bring to any other aspect of their educational mission to prepare men and women to lead in battle.

That won't always mean W's on the scoreboard. But making excuses for L's is not consistent with the culture we'd expect either.

As fans, focus on the development of these men as leaders, who push themselves to improve both individually and collectively, who see team and mission as far more important than personal accolades.

I'm just one of those who has some ties to Navy and admires those who choose this path.

I suspect others who have lived this experience can speak more eloquently and with much more insight than can I.

But that's how I see it.

[MDlaxfan76]

As I wrote the above, it occurred to me that it would be interesting (in the off-season) to discuss the role of sports at institutions like the service academies. Whether football or lacrosse or ...

I'd be a strong proponent of such, but the rationale and the commitments in the context of mission might be interesting to discuss.

For instance, seems to me that 'battling' opponents with specific advantages, with high risk of L's as a result, is far better preparation for true mission than lots of W's 'playing' those weaker.

But that's for the off-season.

[TheBigIguana]

You sound like a disgruntled alum.....7 years of Top 20 defense (NCAA.com). The coaches didn't just forget to Coach.

Nah I just watched them play Princeton, MD and Loyola, teams I think Navy would like to compete with, and look totally lost on defense. Yes they lost 1v1 matchups at times and that makes it harder but it doesn't mean they should constantly be losing people on the crease. To me the lack of organization is on the coaches and regardless of what has happened in years past they are struggling right now.

[HealthyDebate]

BigI, I’m not gonna debate the amount of goals they are giving up, because it’s way too many. I clearly have a vested stake in this defense and team (see my posts). Since I have been at every game and have watched intimately this group is cleaning up some of the slop from MD and Princeton. I’m throwing Loyola out- that was putrid. The tale of the tape against Lehigh wasn’t off ball cutters and men inside. I do see this group getting better. It’s been very slow coming together but I’m seeing progress and even to my amateur eye, they are working through a process. NOW- what does that mean. I just don’t know. They have game experience now and chemistry is developing. Will the results come, I hope so. And because I have insider knowledge, the believe in their DC and trust him. This ship has no one looking to bail and would run thru a wall for each other (and coaches).

[old salt]

The Mids from 2003 - 2010 faced the same challenges as Mids today.
They were less highly touted recruits. The whole was greater than the sum of it's parts.
Remember those tedious "stall ball" game plans. What has changed ?
Even when they won the PL AQ, they still had enough non-conf QW's to get an AL (2008).

[youthathletics]

Remember those tedious "stall ball" game plans. What has changed ?
Even when they won the PL AQ, they still had enough non-conf QW's to get an AL (2008).

Stall Ball is a thing of the past. If we could do it you bet they would be. But we still try, we seldom shoot before the clock hits 30. 2008 SchedulePre Loyola in the Patriot League, even lost to Army got smoked by JHU 2x. Not sure what you are trying to compare, The PL was junk in 2008.

[old salt]

Remember those tedious "stall ball" game plans. What has changed ?
Even when they won the PL AQ, they still had enough non-conf QW's to get an AL (2008).

Stall Ball is a thing of the past. If we could do it you bet they would be. But we still try, we seldom shoot before the clock hits 30. 2008 SchedulePre Loyola in the Patriot League, even lost to Army got smoked by JHU 2x. Not sure what you are trying to compare, The PL was junk in 2008.

...which made it even harder to get an at large bid. Navy played enough Top 20 RPI opponents that W's over MD & OSU were enough to earn an at large bid in 2008. The PL has gotten tougher (due to Navy coming back into the pack), but Navy's non-conf sched has gotten softer

...& Mids today do not face any challenges that Mids did not face then.
If Navy could be a consistent Top 20 contender then, they should be now.
If the PL got better overall, the PL sched would boost Navy's RPI.

[youthathletics]

Remember those tedious "stall ball" game plans. What has changed ?
Even when they won the PL AQ, they still had enough non-conf QW's to get an AL (2008).

Stall Ball is a thing of the past. If we could do it you bet they would be. But we still try, we seldom shoot before the clock hits 30. 2008 SchedulePre Loyola in the Patriot League, even lost to Army got smoked by JHU 2x. Not sure what you are trying to compare, The PL was junk in 2008.

...which made it even harder to get an at large bid. Navy played enough Top 20 RPI opponents that W's over MD & OSU were enough to earn an at large bid in 2008. The PL has gotten tougher (due to Navy coming back into the pack), but Navy's non-conf sched has gotten softer

...& Mids today do not face any challenges that Mids did not face then.
If Navy could be a consistent Top 20 contender then, they should be now.
If the PL got better overall, the PL sched would boost Navy's RPI.

You know the trouble with the scheduling these days and are playing coy. They even discussed the struggles with w/B1G10 and ACC mathups due to schedule challenges.this weekend during the JHU/UVA game.

We still play UMD, we subbed JHU for Cuse, and added Princeton who was expected to be a highly ranked opponent and Vermont who was in the top 10 for a stint last year. Our schedule this year compares soundly with 2008...remember we play Loyola every year now.

One could argue that because of the patriot league 9 week schedule, PL teams are handcuffed scheduling OOC games. But we talked about for years on LP, especially when our bye was just before the PL tournament.

No argument here on being more competitive, which is why a always try to convey ideas on what I believe needs to happen at practices and in the off-season.

[old salt]

Remember those tedious "stall ball" game plans. What has changed ?
Even when they won the PL AQ, they still had enough non-conf QW's to get an AL (2008).

Stall Ball is a thing of the past. If we could do it you bet they would be. But we still try, we seldom shoot before the clock hits 30. 2008 SchedulePre Loyola in the Patriot League, even lost to Army got smoked by JHU 2x. Not sure what you are trying to compare, The PL was junk in 2008.

...which made it even harder to get an at large bid. Navy played enough Top 20 RPI opponents that W's over MD & OSU were enough to earn an at large bid in 2008. The PL has gotten tougher (due to Navy coming back into the pack), but Navy's non-conf sched has gotten softer

...& Mids today do not face any challenges that Mids did not face then.
If Navy could be a consistent Top 20 contender then, they should be now.
If the PL got better overall, the PL sched would boost Navy's RPI.

You know the trouble with the scheduling these days and are playing coy. They even discussed the struggles with w/B1G10 and ACC mathups due to schedule challenges.this weekend during the JHU/UVA game.

We still play UMD, we subbed JHU for Cuse, and added Princeton who was expected to be a highly ranked opponent and Vermont who was in the top 10 for a stint last year. Our schedule this year compares soundly with 2008...remember we play Loyola every year now.

One could argue that because of the patriot league 9 week schedule, PL teams are handcuffed scheduling OOC games. But we talked about for years on LP, especially when our bye was just before the PL tournament.

No argument here on being more competitive, which is why a always try to convey ideas on what I believe needs to happen at practices and in the off-season.

My point is that the PL getting tougher is not a valid reason for Navy's decline since 2010. The increase in PL opponents aggregate RPI has been offset by the decrease in Navy's nonconf aggregate RPI with the drop of UNC, Urick's GT, & JHU when they were an annual final 4 contender most years.

With the PL improvement, both the PLT #1 & #2 seed should be an AL contender if they make it to the PLT final & don't win the AQ.

The PL wasn't junk in '08. You just weren't paying as close attention then. Bucknell, Army & Colgate were all Top 20 opponents in '08.
In '08 Navy had 8 Top 20 RPI opponents (non-conf = JHU, MD, Cornell, OSU, GT). Loyola was #21 that year.
http://web1.ncaa.org/app_data/weeklyrpi ... Arpi1.html?

[youthathletics]

Old Salt - Other than Loyola, no other team in the PL has had high RPI consistency since 2008. The top dogs in lacrosse continue to be the top dogs, the only difference now, is that there is not much that separates the top 2/3 rd's.

I would also argue that RPI is a not a very good stat to measure lacrosse, the sample size is way too small.