Hobart 2024

[Sunnylax]

Sunnylax, there is not the same buzz as the 80s, but there are lots of good reasons for that. First, the school switched to semesters, and play in general has shifted earlier. No one wants to watch on the Boz in Feb or March. And the school itself has changed. Half of the students are varsity athetes, so they have their own events to attend. Plus there are other high achieving teams to watch. WS lax is at one loss on the season. WS soccer are perennial contenders. Hobart Hockey brought home the championship 2 years in a row. Hobart basketball won liberty league. Plus there are new teams from volleyball to skiing to baseball and bowling. If you live in Geneva there is something going on every night.
The reason someone might choose Hobart over OSU or Michigan is size of school, small classes, and individualized attention. Plus a beautiful location. People shouldn't compare sticker prices without looking at discount rate. Yes, our tuition is 66k, but the average kid has a 65 to 70% discount. For lacrosse, if you come to Hobart you get to practice in the bubble when the weather is bad, unlike Colgate, Lemoyne, and many others.
Every player I've ever asked wants to play D1.
I am sure we can scoop unrecognized talent ... we got Brown, Aslanian, Scott, Holden, Archer, Madonna, etc... We just need to have the team playing at its full potential.
This has been a bad season. But it is a young team. Next year should be different. If not, there will be pressure to change something big.
BTW, glad to see so many new posters!

Thanks for your response. Glad to hear many programs are excelling! Knew about the usual suspects, WS lax, WS soccer, and recently heard about Hobart hockey.

[Farfromgeneva]

Long-time Hobart lacrosse follower & supporter, first-time Fanlax poster.

No one is trying to take away from the accomplishments of the great Hobart teams of the past. We have one of the oldest and most historic programs in the country, that is not in dispute. However, the accomplishments from 40 and 50 years ago have little to no bearing on the current state of the program or the success of the program moving forward. Most parents of kids who are now recruitable age have no knowledge of the Hobart national championships (D3), let alone the recruits themselves, who barely remember when Syracuse was a real contender.

The fact of the matter is that in the 29 seasons since we went D1, Hobart has a record of 182-207 (0.468). With a total of 9 seasons above .500. Of those 9 seasons above .500, two came during the shortened COVID seasons. This is what parents and recruits know about the program. Coach Raymond has a win percentage of .515, which will drop slightly this season, but overall he's doing better than average for our 29 year D1 history. With scholarships there is hope that might improve, but the other programs we contend with have them too. At best we are looking to string together some .500 seasons and maybe get lucky every few years and compete in the conference tournament. If we are looking to replicate the success of yesteryear, there is only one path, and I won't mention that here for fear of the backlash.

Support the program as you see fit, but the days of regularly contending at an elite level in college lacrosse are gone, and have been for some time.

BTW 78 is a terrific vintage but personally I like to go in more worry and get a rhythm gently. God bless our degenerate college that immediately picked up on that

First time poster on the men's forum so plz be kind. I graduated from HWS in the late 80's and played lax for WS. I can easily recall how thrilling it was to have an outstanding Hobart team for the duration of my time there. I was in the stands when Hobart beat Syracuse. The buzz in Geneva in the spring, the locals who came to watch games was such a positive for the town and colleges. I was very good friends with some of the players and felt proud to have such an amazing program at the school. It was exciting to hear that Hobart was going D1. But, as Richard(?) hinted, is it time to go back to D3? Is staying at the D1 level appropriate if the goal is to be pretty good? I would think players would want to play to try and reach the pinnacle. I'm not sure more scholarships will help that much. Just my thoughts. I still root for Hobart but confess that I don't know much other than checking scores.

You realize that WS lax has run game in the men’s side the last two decades right? In the late 90s and 2000/ the common mantra was that WS athletics were better than Hobart’s which I suppose is small consoling to the fact that most folks info alums still don’t bulge with William Smith and just call it Hobart. That final four game last year though..those girls just ran by you. Was a bummer.

[LeeRoggy]

A team I believe we could relate to is a 2008-2012 Albany squad. They were at or below .500 each year in that span until they struck gold in recruiting the Thompsons and later on Blaze Riorden, Connor Fields. Those players were well-known in high school but Hobart has much more to offer than Albany (I have also heard rumors that Fields was very close to committing to Bart).

Not sure about Fields (at Bishop Timon he wasn't even the biggest name on his team in 2013, that was Adam DeMillo and there was also our goalie Jackson Brown and JD Recor on that team)

Ben Reeves was a commit until Yale accepted him.

[Farfromgeneva]

A team I believe we could relate to is a 2008-2012 Albany squad. They were at or below .500 each year in that span until they struck gold in recruiting the Thompsons and later on Blaze Riorden, Connor Fields. Those players were well-known in high school but Hobart has much more to offer than Albany (I have also heard rumors that Fields was very close to committing to Bart).

Not sure about Fields (at Bishop Timon he wasn't even the biggest name on his team in 2013, that was Adam DeMillo and there was also our goalie Jackson Brown and JD Recor on that team)

Ben Reeves was a commit until Yale accepted him.

Lost a few over the years Jack Wilson after BU started was a good one too

[leafybeef]

Found the podcast to be the most honest of the year. Hoping the players step up. It's the most frustrated Raymond has sounded while doing these. Can't blame him either.

[Farfromgeneva]

Found the podcast to be the most honest of the year. Hoping the players step up. It's the most frustrated Raymond has sounded while doing these. Can't blame him either.

There’s a ton of guys who are phenomenal program changing assistants but not good program managers as HC. Folks just have to decide if this is a good job by Hobart standards of managing the program. The results, member outcomes individually, outreach and communication with stakeholders (with a massive bid to quality, transparency and honesty over volume as well as nature of it, etc). Working with a decade of information. And of the collective decision isn’t what happens do folks care enough to communicate the expected standard to administering and the agents of the colleges.

[Ketch]

Can't fault the effort today, especially from senior Chad Bach. What a warrior. Will be sad to see him go. Any particular reason Raymond didn't call a time out with Shea winning that last face-off? The announcers said he had one left. On the plus side, at least he did switch up his lineup a bit.

[Laxgunea]

There were no timeouts available. The one on the scoreboard was an error.

Will be very sorry to see Bach go. Ward and Datellas are graduating too. Shea too.
I appreciate wanting the seniors to go out with a win, but I hope coach plays a mostly junior and younger team next week. The future is with the young guys.

[oldbartman]

Bad day to have a sub-par shooting, especially in the first half. HPU's goalie came up with some big saves late. Hobart's reputation for leaving guys alone on the crease is intact. 3 of High Point's goals were from guys left open on the crease. Not sure, but I think Sam Ward has a medical redshirt year he could use. Would love to see him back. I think the rest of the senior class is done with their eligibility. As Ketch pointed out, Chad Bach had a game. Too bad we couldn't have had this play all 4 years. The injury bug was highly contagious the past 2 seasons. I hope to see EVERY SENIOR get PT against the Bonnies. We can run the young guys in the second half. I'll wait till next week to write a post-mortem.

[Sunnylax]

Long-time Hobart lacrosse follower & supporter, first-time Fanlax poster.

No one is trying to take away from the accomplishments of the great Hobart teams of the past. We have one of the oldest and most historic programs in the country, that is not in dispute. However, the accomplishments from 40 and 50 years ago have little to no bearing on the current state of the program or the success of the program moving forward. Most parents of kids who are now recruitable age have no knowledge of the Hobart national championships (D3), let alone the recruits themselves, who barely remember when Syracuse was a real contender.

The fact of the matter is that in the 29 seasons since we went D1, Hobart has a record of 182-207 (0.468). With a total of 9 seasons above .500. Of those 9 seasons above .500, two came during the shortened COVID seasons. This is what parents and recruits know about the program. Coach Raymond has a win percentage of .515, which will drop slightly this season, but overall he's doing better than average for our 29 year D1 history. With scholarships there is hope that might improve, but the other programs we contend with have them too. At best we are looking to string together some .500 seasons and maybe get lucky every few years and compete in the conference tournament. If we are looking to replicate the success of yesteryear, there is only one path, and I won't mention that here for fear of the backlash.

Support the program as you see fit, but the days of regularly contending at an elite level in college lacrosse are gone, and have been for some time.

BTW 78 is a terrific vintage but personally I like to go in more worry and get a rhythm gently. God bless our degenerate college that immediately picked up on that

First time poster on the men's forum so plz be kind. I graduated from HWS in the late 80's and played lax for WS. I can easily recall how thrilling it was to have an outstanding Hobart team for the duration of my time there. I was in the stands when Hobart beat Syracuse. The buzz in Geneva in the spring, the locals who came to watch games was such a positive for the town and colleges. I was very good friends with some of the players and felt proud to have such an amazing program at the school. It was exciting to hear that Hobart was going D1. But, as Richard(?) hinted, is it time to go back to D3? Is staying at the D1 level appropriate if the goal is to be pretty good? I would think players would want to play to try and reach the pinnacle. I'm not sure more scholarships will help that much. Just my thoughts. I still root for Hobart but confess that I don't know much other than checking scores.

You realize that WS lax has run game in the men’s side the last two decades right? In the late 90s and 2000/ the common mantra was that WS athletics were better than Hobart’s which I suppose is small consoling to the fact that most folks info alums still don’t bulge with William Smith and just call it Hobart. That final four game last year though..those girls just ran by you. Was a bummer.

Not sure what you are trying to say. Do I realize WS lacrosse has been an outstanding program beginning in the mid 80's when I was a player? Went to a semi and final NCAA championship so well aware of the status of WS lax. most folks info alums . what does this mean? I never say I went to Hobart. I say HWS or WS.

[Bartfromboston]

Bad day to have a sub-par shooting, especially in the first half. HPU's goalie came up with some big saves late. Hobart's reputation for leaving guys alone on the crease is intact. 3 of High Point's goals were from guys left open on the crease. Not sure, but I think Sam Ward has a medical redshirt year he could use. Would love to see him back. I think the rest of the senior class is done with their eligibility. As Ketch pointed out, Chad Bach had a game. Too bad we couldn't have had this play all 4 years. The injury bug was highly contagious the past 2 seasons. I hope to see EVERY SENIOR get PT against the Bonnies. We can run the young guys in the second half. I'll wait till next week to write a post-mortem.

This season didnt play out like we hoped it would. The silver lining is that I think I anyone that watched this year knows that we could have won at least a few more games (any likely Umass and HPU) if we just addressed the lineup more thoughtfully. Now that the class of 15-20 seniors are graduating, it’s time to see if we can flip the table for 2025 with all of this talent we have in the underclass. Plus we have same really strong juniors

[FL-GO]

Flip the table? For a coach who won’t go to the TP, all I can see is a mass exodus after this disastrous season.

[Bartfromboston]

Flip the table? For a coach who won’t go to the TP, all I can see is a mass exodus after this disastrous season.

not sure the transfer portal is necessary for us. We are a team that needs to play 30-35 kids. We have to win with the system, not the horses.

[oldbartman]

Flip the table? For a coach who won’t go to the TP, all I can see is a mass exodus after this disastrous season.

not sure the transfer portal is necessary for us. We are a team that needs to play 30-35 kids. We have to win with the system, not the horses.

I think what Fl-Go is saying is that he expects Bart players to hit the transfer portal to leave. Btw, I've noticed that FY Robert Kinslow, who never played a minute, is no longer on the roster. Does anyone know what happened? PM me if you would rather....

[Ketch]

Flip the table? For a coach who won’t go to the TP, all I can see is a mass exodus after this disastrous season.

not sure the transfer portal is necessary for us. We are a team that needs to play 30-35 kids. We have to win with the system, not the horses.

I think what Fl-Go is saying is that he expects Bart players to hit the transfer portal to leave. Btw, I've noticed that FY Robert Kinslow, who never played a minute, is no longer on the roster. Does anyone know what happened? PM me if you would rather....

Absolutely no one should leave. If they decide to do so, then they weren‘t Hobart men to begin with.

[Bartfromboston]

Flip the table? For a coach who won’t go to the TP, all I can see is a mass exodus after this disastrous season.

not sure the transfer portal is necessary for us. We are a team that needs to play 30-35 kids. We have to win with the system, not the horses.

I think what Fl-Go is saying is that he expects Bart players to hit the transfer portal to leave. Btw, I've noticed that FY Robert Kinslow, who never played a minute, is no longer on the roster. Does anyone know what happened? PM me if you would rather....

Absolutely no one should leave. If they decide to do so, then they weren‘t Hobart men to begin with.

I am with you in spirit and you are right, they were never Hobart men if they leave. But also the decisions made throughout the year are likely to plant seeds of doubt in both the starters and the reserves of younger players. It’s a reasonable thing for kids to want to do whatever is necessary to compete in every game and we certainly did not do that this year. Like I said before, my spirit for the team will never die but I would like to see better coaching decisions to show the team that winning matters.

[oldbartman]

Flip the table? For a coach who won’t go to the TP, all I can see is a mass exodus after this disastrous season.

not sure the transfer portal is necessary for us. We are a team that needs to play 30-35 kids. We have to win with the system, not the horses.

I think what Fl-Go is saying is that he expects Bart players to hit the transfer portal to leave. Btw, I've noticed that FY Robert Kinslow, who never played a minute, is no longer on the roster. Does anyone know what happened? PM me if you would rather....

Absolutely no one should leave. If they decide to do so, then they weren‘t Hobart men to begin with.

I am with you in spirit and you are right, they were never Hobart men if they leave. But also the decisions made throughout the year are likely to plant seeds of doubt in both the starters and the reserves of younger players. It’s a reasonable thing for kids to want to do whatever is necessary to compete in every game and we certainly did not do that this year. Like I said before, my spirit for the team will never die but I would like to see better coaching decisions to show the team that winning matters.

It sure sounds like someone is leaving.........First of many BfB ?

[eldeststatesman]

I am a huge fan of this team & program. However, I felt like it has gotten to the point where we politely ask for the home announcers to find a new hobby on gameday. Its extremely unprofessional and not fair to both Hobart College and the players to have the announcers single out players mistakes & criticize the play / coaching live on broadcast. Its just not appreciated what so ever and does our school, the program and players a huge disservice. I think the duo now has done a great job in the past, but thier tone along with the comments have become over stretched and are almost unbearable to listen to.

I understand this is something very small - but as we all discuss recruits, they watch these games and to have the announcers say what they do on a public forum like that is wrong. I'm excited to watch this group of seniors compete 1 last time. The future is bright in Geneva, keep moving forward!

Hip Hip.

[leafybeef]

Flip the table? For a coach who won’t go to the TP, all I can see is a mass exodus after this disastrous season.

not sure the transfer portal is necessary for us. We are a team that needs to play 30-35 kids. We have to win with the system, not the horses.

I think what Fl-Go is saying is that he expects Bart players to hit the transfer portal to leave. Btw, I've noticed that FY Robert Kinslow, who never played a minute, is no longer on the roster. Does anyone know what happened? PM me if you would rather....

Where in the world would they go? If you were a player who didn't see time this year I think a long hard look in the mirror would go much further for their career than leaving. Look at a guy like Peter Ashmore for example. He could've left and played at most places. He decided to work hard and was the defensive player of the year at one point. We need a lot more Peter's on this team.

[statesmen2018]

Ashmore is actually stepping into the coaching world as the UCLA women's coach. He currently is a RA there. Another statesmen in the coaching ranks.