LaxPower Back-Up Stick

It was just one game, but WAC got bullied by W&L.

Centennial is very though with Gburg F&M, Ursinus looking solid and even a much improved and young McDaniel.

With a loss to W&L already, WAC will need a win against SU AND CNU (without any other trip ups) to have a shot at an at-large bid. And both of those teams may finish the year in the top 10.

Soooo right Kramerica. I don’t know much about Stockton, but based on W/L and USILA, this should be a good pre-test for the CNU game. Was glad to see Grieves get hot last game. Still struggling at X and EMO is a shadow of last year.

Well hey! Glad CNU is on tap mid-week. They've been a little up and down so let's see if we can get something going.

Caught the Stockton game on Replay. Very frustrating. D was out of position, not communicating and not prepared. Stockton did a great job of attacking in transition, a good ride should have mitigated that. Stocktons goalie had a great game, we should focus a little more on quality of shot not quantity. Just goes to show you that you can win in every category but saves and points are what matters most.

Since 2017 CNU has only lost 2 home games, York and Salisbury. CNU is having a real difficult time at Fogo. Control TIme of possession you have a shot of stealing this game. Don’t get into a shootout.

Three OT. Would have liked to have that one. Don't know if that gives the team confidence heading into conference play or lessens it - CNU certainly a worthy opponent on paper.

Losses bringing confidence- not the Shoremen way.

Hoping we should pull past an always down St Marys program- right into 2 tough games against top 10 teams... Then an even match home game against McDaniel... best case is escaping March 4-5... with Gulls, Bullets, and F&M to go. Hoping to start conference play above 0-3.

Side note from CNU Game: Clearing needs to be made top priority and back to basics, catching and throwing.

I do not see this team making a run but plenty of lacrosse left.

WestCoast3311 wrote: ↑Thu Mar 14, 2019 5:54 pm Hoping we should pull past an always down St Marys program

Not down enough apparently

Things are looking bright at St.Marys. Most of the scoring for the Seahawks today came from freshmen and sophomores.

thatsmell wrote: ↑Sat Mar 16, 2019 11:32 pm Things are looking bright at St.Marys. Most of the scoring for the Seahawks today came from freshmen and sophomores.

You’ve got to spend some more time in the DIII forum Smell. Your insight is missed.

Schedule going from challenging to more challenging. Anyone have a sense of some strengths these guys are trying to build on and issues they need to address? It'd be great to pick up some quality wins but the spring break trip was not a kind one.

Lost for words on the state of this program. I don't blame Jeff, but never imagined WC would be losing to Stockton, St. Mary's, etc...

I understand the sport is growing (particularly at the Division 1 level) and recruiting is becoming more challenging. But Gettysburg and Salisbury haven't lost their relevance during this age of growth.

Thoughts?

I’ll take a shot: I’ll split into two areas: School Specific and Sport Specific..
School: 2016 class had HEAVY attrition, only 5 Juniors on the roster; the Shelia Bair years were very hard on all athletics, Roster is very young 31 Fresh/Soph vs 16 Sen/Jun.; Wash’s academics and lax are well known in the VA, MD, PA area, needs to mkt itself broadly to new growth areas, I hate academic rankings, a lot of parents want their kid to play NESCAC, when SAT/GPA reality sets in they shoot for next level, in the “Rankings” WASH is just outside that next tier. it takes a certain guy to really want to play and succeed at Wash (love tradition, love the sport, want a small school to focus on lax, grades, and the Shore and most importantly what it means to be a Shomen)

Sport: Growth in D1/D2 and D3...let’s face it Wash historic recruiting ground is overfished by everyone and there is serious over recruiting at D1 level, a lot of rograms bring in 15-25 recruits to fill 10-11 spots at “tryouts”; 1-2 players make a huge difference to a d3 program, that’s why you are seeing so many transfers (like Gittelman from JU, or Casey Grieves) Travel Teams have changed, used to be you watched a kid play HS then validated your assessment in summer play, now Travels have consolidated into super-teams that hit 4-7 national exposure events a year and the kids are packaged for recruitment, and every program brags about D1 placement. Non-Hotbed recruiting, you are seeing more and more recruits coming from NC, FL, GA, OH, IL, TX, CA, CO...Salisbury has 10 roster spots from these areas. Every school needs to think about exposure in these markets, there are some really good players rattling around and their choices have been narrow.
That’s my view from the cheap seats...

Good analysis WASHFAN, let me approach from a slightly different perspective.

For an applicant Washington College is every bit as attractive or more so than any other Centennial Conference school. The roster has ~50 men; full for a D 3 school. As we earlier posted; in 2018 the Sho’men took two Final Four D 3 teams to the wire; in 2014 they were in the semis. Terrific school; beautiful stadium; good head coach, full staff; schedule challenging; War on the Shore back to Saturday; Administration supportive; where’s the problem?

Example:
Casey Grieves 6’3” 200#; MIAA & D 1 experience; lax DNA in his bones; tough as a nail but old school gentleman demeanor. If he had started at Salisbury in 2016, he’d be AA; have 2, maybe 3 rings* and be in the hunt for another. A talent like that should carry a team deep into May.

I see the overriding issue as player development for Coach Shirk and staff to focus on. For the inexplicable losses 2018 and 2019 we need an Insider Insight.

* Gulls played the 2018 NC game with a mostly freshman offense and lost 8 – 6 with a freshman shooting air balls at the end. Could a Grieves howitzer have sent the game to OT?

Strong points Mr. Lax 2U,
Two honest questions: 1) Why does a Casey Grieves go to Hobart? when you are exactly right about the opportunities at Salisbury or Wash..start there as a freshman..who knows what the ceiling is. 2) what/how do you target player development given d3 coaching constraints? Is it budgeting for more coaches so that in season/fall training is more intenseand personalized, or a program standard that is applied at all levels, recruiting, off season, summer ball...etc.

I agree with your point that PD mitigates a poor recruiting class or a lost season. I just don’t know how you turn it on quickly...

I agree with Washfan. Every D1,2,3 school are fishing in the same Maryland pond. Go out west and get kids. They are the forgotten ones when it comes to recruiting. There are a lot of second tier kids who can play D2-3 ball. Call the travel programs and ask these coaches. Colorado is home to some pretty good coaches. Matt Bocklett, John Grant Jr, Jamie Munro to start the list. These kids have the lax IQ your looking for and want to play at the next level. That is why the west coast colleges dominate the MCLA. Why not recruit this minor league system. I can tell you that parents don’t want to pay an additional $3,500 a year above tuition for lacrosse.
Yes im from Colorado, the Outlaws lead the League in attendance each year, with our 4th of July game attracting 20k fans each year.
Check out the top D3 programs like Salisbury, they are sprinkled with west coast kids. Berkman is always out here doing clinics. Melton one of their top players is from CO.
I can keep going on, you get my point. East coast bias

I agree with Washfan. Every D1,2,3 school are fishing in the same Maryland pond. Go out west and get kids. They are the forgotten ones when it comes to recruiting. There are a lot of second tier kids who can play D2-3 ball. Call the travel programs and ask these coaches. Colorado is home to some pretty good coaches. Matt Bocklett, John Grant Jr, Jamie Munro to start the list. These kids have the lax IQ your looking for and want to play at the next level. That is why the west coast colleges dominate the MCLA. Why not recruit this minor league system. I can tell you that parents don’t want to pay an additional $3,500 a year above tuition for lacrosse.
Yes im from Colorado, the Outlaws lead the League in attendance each year, with our 4th of July game attracting 20k fans each year.
Check out the top D3 programs like Salisbury, they are sprinkled with west coast kids. Berkman is always out here doing clinics. Melton one of their top players is from CO.
I can keep going on, you get my point. East coast bias
The Denver shootout is the premier west coast recruiting tourney. The shootout pays for the coaches to come out here and see the kids.

Times have changed. More options for kids now than when WAC ruled or was one of the rulers. Still a great program with great history, beautiful stadium, nice campus, decent academics. One issue I see is super high sticker price to attend. Does WAC have the financial resources to support students cost of attendance to continue to attract? Other than the cost, what other limiting factors does WAC face?

For Casey maybe a personal preference to go away for college. Other than winter weather Hobart is an excellent school with a first class lacrosse pedigree.

For a men’s lax prospect, it’s D 1 v D 3. For many young men the D 3 restrictions are a plus. After all college is about getting an education for all but a few FB and BB players.

Lift the restrictions and tell me that Tufts, Amherst and several other NESCAC schools wouldn’t be in the mix with the IVY schools. Or that Salisbury wouldn’t be in the mix with the Maryland D 1 schools.

An aside to WALL BALL; imagine Grieves and Melton both at WAC. Different results 2018 and 2019?

In D 3 off season PD is all about individual initiative. Casey has plenty of local options. From a quick glance at the WAC Roster I’d guess many of his team mates have summer options available. At season end Coach Shirk needs to have a sit down with each returning player. I’d like you to hit the weights and return for fall ball @190# with stamina to run a 6-minute mile. And find a wall to work on your lefty shot down the pike.

To many high school players are enamored with D1. I know quite a few players who went D1 and are not even playing anymore. A couple of them were high school all-Americans. The coaches need to get out to all areas of the country in the summer. They were recruiting in New England when they had a coach from that area but I don't think they do much there now. One of the players from last year who scored over 100 goals was from New England. Get out to Texas, California and other new hotbeds of lacrosse.

Keeping recruits has been an issue. As stated above the 2016 class has only 5 left. The 2013 class ended up with 4 making it to the end and one of them wasn't even a player due to an injury early in his career.

The midfield has been an issue for the past couple of years. Most of the scoring is coming from the attack. In 2014 it was a bit more balanced. If defenses don't feel that the midfield can score they just collapse down on the attack. It seems a bit more balanced this year so far but we will see if conference play changes things.

Grieves was a bit of an unknown last year so I think he had a little more room to maneuver. He is now a known quantity so lets see what happens in conference play.