The 2013 season is here and we wanted to work closely with college programs to bring a part of the excitement to you. Throughout the 2013 season we will highlight lacrosse programs on our space for all of our readers to follow. Player blogs serve as a unique outlet for programs to showcase their season as it develops, plus highlight everything they have to offer a student-athlete. In contrast, families and fans get a glimpse into the program’s athletic and academic regimen.
Stuart Carley
Junior
Attack #22
Coast Guard Academy
The United States Coast Guard Academy Lacrosse Team kicked off the 2013 season this past Monday with its first outdoor field practice. Until this point the team had been waking up at 0500 (that’s 5 am) for indoor conditioning including suicides, sprints, Indian runs, and stairs. It was a challenge for everyone to wake up an hour earlier than the rest of the Corps and condition, especially after coming back from leave. But with roughly a month to go before we hit the road and head down to Georgia to face Kennesaw State and SCAD I think everyone was feeling the urgency to get going.
Nevertheless, the snow finally cleared this past Monday and we headed outside to figure out who would fill prominent roles in this year’s roster. The first day we eased back into things and shook the rust off, but everyone was enthusiastic about the upcoming season and bodies were flying around. Conditioning continued as Coach had us run full field suicides, which were dreaded by all. Mixed in-between were numerous shooting and passing drills, while the defense worked on stick work on the opposite end of the field. On Tuesday Coach split the team in two with all the Freshman on the same team. This was done to see what new talent we had and needless to say talent was everywhere. From the middies dodging and ripping a fifteen to twenty yard shot to the attackmen making great feeds to the poles making excellent checks, I think it is safe to say the Freshman can play. The rest of the week Coach was still sorting out players and on Friday we finally started to get into some six-on-six play, but the full field suicides continued.
Saturday was a nice relaxing day and everyone was granted liberty (time where cadets are allowed to leave the Academy). Sunday was an important day at the Academy known as 101st night, were the Freshman class is run around the barracks for several hours as the Juniors drop them (make the do push-ups, squats, mountain climbers, etc) for discrepancies. As a reward, on Monday (100th day or 100 days to go until graduation) the two classes switch places and the Juniors carry out Freshman duties such as trash runs and orderlies, while the Freshman carry-on. This is one of the best traditions here at the Academy. As for the team, I know everyone is excited for the upcoming season and right now our focus is on the Georgia tournament over President’s Day weekend. That’s all for now, I will let you know what the new week brings.