On Tuesday, March 20th, the Cathedral Prep varsity lacrosse team, after winning the D-10 championship last season, saw their first competition of the year in a scrimmage against McDowell. The format of the exhibition match was two 20-minute periods devoted towards the varsity rosters and one more 20-minute period for the JV team.
This scrimmage was a test for the Ramblers’ progress in the season so far. With slightly more than two weeks of practice since the official start of the season, it was a time for the players and coaches to evaluate how much they have developed and see how they can execute on the field.
One of the first aspects the Prep lacrosse team wanted to focus on is their attitude. When it comes to game time, the ideal attitude to have was to “work hard, focus, and have fun” according to Tim Klebanski, a senior captain who is the goalie for the varsity team. “If every player comes out to compete with these three attitudes in mind, the victories are going to stack up over the course of a season.” Personally, Tim wanted to set the best example (on and off the field) for the rest of his teammates and perform to the best of his abilities in order to do this. He emphasizes that he wants to show players how fun the game can be.
At the end of the varsity session the final score was 5-4 in favor of the away team. Despite this defeat, the Ramblers were pleasantly surprised with their performance and have identified what to build on. Senior captain John Paul Stark shared how he is going to lead the team and continue improving. “The result certainly was not what we wanted.” He emphasized to continue to develop the aspects of the game he though they did well in such as stick skills and effort. Also, he noted how organization, communication, and execution need improvement. “There certainly were some things we did well, and things we did poorly. We are going to continue to improve all facets of our game at the individual level and as a unit as a whole.”
The Ramblers especially hope to execute on the field when they travel to play Palmyra-Macedonia on Saturday, March 23, for their first game of the year.
