By fostering a positive environment for the team, boys lacrosse works towards winning with not only skill but with strong chemistry between the players and coaches alike.
According to Coach Craig Hunsberger, team chemistry can be built in multiple ways.
“One way is to encourage them to hang out outside of practice,” Hunsberger said. “Having some fun practices keeps it more enjoyable for the guys.”
In order to have a successful week, Hunsberger explains what he looks for in the team.
“I think it’s important to have around two to three good practices,” Hunsberger said, “where we’re really competing as well as doing the little things right and focusing on the details.”
Hunsberger also expressed the importance of communication between coaches on how to prepare for the season.
“It’s really just a lot of intercommunication between us,” Hunsberger said. “So we can understand how everyone can work together to best suit the team.”
Senior Cameron Ruff weighed in on how the bond between teammates on the team is special. “I think that the relationships we build are strong,” Ruff said. “I feel like we have a very close team, and not everyone might realize that.”
According to Ruff, the boys also have a “strong confidence” for the current season, because of their ability to communicate on the field during tense situations.
“We are all good at pointing things out that can be done better,” Ruff said. “We are all good at communicating that with each other.”
According to Ruff, not only does their communication with each other have an impact, but also their head coach’s determination to turn them into their most refined selves. “Our coach is always pushing us to be the most we can be because he believes in us,” Ruff said. “He’s doing whatever he can do to get us to that level.”
Ruff explains that even through some pre-season adversity, the team rallied and continued to improve, not only in skill, but also in cooperation with one another.
According to Ruff, even though it was tough for people to practice in the off-season due to work, sports, or other commitments, the team still worked towards getting everyone out at practices and lifting.
“We did our best to try to get as many people as possible there, and it is important to have that,” Ruff said.
Junior Andrew Rivera said that while coaches work to whip players into shape through drilling them on the field, work in the weight room also plays a role in team bonding. “We play certain music that we all like and enjoy,” Rivera said. “We’re just always energetic in the gym.”
According to Rivera, the built-up “culture” from previous years of players also contributed to the “strong connection” between the team now.
“We only had a couple seniors last year,” Rivera said, “and they made sure that there was never a ‘me’, it was always ‘we’.”
Rivera also went into detail about how the team handles accountability and making sure everyone is on the same page when it comes to mentality.
“We definitely talk in the locker room before games,’ Rivera said, “and make sure we hold not only others but also ourselves accountable.”