The
Ohio State Men’s Lacrosse Team is currently 9-0 and they don’t look like their
slowing down anytime soon. This past week, an 18th ranked Buckeyes
beat a 10th ranked Towson and an always tough number 1 ranked
Denver. Ohio State is now ranked #4th in the nation.
But
this past weeks success didn’t just happen overnight or even in pre-season.
Over the past sixteen years, Ohio State has been developing a lacrosse culture
based on discipline and accountability. And one of the main reasons for this
work-hard warrior attitude is because of Head Coach Nick Myers.
A wintered Kennebunk, Maine native, Head Coach Nick Myers started working at Ohio
State in 2001 as a volunteer assistant coach. After doing that for two years, working
side jobs just to make ends meet, Myers became an assistant coach at Butler for
2 years. He then returned to Ohio State in 2006 and became the offensive
coordinator and assistant coach for the high scoring Buckeyes. In 2008, Myers
became the Head Coach. Nick Myers ate, drank, and slept Ohio State Lacrosse for
years and every bit of success he and the team have achieved, they’ve battled
for.
US Lacrosse Magazine’s
Corey McLaughlin wrote a great bio piece on Coach Myers and I encourage you to
read it .HERE.
With coaching mentor advice and an all-in mentality, Myers had Ohio State
steadily climbing closer and closer to a national championship. They won their
first national tournament game in 2008 against a stacked Cornell team. In 2009,
they reached the National Quarterfinals. In 2011, the program recorded its
first win over a Top 3 Nationally Ranked Opponent. In 2013, they won the ECAC
Conference Championship and rose to a national #3 ranking. In 2015, they
reached the Big Ten Title Game and reached the Quarterfinals again. Now in
2017, the Buckeyes have started 9-0 and it feels like an inevitability that
they will soon reach a National Title Game in the coming years.
Local
Big Time had the chance to speak with Coach Nick Myers and chat about his
coaching philosophies and insights on issues concerning college lacrosse.
1. In
the last 16 years Ohio State Lacrosse has fought to become one of the nation’s
top programs in Division 1, what kind of characteristics have you looked for
when recruiting players for Ohio State?
Myers: Aside from the usual playing
skills, you know we are looking for self-motivators, guys who are tough and
gritty. As far as a person, someone who embodies the Ohio State Tradition, good
character, hard-working, honest, and intelligent. Good kids come in all shapes
and sizes, from good backgrounds and bad, rich, poor, from all over the world,
so what we are really looking for is that high character.
2.
It seems like every lacrosse coach has this inner battle with how to balance
structured lacrosse and creativity. When coaching players, how do you decide
how much to use practiced plays versus how much to let that lacrosse creativity
come out?
Myers: What we try to do as coaches is
evaluate our skill set as a team. On offensive, we asses our strengths and
implement plays that put our players in the best position to succeed. So we
practice that over and over so the players can play more instinctually on game
day, and then the creative takes over and they have to perform, practice play
or not.
3. Your
team just had two big wins in one week against ranked opponents Towson and
Denver and jumped from 18th in the Nation to 4th. When
players can get wrapped up in national rankings and win/loss pressure, how do
you keep the team and your boys focused on the program goals?
Myers:We attack every day the
same, a business as usual mentality. The rankings are going to change all year
and some weeks you may be up and others down and so we try to limit that effect
on our team by just setting goals and focusing on winning each game in front of
us. You want to be there at the end of the year, so you just have to focus on
winning as many games as possible.
4.
The world of social media is filled with landmines and has also changed
drastically over the last 15 years. Ohio State is iconic and the interaction
between the outside world and your team in 2017 is too big to monitor all the
time. What is the message that you deliver to your college athletes when it
comes to handling internet attention?
Myers: Less is more. As a coach, you know
players have social media and are going to be a part of social media so you
just address it as a team. We talk to our players and keep an open dialog.
Hopefully, we have done our job as coaches and recruited players who show
responsible judgment and value being part of the Ohio State Family. Playing for
Ohio State, in any sport, is a special thing, and we expect our players to
respect that. Now, social media will always be out there, we just recommend
good judgment and less is more.
The Ohio State
Buckeyes travel to South Bend, Indiana this Saturday to take on the #2nd
place nationally ranked Notre Dame who just beat Virginia in Overtime 11-10,
and lost to a Denver squad two weeks ago, but by only a goal, 10-11. Win or
Lose this weekend against the Irish, Myers and Ohio State will continue to keep
their drive for the National Championship alive. That’s what Buckeye Lacrosse
is all about, they just keep coming and keep coming…
There's an unwritten code in hockey and when one of your players gets rubbed out into the side of the glass near the bench head first like a god damn car hitting a phone pole, there's only one appropriate response: LINE BRAWL!
Here's another Line Brawl from these two teams about five years ago. It's like they don't like each other:
The Arena Football League has had it's many ups and downs, teams leaving, teams folding and re-joining. But when all is said and done, this year, the Arena Football League will be celebrating its 30th season, which is a pretty great accomplishment. After the 2016 Season, the league dramatically lost five of its eight teams; the Portland Steel, Orlando Predators, Los Angeles KISS, Jacksonville Sharks, and the Arizona Rattlers. The thee teams left, the Philadelphia Soul, Cleveland Gladiators, and Tampa Bay Storm were then joined by two new teams, the Washington Valor and the Baltimore Brigade.
And now, even with a slender five team group and the consolidation of players leaving every team basically an All-Star team, the Arena Football League is quickly rebuilding. The major reason for this is its overwhelming dedication to the fans. The AFL and it's players are not only known for putting on a great athletic performance on the field, but interacting and putting on a show for the fans. This is why people love Arena Football once they begin to follow it. The games are high scoring, with receivers flying around catching passes over hockey boards, big hits over the middle and thrilling endings. So, here is what you need to know about the storylines and teams of the AFL 2017 Season:
1. The Philadelphia Soul:
The Philadelphia Soul were the 2016 AFL Champions. Their team is one of the most well known in the AFL and most years they do well. They have a great rivalry with the Cleveland Gladiators; the games are epic. Notable Players: QB Dan Raudabaugh (8th Season) AFL MVP 2015, Offensive Player of the Year. DB's James Romain (5th Season) and Dwayne Hollis (3rd Season) Both AFL All-Arena Team Players. They will be tough this year.
2. The Cleveland Gladiators:
The Cleveland Gladiators are one of the most fan followed teams in the AFL. The Gladiators Arena is one of the loudest to play in and they continually fill the house. Notable Players: WR Collin Taylor, Caught 110 passes for 32 Touchdowns. QB Arvell Nelson (2nd Season). DB Fred Obi (3rd Season) AFL All-Second Team. JLB Terence Moore (6th Season) AFL All-Second Team.
Arena Football Highlights
3. The Tampa Bay Storm
The last of three franchises left from 2016 and with a huge local following is the Tampa Bay Storm. The Storm made two huge veteran signings and two huge rookie signings one of each on offense and defense. The veteran players are: LB Dexter Jackson (6th Season) 2016 AFL All-Arena Selection. WR Tyrone Goard (4th Season) Portland Steel's favorite receivers. The rookie players are: DL OJ Mau, Gardner-Webb's only 3 Time All-America. OL Jeremiah Warren, Played 3 Years in the NFL.
4. The Washington Valor
One of the new franchises that has really managed to pick up quite the following on social media in the short amount of time they have existed is the Washington Valor. This franchise feels dedicated to growing the AFL fan base. They began by signing three big players: DB Terrance Smith (6th Season) AFL All-Arena Team, AFL
All-Ironman Team. QB Erik Meyer (8th Season) AFL MVP 2013, Won Arena
Bowl with San Jose Sabre Cats with 17-1 Record. WR Mike Washington (7th
Season) 141 Career Touchdowns. The Valor also produce a Docu Web-Series about the behind the scenes working of the franchise that is really awesome and gives a great inside look. You can watch it HERE.
5. The Baltimore Brigade
The last new franchise is the Baltimore Brigade which is owned by the same group who owns the Washington Valor and I'm sure will make for an unbelievable future rivalry. The Brigade were not messing around when they brought in Head Coach Omarr Smith and his staff who have a combined 15 Area Bowl Championships. This team won't need much help. They have begun their roster with two solid DB signings in Alfonzo Dennard and Travis Hawkins. Dennard played three years in the NFL and Hawkins played two years in the CFL. Pretty good start.
This season is going to be filled with spectacular plays and nail biting finishes and Local Big Time is going to follow the storylines and continue to bring you results and articles.
In last nights game between the Edmonton Oilers and Los Angeles Kings, Veteran Jarome Iginla showed the world why he is still in the NHL and why he is still the beast we all know and love from his days in Calgary and Boston.
I think superstar and Oilers Captain Connor McDavid says it best, "That was a War."
The Norwich Men's Lacrosse team had a tough road trip, but they are determined to turn the ship around today against Curry College. Re-Energized and ready to go, the Cadets are looking to make hard statements on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball. The tough 0-4 start to the season hasn't fazed the squad at all as they keep pushing to iron out all the kinks before getting closer to GNAC rival games later this year.
Norwich Players to Watch
- Midfield, Jr. 3. Michael Cashman - The "Cash-Money" has continued to produce for the Cadet Offense.
- Midfield, Jr. 44. Matt Shea - Shea is the "Human Torpedo" murking out opponents for ground balls and carrying the rock the length of the field 50 times a game.
- Midfield, Fr. 43 Connor Bourque - Watch out for Connor "The Ankle Breaker" Bourque's sneaky Split Dodge, this Cadet could break ankles every possession. Let's see him drive the net.
- Attack, Jr. 10. Josh Jenkins - The Goal Machine, enough said.
- The Entire Defense and Goalie Unit - Taking a 15 Goal Game Hit personally; these boys are going to smash today.
Tuesday, March 21, at 5:00PM
Norwich vs. Curry
The Curry College Colonels are coming to Sabine Field today with a loaded 3-2 record. After tight losses to Castleton and Whittier, Curry put a beatin' on GNAC contender Rivier 16-6 last weekend. But the Norwich Cadets are on a mission today. One Un-Named Norwich Alumni, who was very passionate said, "The Colonels better get ready for a day at Feces-World, that's the Disneyland of Hell where the Cadets run up the score by a 100 goals."
