As the Annandale lacrosse team prepares for their season, there are a few things that they need to build on for the season to be a success.
Senior Cyrus Assadzadeh said “This team needs to have an emphasis on physicality this season. Lacrosse is a contact sport and we need to be more aggressive and put more hustle into our play to increase success this season.”
Sophomore Colin Minor said “we need to work on speed and stamina because we don;t have a lot of subs, we need to work on basic things like passing and catching, ground balls, etc.”
The Annandale lacrosse team lost a great number of their varsity athletes from last year. New players and returning JV players are expected to fill in those roles. Assadzadeh said “The new players who joined us this year are passionate and hard working. Our younger players are stepping up to fill in key roles this year and I am confident that we can build some success this season.”
To prepare for the season, greendays along with team workouts were held to make sure the players were introduced to the sport along with conditions for their season. Sophomore Mathew Giron Blanco said “I practiced on my own along with going to the greendays. I went to the gym and did lacrosse camps and joined leagues over the summer to be prepared for this season.”
Lacrosse is a team sport. Working as a team is how you win games. Fundamentals like passing and acting are priorities for the team to succeed. Junior Selvin Aleman said I would say we need to work on just basic fundamentals because we have a lot of new players, and for our returning players we really need to work on communication. Overall we need to accomplish this as a team and that will help us succeed.”
Returning players will have the biggest roles this year as a large part of the team is new players. Mathew Giron Blanco said “This year I’m trying to be a better player, teammate and leader. I want to score and I want to win but I also want to be there for my teammates and cheer them on when I need to.”
Overall the team has lots of improving and work they need to focus on. Their future is what really matters and this team has a very bright one ahead. Blanco said“I think our future just might be great. If we keep working hard and keep improving by my junior or senior year, maybe we can be a great team.”
Defense is an area the coaches are eager to spend time on. It is a very key position in lacrosse and that is why it is such a high priority for the team. Selvin Aleman said “Defensively we don’t have that many players to start with that have experience on defense. I still see potential in our defense because with only 2 days of tryouts I have noticed the players’ determination to win.”
This season is just the start for this young team. Players plan to keep working in the off season and definitely plan to learn and improve during this season. This team will be able to accomplish a lot in the next couple of years if they keep on working hard and work as a team.
The team seems very dedicated to play and win this season. The players eork their butts off at practice to improve. The coaches do the same as well. They build great relationships with the players which ultimatley lead s to players getting better and better. “The team is determined and has a c;lear goal they are working towards.”