Wednesday, December 31, 2008

2008 WASN’T THAT GREAT – SO 2009 IS GOING TO BE MINE

I haven’t written much lately but I certainly cannot say that it is because not much has been going on.  In the last month, for example, I have purchased a lacrosse store, completing the deal just the other day to beat the new year clock. The finale took place after much negotiation and some agonizung too. 

One might say that I already had one in Rock-it Pocket.  Well, now I have two and we are living in a recession, but sometimes you just got to say, “What the Hey!”, so I did.   It is true that THE Rock-it Pocket ‘store’ I already have is much bigger than the COLORADO LACROSSE COMPANY that I just acquired but Rock-it Pocket is pretty much a cyber store front and this here CLC one is going to be a store in Fort Collins right near Hobby Lobby and Burger King that one can really walk into and get interactive with while they can put to use more of the five senses generally available to most humans. 

I will say that we have two major goals for the store, and one of them is to really be interactive with lax lovers in a big way.  In other words I want to Sports Illustrated and ESPN ZONE it to the max, only it will be mostly if not all about lacrosse.  We want displays and big screens and video libraries and fun facts in the window and hopefully we will get some so worked up on lacrosse that we will have to sell Gatorade over the counter as well.

STICK IT TO ME BABY or BOY’S GOTTA HAVE A DREAM

The other major focus is to make this store into Stick Central if you will, at least for the Northern Colorado area.  I want to have the hook of great looking sticks that are put together from individually specialized components hanging on the walls.  We match up handles with heads and heads with pockets to give the player the closest thing to whatever suits him (her) best as a lacrosse player.  We can get them there or help them to find where it is that they need to go for his/her 'weapon'.  Everyone that plays the game is still at least somewhat aware of how special the relationship is between stick and player.  We are here to empower that relationship, and blah, blah.

THE DOCTOR IS IN

I also want to be the “stick doctor(s)” and I envision players and people coming from all around to get their pockets ‘tweaked’ and in pursuit of this I intend to put all the ‘garbage’ about sticks and pockets that might be in, around, or locked inside my brain somewhere to use.  God knows I spent enough time staring at pockets, stringing and unstringing them over and over again into the wee hours of the morning over the many years, and all the while deeply pondering that creation which is the perfect marriage of throwing and catching that only the ‘perfect’ pocket in the right stick can give. Hopefully I can still offer plenty of stick insight.

SO WHAT ELSE IS NEW?

My New Year’s coaching resolution is that we (CSU lacrosse team) will have a better and more mean and stubborn defense.  I have seen us not score many goals from time to time over the years and I always managed to live through it or whatever, but I have trouble when my defense seems to have 'holes'. My 2009 idea is that we will play more savage and more efficient defense this year than we have for a while.  My plan is to get there even if it somehow kills me.  I want to be ‘Us’ again and to me that means stingy at our end of the field.  To this destination I am traveling the road of study, the philosophy of conditioning, and the discipline of what drills to use to our greatest advantage.

IMPOSSIBLE IS NOTHING

I am convinced that right now we need to have players on a “need to know” basis.  In other words, “PLEASE DO NOT THINK AND OR MAKE YOUR OWN DECISIONS!”  I am much more of the Nike mind set, which is of course to JUST DO IT.

HELP IS ON THE WAY

Here is my assessment of the modern player: he wants to make all his own choices on the field, but when they don’t work out so well (e.g. other team scores goal) it might in his mind be because we perhaps weren’t in the right defensive set or slide or whatever.  To me that is playing defense (or anything) without total buy-in, without complete commitment.  You cannot serve two masters.  You cannot play two heads against the middle and be successful as a team.  Players cannot have it both ways that particular way in my opinion because there is no accountability when one passes the buck along. My solution is a plan for them to think less and accompliish more. 

WE WILL GO TO CHURCH THIS SPRING

Preaching and mantra-ing aren’t enough says me.  To accomplish anything great as a group there must be faith.  It is faith in one another and belief in doing the work to get somewhere that I seek in this new season. 

JUST SHOOT ME

God also knows we have an incredibly difficult schedule.  It is my intention to prove that “I” did not bite off more than “they” can chew.  First practice is three weeks from yesterday.

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