Friday, March 6, 2009

Until last Sunday I had not missed one game in fourteen years as Colorado State Head lacrosse coach.  Wait, I missed one for my nephew’s Bar Mitzvah once, a game we won by more than twenty goals, and I think Mark Plonkey (long stick) had two goals in that one.  I’m pretty sure they didn’t need any kind of coach that day.  I also missed one trip to Utah when I was suspended for shoveling snow off of our lacrosse field so we could practice back in 2002 or 2003.  Even then, though, the BYU game they played without me present was on TV and I did some coaching via the cell phone, which was nerve racking but kind of fun, too.  Anyway, I probably can only begin to describe how hard that was for me last Sunday.

I AM NOT ALAN IVERSON

In fact when I think more about it all, one could surely count the number of practices I have missed on one hand.  There is no practice that is less important than a game almost, unless it is taking place in a parking lot somewhere.

CSU 10,  BOSTON COLLEGE 8

The boys did fine without me, handling B.C. in our first home game.  Only it really was a game that took place about 20 miles from the CSU campus.

INJURED OR HURT?

I know the team is handling this in a good way.  We have always sort of had the philosophy that if a player goes down, then the next one in line steps up and the team goes on and goes about its business as usual.  That is what I expect to happen here.  When a [layer is hurt he plays through it if he is able, but when he is injured I have always preached to them to come back the right way, and never to get in the fracas again until they are sound and ready to play.  I guess that is how I am looking at and treating this situation and my absence.

RAMROCK

There is no doubt that now was a bad time for me to go on sabbatical, and timing is everything, but now is the time that I need the time to do several different things that I have neglected recently or not so recently and now is unfortunately the ‘when’ of it.  I am sorry that I felt I had to make that decision, but the current issues leave me with a sense of urgency that those things I need to do need to be done right now.

The truth is that life is in place for the team.  We have a great schedule, the travel plans are made and confirmed, and I have two excellent assistants that I have been ‘grooming’ for most of the past ten years.  Alex and Kale can get the job done. That is if Alex takes it easy on the referees and doesn’t get too many yellow flags thrown his way.  They know what to do and what to say because we are a program built over the years and built to withstand controversy as well as tough times.  We do not start from scratch each year.  We continue and hopefully grow as time goes by. 

MONEY ISN’T EVERYTHING, BUT IT CAN HELP

Over these last 14 years I have put my heart, soul, and yes, wallet into building something that people could call a program.  What we have is special. We have done this (program).  There is a steady flow of players that want to come and be part of the ‘family’.  When we won our first championship in 1999 it cost me personally a lot of my own funds because otherwise we wouldn’t have been able to travel, etc. and do the things necessary to even have the opportunity.  I have thrown money at the program for years and even now I throw down for things, but the economics of America today have made that something I can no longer do.  Now I just want to pay the rent (mortgage). 

We do have an endowment now, however, and that is thanks to several of our most fantastic, program loving alumni.  I hope they haven’t invested  that money in the market…..

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