Sizzle day 2

What a difference a day makes, during the second day of the tournament we went 2-0 against two pretty decent teams. The boys started working together and we started delivering the punishment a bit. Julien Speyers rocked this kid pictured on the ground going after a ground ball, it was completely legal but because the kid was hit so hard the ref decided to throw the flag. The ref couldn't explain the flag, we asked what was illegal but the ref said Julien just ran threw the kid and you just can't do that (it was actually comical) Anyway, everyone really stepped up, Stefan lead our defense and our goalies did pretty good. Jack Winters was rested and had a 4 goal game, I think he was beat yesterday from football and really just wasn't himself. The biggest difference today was our hustle, we went after the ground balls, we rode hard and made a lot less mistakes. The thing that aggravated me so bad yesterday was the lack of effort, we went through the motions, complained about the heat and no one stepped up, today we looked like we wanted to be there and had more desire. We could have won this tournament, instead we finished 3-2 and didn't even get to play in the championship game. Team Georgia and the Copperheads both looked good this weekend, there were some other decent teams but no one was off the charts amazing. Well, we'll take a few weeks off and consider keeping our commitment to the Georgia tournament in August. I've got some younger kids who may deserve a shot to play for BAMALAX and some current players who aren't ready for all-stars and were just content to get the free T-shirt. It's time to separate the men from the boys, they won't be happy and some parents won't be happy but we have to put the best team on the field for our January trip to Tampa and right now this isn't the best team we can assemble from Alabama. I'm glad the kids got along and had fun, that is important and winning isn't everything but when you lose just because you didn't try your hardest then losing really sucks. Next lacrosse event is July 12th when I get to have some fun and play, I'll let you know how we do, should be a blast !

Southern Sizzle day 1

Well, this picture shows pretty much how the whole day felt. After half the team stayed up all night messing around in the hotel and shaving each other's heads, we got our butts kicked. We started the tournament against Team Charlotte and somehow had the ball in the offensive side of the field for 8 minutes and managed one goal. We lost 7-2 which should have been a wake up call but not for this team. We won the second game 16-1 but it was the third game that was most disappointing. Playing an opponent who we should have beaten by 10 goals we managed to embarrass ourselves with a 7-3 loss. This was definitely my worst coaching experience and one of those times that I'm sure all coaches go through that make you wonder why you are wasting your time and if the countless hours of volunteering is really worth it. We did not have one player step up as a leader, none of our scorers went to the goal, we couldn't win a faceoff and our defense completely forgot how to play the body. We have two games tomorrow, we'll see if we can respond but I doubt it, seeing the boys at the pool tonight I don't think the losses effected them and they certainly weren't as embarrassed as I was with our performance. This is a good group of kids, don't get me wrong but there is more off field chemistry than on-field and it's more of a social group than a lacrosse team. It's time to have an open try out and get a different mix of players on the BAMALAX squad. It's also time for me to find another coach to take over because I have to take some of the responsibility for the performance, maybe it is me, maybe I'm too intense and demand too much, whatever the problem is, i know I can't go through a weekend like this again

Random lacrosse thoughts

Well what started out as a blog for me to complain about things like, kids that can't throw and catch, referees that don't let the kids play and parents and coaches who make stupid comments or think their kids are better than they are, has now turned into a blog that lot's of people are reading ! Today I had over 20 visitors and even saw where two people Googled "Coach Cos blog", so, with that being said, I guess I have to be careful about what I say so I don't hurt anyone's feelings or get myself in any trouble (like posting this pic which I randomly found that my wife will certainly not approve of). Anyway, last night we had men's practice which is turning out to be more of a pick up game than an actual practice since half of the people showing up are high school kids. Most of the men in town who are on our team have a hard time making practice but when we are full strength for a game we are pretty darn good. Last night was the first time I ran in over three weeks so needless to say I was really feeling the heat. I'm on a mission to get in shape for our July 12th games against the Magic city alumni who for the most part are older than me except the Worthan brothers who are younger than me and both were All-American's at Hampton Sydney a Divsion III powerhouse. Having Mike Catenacci from Notre Dame, Brooks Neal from Syracuse, Chris DiCicco from Hampton Sydney, Dave Brandt from Ohio Weslyan, Randy Nace from Lynchburg and several others from great schools we have fun and can pretty much match up against anyone. Sometimes we get into tournaments and some teams have ringer players like last year playing Memphis, who had Ryan Ward from Team Canada and some other rediculous middie from Hopkins, pretty much had their way with us. Liam Banks from the San Francisco Dragon's of the MLL has been know to suit up for the Atlanta team and Casey Powell was at another tournament that it goes without saying our Defense had a hard time matching up with. I'm thinking lacrosse is keeping me young, I really don't feel like I'm 41, I haven't found a high school defenseman who can stop me but as they get better and I get older it is getting tougher. I'm not sure if I will keep coaching when I'm 50, I think I want to keep playing and coaching until I'm 45 so I can play in a super masters tournament and then retire but I'm sure when I turn 45 I'll find some other reason to stay involved. Oh, by the way, for those that are reading this and live locally, come to the store and buy something, I need to pay the rent !!!

Getting ready for Charlotte

We had our final practice tonight for BAMALAX's trip to Charlotte this upcoming weekend. Almost all of the BAMALAX players were in the Alabama games last weekend and played at least 5 games, a few even played 6. Other than Haden and Scott trying to talk me into letting the kids just wear helmets and gloves I'd say they all sucked it up and as tired and sore as they may have been it turned out to be a very good practice. I'm looking forward to see how we do. Originally I had the team in the A bracket but learned that team Georgia, the Copperheads, Miami Maikos and Team Charlotte were all in the B division. Right now I'd say we are a B+, we are better than many B's but definitely not an A against teams from Maryland and Philadelphia. We do have some great young talent and the best part is that I'll have some of these players for 2-3 more years ! I'm excited for Charlotte, I think our goaltending is solid with Grant and Jacob and our attack is very tough with Blake and Jack. I've been concerned about our defense but Scott, Chase, Matt and Stefan have been looking great so I feel pretty confident that we will have a great tournament. The boys are coming together as a team, this trip will be fun, they are all getting along really well so if we win some they will end up having a seriously good time. We'll see...

Alabama games end with Thunder win

Well the games started off with the Thunder defeating the Hoyas and the weekend ended with with the same rematch and outcome. The Thunder dominated the Hoyas, BAMALAX's long stick middie, Trey Atkinson scored 2 goals and BAMALAX middie "Salty" had at least 4 goals that I saw, he may have had more ! What a great weekend of the lacrosse, the feedback has been tremendous, everything went smoothly and the volunteers were fantastic. The kids played their butts off, I was proud of all of them and I really saw some talent out on the field I just hope they continue to work hard during the off-season so we can continue to get better as a group. The Mississippi people were great and although the we had the one negative parent (the one who didn't want his superstar attack son playing midfield) everything was great and as a group Mississippi players and parents had a blast. It will continue to puzzle me why someone who has been around the game for awhile couldn't understand the "team" concept but I'm not going to let it bother me, the other 119 kids had a great time and that's all that matters ! Now that this weekend is behind us it is time to get serious about Charlotte. We leave for Charlotte on Friday and play our first game against Team Charlotte Saturday morning. The boys got a good work out this weekend, I think it was good for them to feel the heat to know what to expect next weekend. Well, it's time for me to take my lax hat off and spend time with the family - I'm out of here for now ....

Alabama games first day huge success

Well, I'm nursing a little sun burn but overall the inaugural Alabama lacrosse games was a huge success. The first day saw 6 very evenly matched teams battle in the heat with the Thunder coming out as the #1 seed earning a bye along with team Snakes Eyes. There was some great lacrosse played, some teams took a little longer to get to know each other but it seemed like every team was competitive and all the players received equal playing time and I'm sure will sleep well tonight. Unbelievably we received one complaint from a parent who after his son , who typically plays attack, was asked to help out and run midfield decided his son was too good to run midfield and pulled his son and his carpooling buddy out of the games. The "superstar" attackman had not scored in the first game when he played almost the whole game on attack. I'm sure his lack of offensive output was the fault of everyone around him and by no way could have been caused by his son's lack of skills or lack of mobility. Over the weekend each team will play 5-6 games but after only two, this parent felt his son's talents were not being recognized and he was not going to stand to allow his son to run up and down the field and be a team player and contribute from midfield. Well, the old saying, "you can't please everyone" is probably applicable here but is it really applicable when the person who is not pleased is 110% wrong ??!! Each team in the games had about 18 players, everyone was short on substitutes, I saw defenders playing attack, midfielders with long poles, the spirit of the games was to have fun as a "team", I can't stand people who don't get it and only care about themselves. I'm glad the parent left, wish the kids would have stayed though, the one who was the innocent one who was dragged into the situation because he carpooled was a pretty decent player and his departure left his team short handed. Amazingly, the team with only 3 subs was able to play to a 6-6 tie with the #1 seed - guess the TEAM really didn't need him anyway. Tomorrow we pick back up at 10AM, the boys will be tired but the medal games will get them fired up I'm sure !

Busy weekend of lacrosse

Taking a breather from work and collecting my thoughts for the upcoming weekend which is sure to be a good one. Brye French, Hoover and Bamalax's All-american is in Chicago competing in the National senior showcase. We sure are going to miss Brye when he heads to he Naval academy later this summer, I can't wait to hear how he does in Chicago, I'm sure he will be his usual dominating self, I'll update when I hear from him. Also this weekend we have the Alabama games, I'm heading to the fields to line them with Mark Goska and Scott Smith, it's funny because as many people that are involved in lacrosse here in Alabama there are a few of us who always seem to be in the middle of volunteering to get things done. Mark and Scott can always be counted on as can Tom Lewis, Jim Merritt and a several others, our kids are lucky to have these guys and probably don't even know it. The games will be a good start to something that can really grow to a large event in upcoming years. There will be 6 high school boys teams which is a perfect amount for a good tournament. Next year I'll look to include younger kids and girls. Well, time to get back to work, wish lacrosse can pay the bills but we're a few years from that happening !

It's hot out there but we have cool new Brine heads in stock !

Well, it's Monday and it's close to 95 degrees ! We have BAMALAX practice tonight, I hope we have a good turn out considering we have BSC camp going on and most of the Mountain Brook kids are at UVA camp. I'm pretty beat, I know the kids will be dragging tonight, we have less than two weeks until Charlotte so we really need a good practice. Summer is a weird time for lax but for us hardcore laxers nothing changes, we still have practice, board meetings, clinics, camps and I still need to sell stuff to keep the store successful but for the casual laxer, things like football, the beach and hanging out with buddies take precedence over lax. When I first started coaching I couldn't understand the "part-time" mentality but I've learned to somewhat tolerate it and focus my efforts and energy on those that take it serious. It still drives me crazy when I see a player who has the physical skills and has potential and just doesn't work hard. To me, what is the point ? My feeling is if you are going to do something you do it 110% and compete at the highest level possible. In high school I worked my butt off for football and lacrosse and always saw those two sports as a vehicle to get to college. Looking back I think part of my motivation was knowing that my family couldn't afford to send me to college so if I wanted to go I needed to make sure lacrosse or football made it happen. I'm glad most of my players have more options than I did but I think it hurts the competitive edge when you can go through life knowing mom and dad will take care of you. Well, it's time to finish up work for the day and get ready for practice, I'll let you know how it goes !

Rainy day videos

Yorktown HS VS John Jay - New York
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1cyzlk_Cbs
New York state championship highlights
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9UKUO8o2Ozo
USA U19 Lacrosse
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VcV2nEBlgjM&feature=related
2007 Under Armour underclassman game
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eveCyOfY9J4&feature=related
Awesome Mikey Powell goal
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D18BVqCvVZE&feature=related

Summer lacrosse heating up

Lot's of lacrosse going on in June here in Alabama. BAMALAX all-star practice is underway getting ready for the Southern sizzle in Charlotte, June 27-28th, Birmingham Southern camp starts this Sunday and goes through Wednesday. Then the Alabama games will take place the weekend of the 21-22nd. Lacrosse has become a big part of many of our player's lives and have even taken over summer vacation plans for some. Several of our players have at least two camps they are attending, multiple tournaments and for some even a National tournament in Maryland. With this much lacrosse the only thing you can do is take a couple days off of work and build your family vacations around the lacrosse destinations. My family has become accustomed to enjoying the areas where we have lacrosse. During the regular season we typically go to Memphis and Atlanta and then during the Summer we always hit, Nashville, Memphis, Atlanta and Ashville, NC with men's tournaments and this year we will all head to Charlotte as well and possibly Maryland. I'm pretty fortunate to have an understanding family that knows lacrosse is a big part of my life and something I feel very passionate about. Sometimes lax starts to get on every one's nerves but overall I think we do a good job of balancing our lives and still manage to spend plenty of time together. Well, time to get back to my Alabama games responsibilities, I volunteered to be the commissioner and I'm finalizing all the details this weekend. The teams have been randomly selected separating everyone by position, age and skill and we have created 6 teams with the 117 registered players. We've got the 6 coaches locked in, the game schedule is complete, I've got about 7 referees committed and now I just need to get all this paperwork with checks to the Alabama games committee. I'm pretty excited about the games, I think the kids will have fun, I hope the weather is not too hot because I can't stand complainers ! Anyway, still have some last minute things to do like order reversibles, line fields and get timekeepers for each game but things have really come together over the past two weeks, I think it's going to be a great event !

Inner city lax

Heard a story today that was both heart warming and disturbing all at the same time. Hayes HS started a program this year and as some of you know, I donated goals and balls and worked with GAIT to provide the school with almost $8,000 of equipment for free. My Magic City teammate, Judge Dee Lawley coached the team and was assisted by a wonderful leader and role model, the school's assistant Principal, Yancy Williams. Anyway, the school was slated to be closed but Yancy saw lacrosse as an opportunity to give 20 athletes a chance to do something to stay off the streets and out of trouble. The Mountain Brook team also donated T-shirts and visited a practice to help the team out and team administrator Ralph Yeilding was invited to the team's end of year banquet that was paid for and sponsored by Alabama Power. Ralph told me today that over 80 people were in attendance celebrating Hayes inaugural season. Ralph shared with me that Yancy had each player prepare a speech to talk about what the lacrosse season has meant to them, their goalie, Jesse's assignment was to speak about the history of the sport and one of the other player's discussed the rules. Ralph said it was a great evening and each player received a trophy for their participation. The Hayes story is the heartwarming part knowing that lacrosse has brought these 20 young men together to compete, have fun and do something unique to their city. Hayes has closed and all the players will attend Carver HS where they plan to continue the program, Yancy is now at Ramsey HS and hopes to duplicate his Hayes success and the Principal has not been placed yet but promises to start lacrosse wherever he ends up. The sad part about this great story is that the only acknowledgement from our head of the Alabama high school athletic association, Mr. Savarese took it upon himself to call the Principal and warn him not to call himself Hayes HS lacrosse because they are not sanctioned and are only a club sport not affiliated with the school district. The disgusting part of this is that many of our administrators are not seeing the big picture, what would Mr. Savarese prefer these 20 kids to do after school ? What would some of our athletic directors who don't support us prefer our 40-50 student athletes do with their time when they get cut from baseball or don't grow enough to play football ? It was always my understanding that our teachers and administrators should do whatever possible to help our kids have better lives and to create opportunities for college, build self-esteem and most of all, keep them out of trouble. Lacrosse is booming everywhere, it's fun, builds camaraderie and is addictive in a good way, let's hope we find more people like Yancy to help fight the fight that we continue to battle. Amazingly, as I type this, a lacrosse story just popped up on the Disney channel about an inner city lacrosse program....holy cow, what a coincidence, I recorded it and posted it on You tube, check it out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sc_SerIu4SE pretty cool, hopefully Mr. Savarese saw it !

BAMALAX on NDP web site

This morning I was just clicking on the NDP web site, http://www.ndplacrosse.com/ to check the dates for the January tournament and was pleasantly surprised to see the BAMALAX team showcased on the front page of the site ! The pressure is really on us to improve before we head to Charlotte, the team pictured here won't be the same team that plays in the Southern Sizzle, almost half of the players in the photo have graduated including All-American's Brye French and Jeremy Sherman. Probably even more concerning is that we are losing 4 defensemen and our starting goalie, Bryan Simkanich. Well, the young guns need to step up, attack is solid with Jack Winters, Blake and Brayden French and we have John Somerall facing off but we definitely have some improving to do to keep up with the hype we have created .