Lacrosse Culture and Dedication Finally Yields Results
The Boys Lacrosse Team Promises Success on Their Way to the Playoffs
June 5, 2019
The CRLS Boys Varsity Lacrosse team and its athletes’ dedication have finally seen success after years of failing to make the playoffs. After beginning the season on a five game win streak, the team’s record is sitting at 8-7 as of May 27th, and the team qualified for states for the first time under Coach Thomas Goldman. With a significant portion of the team made up of seniors and a strong bench, the conditions are perfect for a postseason run.
However, Goldman and the team’s strong leadership believe that the focus should not be put on the number of wins and losses, but rather on executing each play to perfection no matter the situation. In order to emphasize this idea, Goldman asks that players not talk about their team’s record, adding that by “tak[ing] everything one practice at a time, one game at a time … [and] focus[ing] on the little things, the big picture will work itself out.”
Goldman also says that the team’s success is in large part thanks to senior leadership, including captains Ben Hicks and Peter Fulweiler. A proponent of player responsibility, Goldman stated that the newfound success “can really be credited to a culture that the seniors are leading” and the dedication put forth by the athletes.
Hicks agreed with Goldman, defining this positive culture as “everybody [being present] to get better and to help others get better” and a sense of brotherhood and commitment. Hicks added that their record “doesn’t mean anything until the season is over” and that it has no bearing on the team’s improvement and evolution.
As the team battles through a difficult conference and division with teams full of experienced players, such as Westford Academy and Wayland High School, the brotherhood seen on the team allows for results to stay positive. Many of the players on the varsity team and in the program first picked up the lacrosse stick in their freshman or sophomore year—or, in some rare cases, in their senior year due to its perceived accessibility and, according to Hicks, Goldman’s efforts in “promoting [their] program” in school. This lack of experience has clearly been offset by the culture that has been cultivated by seniors and their dedication since Goldman’s hire three years ago.
And now, after a few years of difficult training brought by Goldman and his coaching style—Saturday practices at 8:30 in the morning, high standards for attendance—the goals of success are finally being realized.
After many years of difficult seasons and losing records, this year’s team and their playoffs accomplishment is one to be recognized, but the team is still hungry for even greater postseason success.
This piece also appears in our May 2019 print edition.
