With the loss of many seniors, the Tritons head into their spring season with limited overall experience.
While the Tritons may not have many players with lacrosse experience, there does appear to be a core group of players willing to assume larger roles sooner than later than anticipated.
“I don’t know if I’ve ever seen so many guys that wanted to step up,” said senior goalkeeper Henry Tressler. “I think that’s why everyone is more motivated this year.”
Those changes are evident almost immediately in practice, with returning players being called to take on reps previously taken by veteran players.
Also, new players are now being tasked with leading teammates in ways they never were before.
One area where those changes are most notable is in faceoffs.
“That’s the biggest difference this year,” said Tressler. “Alex Ciak and Ayden Biskner are taking that role now, and they are utterly dominant at it.”
The significance of this particular position is magnified because of the fact that it was one of the few areas where the Tritons didn’t lose any players due to graduation.
Ciak, a senior midfielder, recognizes that the team faces a new dynamic this year.
“It is a different type of feeling going into your senior year knowing it’s your last chance to play with the guys,” said Ciak. “That brings good energy amongst this class, and we are all trying to enjoy it as much as possible while maintaining focus.”
This year isn’t simply about the outcome at the end; it’s about competing for something with stakes being higher than ever.
“Personally, I would like to hit 100 points this season. I had 70 coming into this year,” said Ciak. “But the main goal is to compete against these tough teams and keep getting better every week.”
A three-sport athlete at NDA, Ciak intends on playing lacrosse alongside football at North Central in Illinois, but he played basketball as well and when asked how to mentally switch from one sport to another, Ciak said, “Really just a lot of preparation, as your roles in each respective team will likely be different.”
In terms of preparation, those dynamics were also reflected in the work done during the off season.
“The conditioning most definitely matters. Jumping right from basketball to lacrosse is not an easy task physically,” said Ciak. “But being in good basketball shape and condition definitely helps.”
In addition to playing summer and box lacrosse, players were spending time in the weight room getting ready for the season.
However in recent weeks, as games get started, the focus has shifted to developing fundamental skills.
“Our stick skills need to be better,” Tressler stated. “If we can develop that skill set, then it can help separate us.”
According to Tressler, Head Coach “Salty” has approached the situation very directly–eliminate mistakes and allow players to simply go out and play.
“He wants us to play our way,” said Tressler. “However, we still have to be accurate with our fundamentals.”
At times, the lack of experience is noticeable, especially in the early season.
However, the Tritons are not attempting to hide that reality. Instead, they’re working together to win games by focusing on doing all the little things correctly, such as getting the ball moved downfield quickly or communicating effectively both individually and collectively as a unit and remaining organized defensively.
“There are probably going to be a number of other teams that have more experienced players than we do,” said Tressler. “Therefore, we have to come up with creative ways to beat them.”
That type of mentality defines what success means for this year’s lacrosse season.
“To finish with a winning record and make a playoff push,” said Tressler.
‘This team is tight,” added Ciak. “Regardless of what happens, we’ll always be open to compete.”
