Mountain Hawks wrap up first half of fall season
10/24/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Lacrosse
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The Mountain Hawks first segment of their fall season consisted of 21 practice sessions in which they focused on what Cassese called “the big picture items.” “We put in the new system as best we could,” Cassese explained. “In the first two weeks it was a learning stage with information overload on the kids. The next two weeks things started to click and we could see that the guys were beginning to grasp everything being thrown at them.” He continued, “Then in the last week we reviewed everything and began our preparation for our fall tournament. The kids worked extremely hard throughout and overall the five weeks were a success in getting our team to play the way we want them to, and that’s fast.”
On Saturday, October 6 Lehigh headed to Long Island to compete in a one-day three-team tournament with host Stony Brook as well as
As Lehigh moves into the next phase of its fall workouts, Cassese said that the Mountain Hawks’ focus will be in two main areas, including individual skill development and improving the team’s overall athleticism.
Cassese has enjoyed working with his new team, but understands there is much left to do before the season opener in February. “It’s pretty obvious to me that the students, administration, faculty, and support staff at Lehigh want to be successful and strive to attain the highest level possible. That strong level of commitment has made my job easier and enjoyable.”
Cassese is not the only one getting adjusted to his new surroundings, as 12 newcomers, including ten freshmen and two walk ons are also getting their feet wet.
Freshman Nick Andlinger talks about the transition to Division I lacrosse. “The toughest thing about making the transition to Division I lacrosse is the speed of the game. Everybody is big and strong and there are no weak links on the team. Everything we do is at full speed. It is also hard going from the best player in your high school to just being average.”
Andlinger then went onto to talk about what the team was hoping to accomplish in the fall season. “Our main focus of the fall was to learn the new systems and plays that the coaches taught us. Our high paced practices got the team ready for the scrimmages and taught us to think on the spot and respond well in game situations.” He concluded, “The main thing we need to work on for the spring is team chemistry. We need to learn which players do what well and player tendencies. This will come in the second half of the fall and in the early season.”
