[
FROM THE EDITOR
] Special Times
Anyone who wants to get rid of faceoffs wasn’t watching championship weekend
Less than three days after my firstborn son vacated the cozy confines of the womb and entered this mad, mad world, I received an 8:50 a.m. call from Lacrosse Magazine writer Gary Lambrecht. “Hudson Matthew DaSilva,
huh?” “Yes sir,” I replied. It was all I could muster after a sleepless night filled with wailing.
“Sounds like a faceoff guy, or maybe a goalie,” Gary joked.
And for a moment, I actually fancied the idea of this little ball of wonder strapping on pads to play lacrosse. Then came more wailing. The kid has got serious pipes.
PUBLICATION
Managing Director of Communications Bill Rubacky Director of Communications Brian Logue Editor Matt DaSilva ( @mdasilva15) Assistant Editors Clare Lochary (
,
Corey McLaughlin ( Art Director Gabriella Ferraro O’Brien Graphic Design Manager Heather Wallace
Staff Writers TJ Buchanan, Lucia Clark, Jac Coyne, Lane Errington, Emily Gibson, Paul Krome, Charlie Obermayer, Paul Ohanian, Bill Tanton
Advertising Sales Manager Rebekah Sweeney Advertising Sales Associate Dana Verona Chief Photographer Kevin P. Tucker Staff Photographer John Strohsacker
LaxMagazine.com Editor Corey McLaughlin
LaxMagazine.com Asst. Editor Jac Coyne (
4 LACROSSE MAGAZINE July 2013>>
Being a father already has proven to be the hardest job I’ve ever had in life. It makes putting out an 80-page magazine seem like tiddlywinks. But I could understand the premature bemusement with the idea of being a lax dad.
I also could understand
why Gary might have been preoccupied with the idea of a future faceoff man. He had just turned in a terrific story on Brendan Fowler, the one- time Duke lacrosse walk-on who put on a performance for the ages to lead the Blue Devils to their second NCAA Division I championship in May.
When coaches next debate the necessity of faceoffs in lacrosse — or the merits of marginalizing it due to pace-of-play issues and the perceived culture of cheating at the “X” — they should remember the 2013 NCAA tournament. Not only did Fowler’s gem propel the Blue Devils past Syracuse, a team that made it to the NCAA final despite its faceoff woes, but we also witnessed Kevin Massa’s 22-for-23 masterpiece for Bryant in a near-upset of Syracuse in the first round.
Both Massa and Fowler surpassed Delaware’s Alex Smith (2007) in a chase for the single-season record for faceoffs won. Fowler, a junior, finished on top with 339 and also set the NCAA record for faceoffs taken (526) in a season. Massa, a sophomore, set the NCAA single-season mark for ground balls (231). It’s enough to make you wonder why on earth anyone would want to get rid of faceoffs. Furman and Team USA coach Richie Meade says the NCAA rules committee and, consequently, college coaches get bogged down every two years with adjustments to faceoffs, including the 2012 hullaballoo over the motorcycle grip and the distance between faceoff men. “We go on and on and on to fix every other thing that happens, where you stick your finger in the socket and something else is a result,” said Meade, who also believes faceoffs slow down the game, likening them to jump balls after every score in basketball. “We
should look very seriously at [eliminating faceoffs]. Not emotionally.”
Meade has a point. But count me in Stevenson coach Paul Cantabene’s camp. Cantabene, one of the all-time faceoff greats who just led the Mustangs to their first NCAA Division III championship (see page 48), says a good faceoff battle can be the most exciting part of a game. He also contends faceoffs provide opportunities for college players who don’t need to be 6-foot-5 or 250 pounds to succeed. Fowler is considered big for a faceoff guy at 6 feet, 210 pounds. Massa is the same height, but 25 pounds lighter. “Some people just don’t want to take the time to coach it to do it right. It’s led to a lot of coaches taking shortcuts,” Cantabene said. “That has really brought the faceoff into peril, when it’s supposed to be a great aspect of our game.” Faceoff men have evolved into a sort of subculture in lacrosse. They are cerebral athletes devoted exclusively to one skill. Heck, even my 4-year-old nephew JP gets it. Playing backyard lacrosse Memorial Day weekend — we were waiting on Hudson — he took the ball to the center of the yard after each goal, crouched down and screamed, “Tweet!”
JP creamed me. Unofficial score: 14-5.
Maybe we’ll have a whole family of faceoff guys. LM
— Matt DaSilva
mdasilva@uslacrosse.org A Publication of US Lacrosse
©JOHN STROHSACKER
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