Strength, Speed and Success
Hands hip-width apart. I use the motorcycle grip. It gives you more leverage if you’re trying to clamp. You can get a little more power behind it.
Elbows tight and low to the ground.
Getting on my knee keeps me low to the ground. You want to be as low as you can, with a fl at back.
Brendan Fowler, Duke’s prolifi c faceoff man and NCAA tourney MVP, shows how to tilt possessions in your favor
>> WHAT I DO
HIT THE WEIGHTS
The weight room is really important. Being strong is a big part of being a faceoff guy. Most guys who are successful are physical, strong guys. Working out a lot is going to big a part of being a good faceoff guy.
FOCUS ON NO. 1
I’ll watch some fi lm on opponents, but I try to focus on myself as much as I can. I usually can feel guys out throughout the game. I want to have an idea of what they do, by watching fi lm, but I don’t want to get too in-depth and watch a ton and get all crazy. I’ll get an idea of what he does and go from there.
Facing off is something that you have to do every day. It takes reps.
PRACTICE MY CRAFT
You can’t just show up and face off on Saturday. Even if I go home and don’t face off for a little bit, I start to lose it. It has to be an everyday thing. It doesn’t have to be long; it can be 15 minutes a day. In the offseason, I’ve worked with Matt Schomburg of FOGO Lax.
MY HARDEST
Hand speed and strength both are important. You can get it out quick with speed, but if you’re in there for a long time, you have to out-muscle guys to win.
FACEOFF The opener in the fi rst quarter. As the game goes on, I get way more comfortable. If you lose the fi rst couple, don’t freak out. You need to get a feel for the other guy, for how the refs are calling it. There are tons of variables.
MY MULTI-
SPORT PITCH I played football at Duke the last
three years, but this year I got a lacrosse scholarship. If you have a scholarship in one sport, you’re not eligible for another. Football hasn’t used all 85 scholarships in the past, but they did this year, so I didn’t have a spot. I also wrestled at Chaminade (N.Y.). If I could it work out next year at Duke, it would be cool to do. My wrestling background helps me as a faceoff guy with balance and awkward positions.
>> MY HEROES
My dad and all of my uncles were in the fi re department. My one uncle is a captain at F.D.N.Y. Rescue 2 (Brooklyn). I look up to those guys. My dad tells me nothing good ever happens without hard work. You get out of it what you put into it.
— compiled by Corey McLaughlin A Publication of US Lacrosse November 2013 >> LACROSSE MAGAZINE 63
©KEVIN TUCKER (BF); ©FDNY RESCUE 2
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