We swept the field in the preliminary rounds and faced a Canadian team in the championship game that we had previously beaten 28-4. That score was an aberration. This was a Canadian team that included Dave Huntley, Mike French, Stan Cockerton, Johnny Mouradian, Jim Calder, John Grant Sr. and N.C. State’s goalie, Bob Flintoff. We were down 8-4 at the end of the first quarter, but fought back to put ourselves up two with about three minutes left. I knocked a ball down in our defensive end, picked it up and headed up the field. If I had pulled it out and just thrown it to Eamon McEneaney or Tom Postel, we would have buried the game right there. Instead, in my haste, the defense froze, I charged down the middle of the field and clanged the ball off the crossbar. The rebound found its way back to the midfield line. A Canadian attackman picked it up and scored. Canada won the ensuing faceoff, scored again and then won the game on an extra-man goal in overtime. It was devastating to have my most glorious achievement distinguished by a mental mistake that may have cost us the championship. While the result was a harbinger of Canada’s potential in the field game, the residual effect was one of the great lessons for a young coach. There are times when we feel like these players are not listening to us. Why don’t they do what we ask? Why are they trying to hurt me? It actually feels personal. When I have those thoughts, I remember back to a young defenseman who worked so hard to get it right and was still capable of a mental error at the most inopportune time. That mistake turned out to be one of my greatest gifts to all the young men I have coached during these past 42 years. It taught me patience, the most important quality for any coach.
— DOM STARSIA, 1978 U.S. MEN’S TEAM
Dom Starsia, a National Lacrosse Hall of Fame coach, compiled 375 wins in 34 seasons at Brown and Virginia, leading the Cavaliers to four NCAA championships. He was a two-time All-American defenseman at Brown and played for the U.S. team in 1978.
TRUST THE POCKET
“For goalkeepers who have trouble rebounding
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the ball, a men’s field stick is a great way to help them learn to develop soft hands. They learn to trust the pocket.”
— JESS WILK, FOUR-TIME U.S. WORLD CUP GOALIE AND CURRENT ASSISTANT
February 2017 US LACROSSE MAGAZINE 57
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