Burn the tape
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- April
- 8
This photo was not taken from today’s Yorktown-Rye game. This is the type of emotion Yorktown needs when it plays St. Anthony’s (LI) on Thursday. OK, OK. If you want to see some pics from today’s game, just click on the “Recent photos” link on the right side of the page. (Dave Kennedy/Journal News file photo).
• For video highlights click here
The only thing good about the Yorktown-Rye game today, a 6-3 Yorktown win, was that both teams gave an honest assesment of how bad the game was. They didn’t go halfway and minimize it, and that’s important.
Every team is entitled to a lousy performance but what was striking about this game was how little each team seemed to be motivated. It’s anyone’s guess as to why that was. Lacrosse players usually are pretty excited to play.
Let’s start with Yorktown. I’m not sure this team totally believes in itself. By that, I mean, I’m not sure if they really believe they can be a great team. They know they’re good. They’re always good. Yorktown wants to be better than good.
I asked Dave Marr whether the mystique of Yorktown had gone away after last year, when it lost 10 games. Was its confidence shaken?
Marr said he didn’t think so, and that the mystique of Yorktown never had to do with the “Yorktown” name but rather just that it always produced high-quality players. Interesting.
I just didn’t get the sense Yorktown really believed in itself today. Players were unsure of when they were supposed to run on the field, what their assignments were, and they were hesitant overall.
Yorktown still has a lot of talent, and it’s very early. Perhaps this game—which was a win—will get them going.
On to Rye, it’s tough to really evaluate a Class C team going on the road against a Class A power. Rye played solid defense, kept it close, and fought back after trailing 4-0 early. Offensively, Rye really struggled. There was limited movement and shots were for the most part taken from far away and easily stopped.
Rye’s program has come a long way though, and it’s important not to lose sight of that.
“We used to come to Yorktown hoping to keep it close. Now we come trying to win,” said Rye’s coach Brian Dooley, himself a 1996 Yorktown graduate.
I’d be surprised if both teams don’t have intense practices on Wednesday. They’re winning programs that can’t be satisfied with what they did today.
Time to move on.
This entry was posted
on Tuesday, April 8th, 2008 at 10:23 pm by Jeff Gold.
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Good assessment. If Town can't get up in practice for St. Anthony's and then bring it when the teams play Thursday something is seriously wrong. I suspect they'll be ready. They may not win, but they'll give a max effort.