I would like to clarify something that has bothered me for the past few days. As a blogger, I primarily come here to read the different comments. I rarely post anything but if I do, it is always under my name and it is always positive.

My family have been avid supporters of Yorktown lacrosse with my wife organizing the fund raiser for the past few years.

I believe our dedication and support for the team and the coaches does not merit questioning or skepticism.

If you really believe Jay would beat Rye 9 out of 10 times, remind me not to bring with you with me to Vegas any time soon.

Congratulations on your 2003 state title. I concur that all 35 players must bring it to every practice and every game. If they do not, they should be watching the boys who do.

It should apply to each player equally.

Here are some facts.

I am a Husker fan and supporter – full stop.

The education and talent of the YHS coaches was not challenged. I merely differ in opinion on their inconsistent application of substituting some, not all, players who make errors and the learning from those errors.

The youth level (YAC) is coached by volunteers who are not the YHS varsity coaches. The youth exposure to the YHS varsity coaches either comes through a summer camp or in a classroom where they would be a teacher.

Lastly, the treating like family impression that you have might be your personal experience or even hearsay. I know of many instances where the boys have been emotionally drained and defeated without knowing specifically why they ended up at the end of the bench or with little playing time. Some of these boys have totally dedicated themselves to the sport and bleed Husker green and deserve better.

Thank goodness I am not dealing with this currently.

Rye fans congrats on the win …. hard work and playing together as one has payed off enjoy you folks in Rye deserve it …to the Jay fans it's not the end you know you will bounce back …it had to end some time … this is what makes sports the best … my saying is on any given day!!!!!... so for the up coming games and other teams in C div remember on any given day ..play it hard

Last year's team, admittedly a down year during the regular season, seemed to focus on the seniors and stick with them through good games as well as awful games. They were rarely substituted for – even if they were not playing particularly well. During the season, it was a painful process with the Huskers losing to teams that they had never lost to in their fabled history. However, the boys put it together by season's end and made a great run. I guess they bonded through the consistent coaching philosophy that they would play through it and learn from it together.

This year's team seems more helter-skelter in that many of the players (seniors and underclassmen) are on a very short leash. This has been evident on attack, defense and d-middie. Interestingly, this "short leash" seems to be used inconsistently as some players seem to get taken out after a mistake while others make several errors yet remain on the field for the entire game.

This year's team is very inconsistent despite an impressive won-loss record. You never know which Yorktown team is going to show up – the one which handily beat Chaminade and Saint Anthony's or the one that was trounced by Ward Melville and Darien. This inconsistency parallels the manner in which the boys are treated (coached). Apply the same standards and expectations to every player on the team, make these very clear to each and every player, explicitly communicate the consequences for failing to meet these standards and expectations and let them take the field. I am sure that the results in this scenario would be much more consistent.

Being a former coach, I considered myself a failure if I removed a player from a game and he was not fully aware of the reason. Furthermore, I would discuss with that player what he needed to do to correct the flaw and put him back on the field to see if he got it. He would not remain on the sideline until the next game or until the last few minutes of that game at which point the connection between his error and the adjustment discussed is ancient history.

Although I am a Husker fan, I think if this inconsistent "short leash" mentality persists, this team will not make the run they made a year ago.

Anyway, thanks for all your contributions. You're a legend.

correct me if i'm wrong but believe that should say"...game last year, won by john jay 11-10…" not huntington

Very fair assessment. I wish I had been there …

Programming note: You got a typo toward the bottom. Obviously you, I and everyone else knows John Jay won 11-10 over Huntington. Stop drinking at work, man.