Inside the November Issue of LM
COVER STORY
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| Lacrosse Magazine: November 2010 |
When John Ortolani roars up to the gym in a bright yellow Yamaha motorcycle with a lacrosse stick strapped to his back, it's clear he's no ordinary laxer.
"I'm here six hours a day," said Ortolani, gesturing around the gym. "And I'm tired for five of them."
Wearing himself out suits the Boston Blazers' and Boston Cannons faceoff specialist just fine. Ortolani thrives on one-on-one competition.
"If I screw up, it's on me. If I do good, that's on me too," he said.
That attitude drove Ortolani to win nearly 70 percent of his faceoffs during his last two seasons at Endicott (Mass.) College, and to make his way into both the NLL and MLL. It's also why he's training to go pro in mixed martial arts.
Ortolani kicks off the return of Lacrosse Magazine's "Gym Rats" in the November issue, jam packed with 40-plus fitness and training tips for lacrosse players.
SCOOP
Cal Cuts Lax
Citing a statewide budget crisis, the University of
California-Berkeley athletic department announced in late September
that it would cut five sports, including women's lacrosse, after
this academic year.
Lifestyles: Ben Quayle
If it's possible for the son of former Vice President Dan Quayle
to enjoy some anonymity, Ben Quayle may have had that when he
walked on to the Duke men's lacrosse team in 1995.
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ZIP IT: 40207
Thanks to visionary Scott Howe and booming Division I programs at
Bellarmine and Louisville (at right), lacrosse has a good foothold
in Kentucky.
USL News & Notes: Women's Rule Changes
Approved
US Lacrosse has increased the severity and accountability for
major fouls for players, coaches and teams in its latest rule
changes for high school, WDIA and youth play.
SIDELINE CHATTER
LM's Question of the Month: What inspires you when
working out?
Writes Clara Bissell of Naples, Fla: "That one girl on
that one team that we play once a season. She may
not know it, but her butt is the one I'm after, and I'll be damned
if I don't get it." You?
OFF THE FIELD
DJ Hessler, Tufts
DJ Hessler is hard to catch on the field -- he broke his own
school record last season, putting up 91 points and leading Tufts
to its first NCAA title in any sport. But he recently caught up
with LM at the house he shares with seven teammates in Somerville,
Mass., to talk about science, sports and why his school mascot is
named after a dead elephant.
RECRUITING U
Camp Stories
What's a parent to do? Your child is a budding star -- or at least
a good player hoping to become a star or just an average player
looking to improve -- and you're desparately searching for a summer
camp that will help your kid hone current skills and acquire new
ones. The provlem is that finding the right camp, depending on a
child's age, skill level and work ethic, can be a crapshoot. That
is, unless you do you homework and use common sense.
FEATURES
Pointing the Way
Three games into the Denver Bandits' season, Scott Goettelman
needed some help. So he leaned on an old friend: the US Lacrosse
Coaching Education Program Level 2 curriculum. "I basically started
over at square one," he said.
Gym Rats: Corcoran Downey
What's Down Is Up -- Chin-Ups, Inverted Row, One-Legged
Squats
Midfielder Corcoran Downey arrived at Boston University never
having done any methodical strength training. Four years later,
Terriers coach Liz Robertshaw calls Downey's fitness "kinda
unreal." The senior captain has both the biceps and accolades to
prove it.
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Gym Rats: Kory Kelly
Knight Moves -- One-Arm Dumbbell Row, Reverse Grip Bench Press,
Hammer Curls
Kory Kelly was a lanky, 6-foot-3, 195-pounder when he blew out his
right knee in the first game of his junior season at South
Brunswick (N.J.) High School. As he underwent rehab, Kelly (at
right) couldn't perform lower body weightlifting workouts. But he
did find plenty of time to work on upper body strength. Witness the
6-foot-5, 225-pound behemoth at Rutgers today.
Gym Rats: Haley Smith
Small Packages -- Kettlebell Swings, Roman Chair Sit-Up,
Squats
At 5-foot-2, Massachusetts women's lacrosse player Haley Smith is
one of the Minutewomen's smallest players. However, her size makes
her an ideal person for this issue of "Gym Rats" series because of
how much muscle she packs into her legs and arms.
Gym Rats: John Ortolani
Mix Master -- Shadowboxing, Superman
Aspiring mixed martial arts professional John Ortolani transforms
his body between sports -- the 5'8" midfielder went from being 185
during the Blazers' season to 155 to make weight for an October
fight -- but toughness, core strength and fast footwork are common
to both lacrosse and MMA.
New Bearings
Paris waterman is 5'3" and compactly built. Strong, but tiny. She
often gets a slightly backhanded compliment from people who see her
play. You play a lot bigger than you are. "Against whomever I play,
I never feel small," said the Brown and Team USA standout.
Waterman's athleticism, bravado and ambition have been the keys to
her meteoric rise in the lacrosse world.
Awakening the Giant?
There may be roughly 40,000 students who attend Penn State's main
campus in State College, Pa., but on a late sunday night in early
September, a rare few -- maybe three -- pass by during a
two-and-a-half-hour long Nittany Lions men's lacrosse practice.
It's the perfect opportunity for tunnel vision. Not that Penn
State's players need much help focusing, anyway. New coach Jeff
Tambroni sets the tone.
YOUR EDGE
Your Game: Shooting on the Mount
No matter how many times you've been told to shoot overhand, use
bounce shots and square your hips and shoulders to the cage, you
find the siren of a side-winding, low-to-high riser just too sweet
to resist. There's nothing sexy about fundamentals. Why not make it
look good? Mount St. Mary's men's lacrosse coaches offer two
reasons: accuracy and velocity. Here are two drills they use to
break bad shooting habits.
Your Game: Square Dance
There's no real recipe for building a dynasty. But ask Lindsey
Munday what set Northwestern women's lacrosse apart from
pretenders, and she could answer in one word: innovation. Try these
moving stickwork drills Munday has installed as the new coach at
Mount St. Mary's.
Your Playbook: Canadian Ground Balls
Objective: To focus players on ground balls in game-like
situations. The drill forces players to communicate, gain
possession under pressure, and then go to the goal.
Your Style: Ol' Saint Stick
For this edition of "Lax County Choppers," the guys at Stylin'
Strings went the extra mile for a young laxer with a real passion
for the Big Easy.
GIVE AND GO
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Chelsea Donaldson, Defender, C.W. Post
Chelsea Donaldson (at right) thinks lacrosse really needs a shot
clock. Well, sometimes. Not all the time. This and other musings
from the C.W. Post defender in this month's back-of-book
Q&A.
COLUMNS
To Our Members: Sign of the Times
LM editor Paul Krome comes through the door at the office feeling
like he's in the locker room at Neyland Stadium, ready to charge
onto the field in front of 100,000 screaming fans, thanks to the
new US Lacrosse Anthem.
His Space: More Than A Lacrosse Guy
Joe Boylan is interesting to LM columnist Bill Tanton because he's
more than a lacrosse guy. He is of a larger world.
Her Space: Card Games
Holy smokes, we are in for some changes to the red and yellow card
system in the 2011 season, writes LM columnist Clare Lochary.
Open Space: A Tearful Reminder
While Brendan Looney's death most directly and profoundly impacts
his large and loving family, including all of his Navy lacrosse
brothers, it is the academy's loss. It's America's loss, writes
guest columnist Bob Socci.
