|
Click here for the latest Team USA news, scores and Facebook updates. |
Gone Campin: Pick-Up Hoops with Team USA
by Nathaniel Badder | Special to Lacrosse Magazine Online
Intrepid reporter -- and US Lacrosse Director of National Teams -- Nathaniel Badder is embedded with Team USA at Bryant University in Smithfield, R.I., as it heads into training camp to ready for the MLL All-Star Game and FIL World Championships. Check back to laxmagazine.com this week for continuing coverage.
*****
SUNDAY, JULY 4, 2010
Introduction: It’s time to go
camping. But, for all of you looking for campfires and tents,
ghost stories and s’mores, color wars and talent shows, look
elsewhere. This is training camp. This is the U.S. Men’s
National Team’s chance to come together at Bryant University
for five days to get ready for the 2010 FIL Championship. The 23
players were named in November and since then, they’ve played
together three times -- at Champion Challenge in January and then
at two exhibition games last month against a team of college stars
auditioning for the MLL and then against a team of all-stars from
the Philadelphia area. So, this is Team USA’s first time to
really come together, to practice, to meet, to watch film, to talk
strategy, to form lines, to try some new things, to work out some
kinks, to answer some questions, and to transform from a disparate
band of the world’s best players into a finely-tuned and
singularly-focused team. And it’s going to be old school:
two-a-day practices in 90-plus degree heat. It’s going to be
awesome.
4 p.m.: Check in. Within minutes, Brian
“Doc” Dougherty has locked himself out of his room and
needs to borrow a key to get back in.
5 p.m.: Dinner. Nothing says American
Independence Day like lasagna and green beans. But man, was it
good.
6:05 p.m.: I miss roll call for a pick-up hoops
game because I have now locked myself out of my room. Only, I
didn’t just lock myself out of my room. I broke the lock. You
see, it didn’t open, so I jiggled my key -- just like Fonzie
taught me -- and when I pulled it out, the entire lock mechanism
was stuck to it. And, being a national holiday, let’s
just say locksmiths weren’t standing around waiting to let me
back in. Argh.
6:12 p.m.: Problem solved, I lace up my sneaks
and head out of the dorm in search of the gym. I find a group of
guys playing 4-on-4 and when the game ends, Kyle Sweeney and I hop
on opposite teams to round out the squads. It’s not too
surprising to see that some of these guys can really play --
Sweeney, Matt Striebel and assistant coach Paul Cantebene nail some
tough drives in the lane and Doc rains a flurry of long distance
bombs -- nor that they are all exceptional athletes. What is
surprising, however, is how hard they go at each other. It
doesn’t matter that it’s pick-up basketball or that
it’s the night before training camp or even that they are
teammates and will be playing together for the next three weeks.
They just battle. Hard picks, loose ball tussles, rebounding
scrums. Competitive juices flow and nobody wants to lose.
Unfortunately, Doc buries a two to give his team the "W" and my
team a sour taste for the rest of the night.
10:15 p.m.: Two words: twin bed. Gotta love
college dorms.
