Men's D-III PPOY: Stevenson's Steve Kazimer
by Jac Coyne | Lacrosse Magazine Online Staff | Coyne Archive
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| If he can keep his emotions in check, there could be
little stopping Steve Kazimer and Stevenson this year. © Kevin P. Tucker |
Steve Kazimer has virtually the complete package. Strong stick.
Great finisher. Good vision. Pinpoint passer. It was all of these
traits, along with Stevenson's run to the national quarterfinals,
that made the Mustangs' leading scorer (33g, 36a) the USILA's pick
as the top attackman in Division III.
The only chink in his armor? An extremely short fuse.
In his 19 games last season, Kazimer racked up 17 penalties for
18.5 minutes, a ridiculously high number for an offensive player
and one that nearly doubled the next highest number on his
team.
"I'm just so passionate when I play and I really get into it," said
Kazimer, a senior. "Sometimes somebody gets the best of me and I
can't help it."
For Mustangs head coach Paul Cantabene, Kazimer's penchant for
taking penalties is a double-edged sword.
"There were certainly times when his penalties hurt us," said
Cantabene. "But honestly, he plays better when he's fired up."
Regardless, Kazimer is focusing on reining in his temper and his
mouth - he estimates six penalties were solely for bad language -
and said he wasn't dinged once during fall ball. It's the wise
choice, since opponents will goad the upstate New York native all
season into losing his cool. While it was Cantabene who was the
catalyst for Kazimer's increased poise, the sagest advice came from
Stevenson's senior goalie, Geoff Hebert.
"He put things in perspective for me," said Kazimer, Lacrosse
Magazine's Preseason Player of the Year. "Just play within the game
and let it come. He said play smart and get the next one."
A cooler Kazimer will also allow him to be a better friend.
"Me and the goalie are really close, so when I get a penalty it
affects him, because we're going man down," he said.
If Kazimer can pare down his penalty minutes into, say, the level
of a hard-riding attackman, it will be the last piece needed to
make him the preeminent D-III player. And if he's holding a trophy
on Memorial Day weekend, Kazimer can say whatever he wants, because
the officials will be long gone.
