The Athens Drive men’s lacrosse team is having a strong and promising season, showing growth and determination with each game. Several players have had impressive scoring streaks, contributing to the team’s overall momentum. The team continues to build and strengthen their defense and offense, and polish their strategies. As the season progresses, they focus on improving as a unit and maintaining a competitive edge on the field.

“The team practices every day that we do not have a game during the season. The off-season is a great time to improve skills,” said Thomas Wetherby, lacrosse coach.

Off seasons make it so that the team can practice and improve more on their already developed skills. The team has had wins and losses, but whether it’s winning or losing, practice is key when it comes to making sure they play their best in all the games. Lacrosse isn’t just about practice and game prep, it also teaches players important life skills, values, and how to take care of themselves as they grow, both on and off the field.

“My job as a coach is to do two things: develop these players as people and teach them the game of lacrosse. To that end, I hold a leadership class during the offseason. We typically meet once a month to discuss that year’s book I assign them to read. The books I use have various themes that help me teach the players about leadership and life,” said Wetherby.

Coach Wetherby makes sure that he not only encourages the team, but paves the way for them to be with good leaders out and on the field. Part of practicing is teamwork, having fun with teammates, and holding each other close not only as friends, but as brothers. Through watching each other play and improve, players learn from each other and have the ability to talk to each other about areas they can each improve on as individuals. 

“Teamwork is the most important because without the team, nobody can do one thing by themselves. You need everybody to be rolling in the same direction. Just playing for the person next to you, knowing your friend, your brother, is gonna compete, so you need to do the same,” said Jay Cohn, quarterback of the offense for the team.

Teamwork is what mainly drives the team towards success. The captain of the team plays an important role in keeping everyone on the team in check, making sure that teamwork is part of the team all around, and ready to play and practice for games. He is the one who makes sure everyone is communicating with each other, which makes the team stay more organized and put together.

 “Teamwork is very important; if you can’t communicate with your teammates, you’re gonna get beaten by most of the team. When everyone’s on the same page, which means we have to be organized and pay attention during practice, so everyone’s gotta be ready to work, “ said Owen Honnnold, team captain.

Communication with each other often offers a good part of the team stay focused on their personal goals, as well as the team goal. Part of playing lacrosse comes with the difficulties, from having to deal with teammates who do not do what they need to do to the sport itself, because of how intense it can get at times, both in practices and games.

“Something that can get frustrating is when you have some guys [who] haven’t been going to practice, they just don’t know how to play the sport,” said Abdelhaq Zelji, offensive player for the team.

Additionally, an important aspect of lacrosse is getting players to be motivated to play; without the motivation, staying on track with their passion about the sport would be difficult to control and maintain.

“Motivation is one of the most difficult emotions to control. Our leadership team creates team goals in the off-season, and we also ask individuals to set their individual goals. It helps keep the focus on them and is a source of motivation. I also use a phrase, “get 1% better every day,” that helps the players realize that to reach those goals, they need not improve by large amounts at once; small steps made every day are all that is necessary to achieve,” said Wetherby.

Lacrosse is a sport that brings players together and pushes each of them to grow. It offers countless opportunities to set goals and pick up lessons that stick with them far beyond the field. Throughout the season,  and even during the off-season, the team keeps working to improve, both in the game and as individuals.

“I want them to remember that they are playing a game! It’s fun to compete, and even more fun to win. Knowing that it is ok to make a mistake as long as that mistake isn’t compounded or repeated helps the player focus on making great plays even after a mistake! It’s called the principle of “Next Play.” Once a play is over, there is nothing you can do to change it. Focusing on the next play is the most important act!” said Wetherby