Men’s lacrosse seniors look to inspire 13 freshmen
“Selfless. Engaged. Discipline.” is the mantra of the St. Joe’s men’s lacrosse team as they enter the 2018 season. Those three words, which hang in the entrance of the locker room, set a standard the coaching staff is looking to instill in a young St. Joe’s team.
“Those are our pillars,” senior attackman Chris Blewitt said. “It is what we base ourselves around. It’s a dedication to excellence and to doing the little things right. It is about playing selflessly. It is what we want to reestablish the culture of this program on.”
Senior goaltender Pat Dallon describes S.E.D. as the team’s ideal style of play.
“It is about giving yourself up for the team,” Dallon said. “It is about realizing you are playing for something bigger than yourself.”
St. Joe’s graduated 13 seniors, many of whom played key roles last season. Taking their place is a group of freshman who will have to step in and make an immediate impact. Blewitt firmly believes this incoming class is up to the task.
“It’s a terrific group,” Blewitt said. “We have a lot of guys who have really shown this is where they want to be and that they want to compete at the DI level.”
The senior class of 12, including graduate students, also steps into a new role as mentors and leaders, hoping to instill the virtue of S.E.D into their younger teammates.
“One of my goals for the season is to be the best teammate I can be and to make everyone around me better,” Dallon said. “We lost a lot of leadership last year, but I think we have the guys here who can fill those shoes.”
One of the keys to St. Joe’s success will be the younger players successfully acclimating themselves to the Division I level.
“I think the first few weeks will be very crucial for us,” Blewitt said. “We want to make sure that everyone develops in the right way and the younger players get their time while learning what it is like to compete at this level.”
Even though it will be a learning year for the young core of the team, it doesn’t change their end goal.
“Our primary goal is to win the NEC (Northeast Conference) championship,” Dallon said. “Our expectation is to be competing every day and become the best team we can be.”
Blewitt described how a methodical approach helps the team focus on the everyday challenges of a tough NEC schedule.
“We are taking this as a week by week process,” Blewitt said. “We are always working to make sure we have the tools and systems in place to succeed to help us start the season out on the right foot.”
The men’s lacrosse team starts their season at home against the Fairfield University Stags on Feb. 17.
