RIVERSIDE HIGH SCHOOL LACROSSE 2004, DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA

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2007 Pirates must deal with loss of a key structural element

By Coach Jim Kirkley
It could be termed the proverbial "ripple effect," or the "butterfly effect," maybe just the old-fashioned "domino theory," or maybe equated to what happens to a building when you knock out one of the supporting pillars. You wouldn’t think that one event, not lacrosse-related, could have such an impact across a team.

When you have the entire close defense returning, four players signed to play in college and another who was highly recruited, the 2007 season was looking very promising. Web prognosticators were picking the Pirates as one of the favorites. But when returning attackman Doug Cook went down with a fractured leg at the beginning of February it impacted the Pirates' potential 2007 lineup more than the loss of last year’s seniors.

The key losses from graduation last year were crease attackman Alvin Black, goalie Brad Smith (St. Andrews), face-off specialist and Academic All American Jonathan Beck, defensive middie Kyle Massey and long-stick Kieron James. However, the team was ready to fill those losses until Cook was sidelined. Trying to replace him has now affected the entire offensive structure of the Pirates. How this team performs will be determined by how well they can put the building back together.

The one aspect of the team that hasn't been impacted has been the close defense. All three members of last year's starting unit return, led by Senior All Conference Co-Captain Matt Weaver (6-1, 210) who will be playing at Mars Hill next year. Beside him are junior Zack Brown (6-3, 180) who may be the team's best take-away man, and senior Bobby Trimble (6-3, 270, and a Campbell University football recruit) who is a formidable presence around the crease. This is a big, physical, quick and skilled defensive unit, and should be the strength of the 2007 Pirates. Backing them up are juniors Brian Juranas (6-2, 175), Will Boone (6-2, 215), and Clark Harrison (6-3, 175).

The goalie position is a battle between senior Steven McGhee, the backup last year and the starting goalie for the North Team in the State Games, and junior Brian Rooney, who missed last year with a severely broken leg. Both of these guys are capable of making the saves, including some spectacular ones, but will need to gain experience in clearing the ball and managing the defense.

The defensive middies are anchored by the long-sticks of senior John DiGuiseppi and sophomore Jackson Marshall. John split time last year at the position and Jack was called up from the JV at the end of the year. They are both quick and effective with their checks, and provide consistency to the unit. The rest of the d-middies however, are all inexperienced. Junior Michael Schwartz will be handling the majority of the face-off duties and will be one of the primary defenders. He may also have to get some offensive runs because of the shortage of offensive bodies. All the other options are either first-year players, or those who were on the JV last year for some or all of the year.

Seniors David Hinkle and Felipe Jolles, and juniors Alex Starnes and David Swift are all up from last year's JV team, although Starnes spent most of the year with the varsity but saw limited action. Senior Brandon Nelson is a first-year player, so he has a lot to learn, but he has great speed, and his natural athleticism and determination could be a great contribution to the team. The big question mark for all of these guys is a lack of experience. This could present serious early season matchup problems against teams with experienced offensive middies.

However, the offensive units are where the major questions are still unanswered. Senior Co-Captain and returning All American Bob Kercher (36g, 24a, University of Maryland recruit) is certainly the major scoring threat at midfield. But with the defensive attention he will be getting, including, almost certainly, some shut-off attempts, some other middies will have to make major contributions. On attack, Senior Co-Captain and First Team All State member Tim Woolley (51g, 34a) was the leading scorer last year and ranks fifth all time at RHS. But, what looked to be a formidable duo of Tim and Doug Cook (30g, 18a, U.S. Military Academy recruit), was cut in half with Doug's injury. And now it's a scramble to pick up the pieces. Sophomore Dylan Britt (4g,1a) was the fifth attackman last year and was slated to be the crease attackman this year. He may still fill that role, but may also have to carry part of the load behind. Senior Colin Cash (5g, 1a), who was the fourth attackman last year, was slated for a move to midfield. He will now have to split time at both positions. Junior Clayton Abbott (2g, 0a) is also being called upon to work at both positions in an attempt to find some answers. Senior Phillip Tieszen (6g, 8a, Mars Hill recruit) and junior Sam Cordones (1g, 0a) will get to focus on just midfield, but all of these guys are going to have to spend a lot of time on the field if the Pirates are going to be successful. Fortunately, Abbott, Tieszen and Cordones all played with TSL this fall and picked up valuable experience for the season. Juniors Russell Warren and Alex Rand and sophomore Alex Spathis will also look to contribute on the offensive end of the field.

The biggest addition to the 2007 Pirates is assistant coach Evan Leekley. A 1999 graduate of RHS, winner of two state championships, and still the career leading scorer for the Pirates (243 total points on 119 goals, 124 assists), Evan has previously coached the JV at Riverside and Greensboro Grimsley and played collegiately at Greensboro College. He will be the offensive coordinator this year with the task of patching together the offensive unit. He is more than capable of pulling it off.

Taking over the JV coaching spot is 2005 graduate Andy Ross. A student at UNC-CH, Andy is a good teacher who has previously worked with me at my summer camps.

So the building took a structural hit. It may be a struggle to rebuild it, and until the engineers figure out which pieces fit best where, the undamaged end may carry most of the weight. But there are still a lot of great components to this building, and if all those components are put together in a way that maximizes their capabilities, we could end up with an award winning building. Only time will determine that, and isn't that why we play the season?

This site, rhslacrosse.com, is the unofficial Web page of the Riverside High School Pirates lacrosse team. It is for the enjoyment of parents and supporters, as well as any lacrosse fans who stumble upon it. If you have a comment about the Web page, e-mail to . If you'd like to contact Riverside's lacrosse coach, e-mail to .