The Windham High School boys’ lacrosse team has been gathering since June 27 at Cape Elizabeth High School with surrounding area teams for summer skills and drills practices each week. The purpose of these practices was to improve in the offseason while establishing group chemistry and continue that improvement up until the start of the regular season next spring. They had their final skills and drills practice on Thursday, July 27.
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| Windham senior Jake Lord holds onto the ball while Windham sophomore Josh Logan defends him during a boys lacrosse scrimmage with surrounding schools during a skills and drills practice on Thursday, July 20 at Cape Elizabeth. PHOTO BY MATT PASCARELLA |
The teams converged as one big group and then split up into offense and defense and worked on ball movement and handling, and they also competed in scrimmages.
The goal of these skills and drills practices was to continue to have the team practice and develop their lacrosse stick skills during the summer months. Skills and drills sessions were an opportunity for Windham to continue to develop their individual game and have fun on the field. Running drills with players you don’t normally play with was a great way to develop game IQ.
Windham freshman Colin McKenna said coming into high school sports is more competitive, though he knows a lot of the players in the skills and drills practices, so that’s fun. McKenna works on being coachable and takes constructive criticism as an opportunity to improve. He is always working on getting better outside of practice.
“During the season unfortunately, sometimes players are less likely to try new things or to better develop their weaknesses (different dodges, using their weaker hand, etc.) because they are afraid it will weaken the team play,” said Windham varsity boys’ lacrosse coach Peter Small. “This summer, I have watched players really hone in on their relative weaknesses and develop their game. They are also talking more on the field with each other and have developed a better sense of the overall game.”
Small was very impressed with the turnout. They’ve gotten between 25 to 30 players each practice. This was a great group of student athletes who really enjoyed the game and opportunities to play.
Windham senior Aiden Benish said the goal of skills and drills is to get as close to perfection as you can in the small subtle things like footwork, positioning and knowing what your next move is. Benish learned to transition the ball better on offense and communicate better on defense.
He said working with other schools has been like a new addition to their team; everyone works together and helps each other out. Benish said these skills and drills practices will benefit him during the spring season because he’ll have more stick experience and more time on the field with his teammates during the offseason. He wants to be the best player and teammate he can be as well as make others around him better. Eventually, Benish hopes to play at the college level.
“It's been wonderful to see them commit together to play more,” said Small. “They are bonding more as a group, communicating more, encouraging each other more, and have developed a strong identity, especially as the freshmen join with us. I greatly enjoy how hard they work and how much fun they have playing lacrosse.” <
“During the season unfortunately, sometimes players are less likely to try new things or to better develop their weaknesses (different dodges, using their weaker hand, etc.) because they are afraid it will weaken the team play,” said Windham varsity boys’ lacrosse coach Peter Small. “This summer, I have watched players really hone in on their relative weaknesses and develop their game. They are also talking more on the field with each other and have developed a better sense of the overall game.”
Small was very impressed with the turnout. They’ve gotten between 25 to 30 players each practice. This was a great group of student athletes who really enjoyed the game and opportunities to play.
Windham senior Aiden Benish said the goal of skills and drills is to get as close to perfection as you can in the small subtle things like footwork, positioning and knowing what your next move is. Benish learned to transition the ball better on offense and communicate better on defense.
He said working with other schools has been like a new addition to their team; everyone works together and helps each other out. Benish said these skills and drills practices will benefit him during the spring season because he’ll have more stick experience and more time on the field with his teammates during the offseason. He wants to be the best player and teammate he can be as well as make others around him better. Eventually, Benish hopes to play at the college level.
“It's been wonderful to see them commit together to play more,” said Small. “They are bonding more as a group, communicating more, encouraging each other more, and have developed a strong identity, especially as the freshmen join with us. I greatly enjoy how hard they work and how much fun they have playing lacrosse.” <
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