I arrived up at Conrad Weiser's lacrosse practice just in time to see the JV team break off to do drills to the side and the Varsity team get into full field clears and rides.  The pace was non-stop and the amount of info coming out of first year coach John Verno's mouth was almost overwhelming.  After three straight county championships, Weiser started from scratch this season learning all new plays and terminology.  20 minutes went by and coach Verno went over three new rides, while at the same time he went over the different clear packages.  My head was spinning listening to coach Verno spit out calls left and right, but to my surprise his players seemed to pick it up quickly.  

Another 20 minutes went by and the JV team, led by coach Cooper, came back to the field while the varsity team got into man-up/man-down.  Once again the pace was non-stop as all new calls and plays were put in place.  Practice ended with a fanatic scramble drill, player after player being sent in until a 6 vs. 6 situation was reached.  Once again coach Verno shouted out instructions to his team and kept the pace quick, working in some hidden conditioning.  Finally Coach Verno called both the JV and Varsity into a huddle and recapped the practice and talked about the next days practice and the Hershey game later that week.  

The team looked good and should be one of the contenders for the county championship this season.  Depth at midfield will be the real question mark along with goalie, but the Scouts return a strong attack and defensive units that should carry them.

The foul weather outside had no effect on the Wilson Lacrosse team as the Bulldogs took their practice inside at Body Zone.  Practice started at 5:00pm on the dot with a quick stretch which then went right into line drills.  With warm-ups done the team then broke into offensive and defensive groups to go over one on one skills and basic team concepts.  One of the main advantages that the Wilson lacrosse team has over other high school teams in the area is their large and knowledgeable coaching staff.  Head coach Greg Gorddard has assembled a staff of 5 other coaches, each responsible for a different aspect of the game.  Coach Joe Bialek takes the lead on defense and also works with the goalies, coach Patrick Sasse, new to the program this year, helps with the offense and face offs, coach David Steffy also works with the offense, coach Kerry Dunn, and coach David Wierzbicki takes the lead on training and helps with the defense. 

Three of the five assistant coaches have college playing and coaching experience in coach Bialek, coach Sasse, and coach Steffy.  With the coaching staff in place and one scrimmage under their belts, a loss to Ephrata, Wilson looks to improve on their strengths, fix their weak spots, and make a run at the Berks County Title.

Spring Season is here!

The season is finally here!  Yesterday marked the first day high school teams could practice. With winter leagues all wrapped up, teams now begin to focus on the big picture; winning league/county titles and district playoffs.  Who will win the Berks county title?  Who will qualify for district playoffs?  Will a Berks County team qualify for states?  All these questions will be answered shortly, but right now it's time to get to work.  Have fun, play hard, and embrace your teammates.  Remember; no one person makes the team, but it takes only one person to break the team.  
 

Winter League Wrap-up: High School

Sunday, March 7 playoffs were held for the Body Zone High School winter league.  In the first round the 4 seed, Holy Name, took on the 5 seed Scouts, while the 3 seed, Wilson Red, lined up against 6 seeded Wyomissing White.  Both of the first round games were blow outs with Holy Name defeating the Scouts 9-2 and Wilson Red downing Wyomissing White 6-1. 

The second round saw much closer games.  4^th seeded Holy Name upset the 1 seed Wilson Black 8-4, and in a thrilling brave heart overtime win, 2^nd seeded Wyomissing Blue defeated 3^rd seeded Wilson Red 6-5. 

In the Championship game 2^nd seeded Wyomissing Blue and 4^th seeded Holy Name did not disappoint.  With less than 30 seconds left in the game, Holy Name scored to tie the game at 4-4.  On the ensuing face-off, Wyomissing Blue took control of the ball and went down and netted the game winning goal as time ran out.  Congratulations to Wyomissing Blue, the 2010 Body Zone High School Winter League champs, and good luck to all the High School teams in the upcoming Spring season.