Trevor Baptiste is the most decorated faceoff specialist in college lacrosse history and one of the most recognizable figures in the sport. But this winter, he’s starting back at square one.

Baptiste is in his rookie season with the Philadelphia Wings, adjusting to a style of the sport he only started dabbling in over the past two years at Denver. US Lacrosse Magazine caught up with Baptiste to discuss adapting to the indoor game and the future of Americans in box.

You had an eventful NLL debut, which included a chipped tooth and a 25-for-35 faceoff performance. How do you think it went?

Everyone says how it’s an adjustment, and I definitely felt that early. I lost the first few faceoffs and I was like, ‘Oh my gosh. This might turn into a long game for me.’ But as the game went along, I found a rhythm a little bit more and adjusted to it.

Do you change your faceoff technique for box vs. field?

One, you’re a lot farther away from the ball. The line is really thick. You have to kind of jump a little bit more because you have more distance to go with your head. Two, I’ve noticed that almost everyone looks at the ref when he blows the whistle.

How helpful has it been to draw on your experience with the Colorado Collegiate Box Lacrosse League?

The CCBLL did wonders for me. It helped me a ton with my stick skills going into my senior year. It also taught me the basics [of box]. A fun fact: I got drafted higher in the NLL than I did in the CCBLL. So you can see how I definitely progressed as an indoor player through that league.

What have you thought about the increased interest in box lacrosse from American players like yourself?

It’s extremely exciting and it’s great for the sport. Indoor lacrosse, for me growing up in New Jersey, wasn’t really taught or played at all. That’s true for a lot of other American players that are getting into the league. But if you asked us all collectively how we like it, I think everyone loves it.

There’s that intimidation factor because it’s still lacrosse. This is a game that we’ve dedicated our lives to, played for so long and we’ve become masters at our craft. And then you’re basically asking all of us to go into a completely different game. We’re playing the same sport, but we know half as much, or nothing.

Once you get past that, you get that excitement. It’s almost like you’re in high school or middle school again, just battling and having fun and learning.

Red, White and Blue Wave

As the U.S. training team prepares for the 2019 World Indoor Lacrosse Championship, it will benefit from the experience of 14 U.S. training team players that made NLL active rosters.

Trevor Baptiste, Philadelphia *

Kevin Buchanan, New England

Greg Downing, New England

Matt Dunn, Georgia *

Tim Edwards, Colorado

Connor Kelly, San Diego *

Brett Manney, New England

Kieran McArdle, Toronto

Ethan O’Connor, Buffalo

Adam Osika, Philadelphia *

John Ranagan, Georgia

Blaze Riorden, Philadelphia

Tom Schreiber, Toronto

Taylor Stuart, Colorado

* made NLL debuts this season