Bonding Time Preps USA Men for World Box Championship Playoffs

UTICA, N.Y. — One of the great things about world championship environments for players is the chance to fully immerse themselves in the sport.

During their college days, they spend hours upon hours together from fall ball, off-season conditioning and the regular season. But that changes at the pro level. Aside from early-season training camps, most weekends consist of players flying in from wherever they live for a practice the day before the game and then flying out soon after the game.

The time the U.S. men’s box team has spent together since arriving in Utica last Tuesday has been extra critical. Nineteen of the 23 players on the roster were active throughout the winter and spring on National Lacrosse League rosters. Nearly half of them were playing in the Premier Lacrosse League in the summer.

The pro lacrosse experience has proved invaluable to the team, but training opportunities as a group were hard to come by with those busy schedules. They had a camp last November in Utica and 14 of them participated the following weekend in the LAXNAI tournament, which was won by one of the two USA teams competing.

Their next training session wasn’t until June, when they gathered in Pennsylvania for a two-day camp following the conclusion of the NLL season.

They supplemented those in-person opportunities with virtual meetings, but there’s no substitute for the bonding that comes with being together.

“I think there’s a chemistry to be built and that’s both on-floor and off the floor,” said Charlie Bertrand who played for Las Vegas Desert Dogs in the NLL and the California Redwoods in the PLL. “Just showing up you’re just still getting to know guys. I think the more we get to know each other over the next couple of days and spend time together off the floor, the more we can just carry that on to the floor and learn each other’s tendencies and build some trust as a unit.”

Head coach Regy Thorpe thinks this time in Utica has been important as the U.S. team opens its playoff run tonight against Ireland at 8 p.m. on ESPN+.

“Honestly, it’s been off the field,” said Thorpe of the biggest improvement since they arrived for pre-tournament practices. “The guys really care about one another. They play cards in the hotel, they go to dinner and lunch together. It’s just a really tight group.”

Every experience on the floor is also a learning opportunity for this team. The bulk of them, even those with NLL bona fides, began their box lacrosse careers in college or after college. Bertrand was one of them. After winning three NCAA titles – two at the Division II level at Merrimack and one at the Division I level at Virginia – he got an opportunity to test out box in the NLL.

“The indoor experience has been a journey for me for sure, starting only a couple of years ago,” Bertrand said. “The first time playing an indoor game was with the Knighthawks. From there it’s been a lot of ups and downs. I’ve gotten out the back door a little bit, put back in the front door and done my time watching from the sidelines and having great games. It’s been a great journey to get here and lean on some of these other guys I play with in Vegas and that I’ve played with in other leagues that are also on this team. It makes it a lot easier.”

Bertrand ranks fourth on the team in the tournament with nine points on five goals and four assists — part of a U.S. offense that has been very strong despite a grueling schedule. Jack Hannah, Bertrand’s teammate on the Desert Dogs, leads the U.S. with 10 goals and is tied with Joe Resetarits for the team lead with 14 points. Resetarits has a team-best 10 assists and Joey Spallina, the youngest player on the team, has been a big factor with eight goals. The U.S. defense has been particularly strong, backed by Gowah Abrams and Drew Hutchinson splitting the goaltending duties.

The U.S. achieved a milestone victory on opening night when it beat the Haudenosaunee, 16-9, for the first time ever at this event. They followed that up with a 23-3 win over England and then went toe-to-toe with Canada into the third quarter on Tuesday night before the five-time event champions pulled away for a 14-10 victory.

Things got heated towards the end of the Canada game, and emotions running high in the games between the two countries is not unusual, whether it’s field or box lacrosse. Bertrand got a taste of the rivalry when he helped the U.S. beat Canada last summer at the field world championship in San Diego.

“I think it’s two teams that don’t like each other, but two teams that really respect each other,” Bertrand said. “That’s what I’ve seen in my time wearing this jersey. It’s always an honor and a lot of pride goes with it and I think it’s the same thing on their end too. Everybody just wants to do what they can to not only make their team proud, but their colors proud. That’s why there’s a lot of passion on the field.”

Despite the loss to end pool play, playing a team of Canada’s caliber is a valuable measuring stick for a team still learning how to gel.

“You can’t have lapses,” Thorpe said. “We’d go in spurts where we have a good seven or eight minutes and then we let down for three of four minutes. Against a good team like Canada you can’t do that.”

“It shows that we have a lot to work on,” Bertrand said. “We played a really good 35 minutes maybe. We’ve yet to put together a full game.”

The quarterfinal against Ireland will be an opportunity to do so and Thorpe thinks the battles they’ve faced in Utica so far will prepare them for the important games ahead.

“We had good tough pool play, playing the Haudenosaunee, England and Canada,” Thorpe said. “Now we know what it takes. We’re going to get ready for playoffs and now it’s win or go home. The mindset changes.”