With the college lacrosse season officially completed, seniors are making their way into Major League Lacrosse. The transition from the college game to the professional level is not an easy one; new teammates, new rules, and a faster pace of play are not easy things to master at any time, let alone getting thrown into the middle of the season.
Because these players are joining their teams in the middle of the MLL season, however, there is an additional transition period that takes place going into a player’s second season, one that Chesapeake Bayhawks head coach Dave Cottle said is vital to a player’s development in the league.
“I’ve always said in this league, the second year is the toughest year for players,” Cottle said prior to the start of the season. “The ones that have good second years will go on to have long careers. You go from college to a thing where you have to train yourself and come in in great shape in training camp. The guys that do it become elite players.”
If that theory is true, then the league looks to be in good hands moving forward. Through the first seven weeks of the season, second-year attackman Matt Rambo is third in the league in points (32). He is joined by one another second-year player (Dylan Molloy) in the top 10 as well as two more (Ryan McNamara and Colin Heacock) in the top 20.
Additionally, Florida’s Ben Williams and Chesapeake’s Isaiah Davis-Allen are both in the top 10 in groundballs, while John Moderski, Brendan Hynes, Garrett Epple, and Jarrod Neumann are in the top 15 in caused turnovers.
While many second-year players are making the transition look easy, it is anything but.
“I think just in the fall, in college, you have your coaches and teammates pushing you,” Heacock, a Chesapeake Bayhawk, said. “You have the months prior. For year two, we don’t have someone pushing us to make sure we’re getting our conditioning or reps in. It’s staying motivated by yourself to get that work in.”
“Coming out of college practicing every day and having a stick in your hand every day, it’s very competitive during the week,” Molloy added, “rather than work life and getting extra stuff in on your own is definitely different. You have to have self-motivation to work out early, get on a wall, or go after work.”
A player’s career choice outside of the league plays a considerable part in helping players prepare for MLL games.
Heacock is one with an advantage in that area. In addition to running camps and clinics, Heacock coached a lacrosse team in California this spring, meaning he routinely had a stick in his hands. Coaching also helped his drive.
“Helping them out is helping me out as well and they don’t realize it,” he said. “The sport isn’t as popular on the west coast, but seeing their hard work and determination motivates me. If these young guys are doing this, there’s no excuse for us.”
It’s not as easy for Epple (a Bayhawk) and Molloy (a member of the Florida Launch), however, as both work office jobs in D.C. and New York City, respectively.
“When I first came in for my second year, I don’t think I was physically ready,” Epple said. “I work nine hours a day. You’re tired and want to sit on the couch, but when I got more accustomed to the team and guys, I knew I had to be in better shape and get the stick in my hand. It is a challenge. It’s a place I still want to improve, but you find a way to do it.”
Molloy said he likes to play wall ball or go for a run before work and get to the gym afterwards, although he doesn’t always do both on the same day.
According to Epple, he does a better job at the mental side of preparing for upcoming games.
“I watched a ton of film and focused on that piece,” he said, referring to his strengths at Notre Dame. “You can do that on your own time. I take the time when I get home from work to look at the scouting report, look up guys on YouTube. That’s not a challenge for me because I’ve been doing it for so long, and it’s a habit.”
Greek poet Archilochus once said, “We don’t rise to the level of our expectations, we fall to the level of our training.”
While making time to get to the gym or work on the wall takes some effort, one thing the players agreed on is that one thing that can help make the transition to the second year of Major League Lacrosse is remembering your training from college.
“(The Notre Dame coaches) invested their time to their individual skills, techniques, fundamentals, playing off the ball, and it helps the Notre Dame guys transition very well into the MLL,” Epple said. “No matter the scheme you’re in or the defense you’re running, if you have the mind for the game, the mental preparation, the things we harped on at in Notre Dame, you can be put into any scheme or organization. With those fundamentals you can play any system and do well.”
“In reality,” Heacock said, “you’re just out there playing with the other five guys, sharing the ball and continuing to do the little things.”
With the professional season starting while the collegiate season is underway and then extending past it, rookies join their teams with their seasons already underway. Teams are trying to climb over each other in the standings, and they hope the rookies can provide enough of a spark to push them over the top; they are thrown into the wolves.
A difference in year two is that the journey begins much earlier.
“You finally realize how early the MLL season actually begins,” Molloy said. “You’re never concerned about it while you’re playing in college. The training camp, taking a breath and enjoying the games, you’re not just thrown into five and expected to do well. You can go to practice, learn the plays, start from the beginning.”
Players also learn about the business side of the league.
“The lineup changing, it’s something you realize. Being in the locker room before the draftees come in, you see change, which was new to me,” Molloy said. “You just have to know you have to be at top performance and get better each week, or your spot is in jeopardy.”
Motivation is the key to staying fit and sharp.
One of those motivating factors is wanting to keep your spot. Another is one’s teammates – fellow second-year players and veterans alike – being great influencers.
“You’ve got guys counting on you to be at your best,” Epple said, “and that helps to be at your best.”
“Playing alongside Myles Jones, Matt Danowski, Matt Abbott, they’re helping me personally,” Heacock added. “When I’ve felt overwhelmed at times, they help me get the flow of things.”
Ultimately, as professionals, the motivation has to come from within. The willingness to sacrifice, shown by Heacock, Epple, and Molloy, comes from a pure love of the sport, something they would be doing whether they were playing professionally or not.
“I love the sport and am finding myself playing, throwing around with my buddies or brothers or by myself,” Heacock said. “I want to try and be the best player and teammate I can be and that’s something that motivates me.”
“Lacrosse is something I’ve done all my life,” Molloy said. “It would be sad if it wasn’t a big part of it anymore. I’m used to sacrificing things for lacrosse. In college, you had a bunch of practices and weekends to sacrifice, and this is kind of the same thing. It’s something I enjoy and, at this point, something I’m not willing to give up yet.”