Frosty January practices are the toughest season. The winter portion of the calendar features shivering and quivering freshmen, unrelenting cold, and long training camp practices.
The frigid wind burns the coach’s face as he screams, “Move your feet!”
Frozen cleats crunch the turf with every step, stride, or cut. They leave a path.
“Talk!” The defensive coordinator echoes a command that ricochets throughout the bareness of campus.
January is a rude awakening for rookies.
College lacrosse freshmen need to process information faster. Quickly, they need to take what they’ve been taught and apply it. If they can’t play at the necessary speed, they plummet down the depth chart like the mercury.
With snow drifts circling the field, it’s easy to be excited on the first day back. But who’s got juice on a Wednesday in mid-January? Who’s got energy and passion during week three?
You’re not in high school anymore. Stickwork is suddenly meaningful. Every catch or drop is scrutinized in every drill. There is only one ball, and it is the program. What freshman can hold up under the pressure?
Some first-year players are built for January.
Brady Pokorny, a Notre Dame lacrosse freshman attackman, has ideal size at 6-0, 185 pounds. He can finish inside and from mid-range using an assortment of creative releases and finishes. The Darien and Eclipse product has elite left-handed stick skills and feels like the right addition to Chris Kavanagh and Jake Taylor on attack in South Bend for Notre Dame, which has won 36 of its last 39 games.
The rookie unofficially had seven goals and one assist through three quarters in a scrimmage against Air Force last weekend. He’s a true goal scorer who’s very creative. I can anticipate this freshman having a healthy shooting percentage for a team that shot 38% in 2024. He can dodge enough that opposing teams will be hesitant to short-stick him, and “Poko” loves to ride. He may find a home on the ND EMO unit, the best six-man group in the country in 2024. And let’s remember, ND destroyed opponents last spring by more than six goals per game on average.
Like any first-year player, the demands of being a full-time lacrosse athlete may be both overwhelming yet beneficial. Film study, weight training, diet, and rest and recovery have to be tailored for a marathon college season (five months) to avoid hitting the freshman wall in late April.
The clap of sticks colliding, the grunts of contact, and the steam of exertion leaking from helmets in the cold. Training on the tundra feels galaxies away from Memorial Day.
In Durham, look for Nikolas Menendez, a 6-1, 185-pound freshman defender, to vie for playing time immediately. The Culver lefty runs the field.
On offense, Liam Kershis, a rookie attackman from Shoreham-Wading River and 2024 Legacy Taz, may start against Bellarmine on February 1. He’s a 5-8 righty with excellent burst and acceleration to push topside and finish with accuracy on the run. His hard-nosed Long Island attitude is earning strong grades from a coaching staff with similar Hempstead Turnpike backgrounds. The UA All-Star Game MVP is ACC-ready with a competitive edge.
Up in Syracuse, they practice indoors, a luxury given today’s high temperature of 13 degrees. You won’t see grass for another three months in the 315.
Payton Anderson is a lefty freshman midfielder who goes 6-3 and 220 pounds and may be in the discussion for playing time sooner rather than later in the Dome. With a gritty attitude from Hopewell Junction, NY—which is up the Taconic about 40 minutes north of Yorktown and east of the Hudson River between Newburgh and Poughkeepsie—don’t be confused by his Brunswick white-collar labeling. Anderson has excellent skills and multiple shot releases with his feet set. While he’s not a speed merchant, he can wiggle around defenders to the paint. I wouldn’t expect to see a major splash right away in Gary Gait’s veteran-laden offense. Instead, expect to see nibbles of shifts in February and a slow build with upside.
In the unrelenting wind, players seemingly cuddle in the huddle, standing shoulder-to-shoulder as if to shield the wind.
Down Route 29 in Charlottesville, defenders Luke Hublitz (Brunswick) and 6-5 Tommy Snyder (St. Anthony’s) won’t likely start but could be in the rotation from day one. Snyder has shown advanced schematic ability in the fall and pre-season. He was a standout basketball player in high school, which helps conceptually. Hublitz has an opportunistic eye and an active stick to create turnovers. The Cavs, under coach Lars Tiffany, have stockpiled quality d-men.
First-year players should be asking questions, reaching out to coaches—be willing to look at practice clips with coaches, come up to the office before practice, or during a free period in the morning. If you’re confused, ask for assistance. That’s not a sign of weakness; it’s a sign of commitment.
With snot dripping down their faces and numb fingers, many lacrosse freshmen struggle to keep up during conditioning. They’re racing and competing against men now—players who are 21 or 22 years old, or even older, and more responsive to the coach’s whistle, the all-mighty in power.
Collegiate lacrosse freshmen quickly learn to both love and hate that whistle.
In January, the afternoon sunlight is pale and weak. Hudson Hausmann, another Brunswick graduate, is likely to get shifts for Virginia at the midfield, perhaps as a two-way runner. Former Cav John Fox babysat Hudson when he was young. Hausmann is showing flashes that demand playing time.
A freshman gets what he earns.
What college lacrosse freshmen will blossom when the springtime colors come around?
Quint Kessenich covers college and pro lacrosse for the ESPN networks and LaxAllStars and can be followed on X at @QKessenich.
