Nashoba Lacrosse’s New “Business-Like” Approach

Tuesday, April 03, 2012

Joe Parello, GoLocalWorcester Contributor

The culture of Nashoba lacrosse is changing dramatically this year.

Nashoba lacrosse is coming off a disappointing first game, but is working toward changing the entire culture of its program.

The Chieftains fell to Oakmont Regional by a score of 13-7 last Friday, but first-year head coach Joel Bates expected some growing pains as he moves the program in a new direction.

“You kind of expect a slow start with a new coach and a bunch of young players,” Bates said. “But I did expect a bit more than we showed on the field against Oakmont. I thought that we were pretty even with them talent-wise, we just didn’t execute.”

All Business

Though this is Bates’ first season at the helm of Nashoba’s program, the Long Island native has been on the Chieftains’ coaching staff for the past three years. During that time, he saw the program enjoy some success under coach Terry Boots. The Chieftains finished 12-9 last year in Boots’ final season, and Bates is looking to take the next step with the program from a commitment standpoint.

“You know, Nashoba lacrosse has only been around six or seven years, so there has been a little bit of a ‘club’ mentality to it,” Bates said. “The kids worked hard before, but now we’re trying to pick it up a notch, trying to be more structured. It’s a business-like approach.”

Positive Response

One might not expect high school students to respond positively to a suddenly increased workload, but Bates insists his players have taken all the changes in stride. Bates also anticipates that his more structured practices and additional meetings will pay dividends down the road.

“They’ve responded well (to the changes), they really have,” Bates said. “The attitude has been positive throughout the team, and I think the guys are all really excited.”

Players to Watch

The Chieftains have several players with potential, but may need some time to develop as the season progresses. Senior Nick French is still in the process of recovering from surgery to repair an ACL/MCL tear, but scored a goal in his first game back. Bates expects him to contribute, but may have to monitor how much he plays.

Sophomore Mike D’Entremont led the team with three goals against Oakmont, and appears to be Nashoba’s most promising offensive weapon. Since playing sparingly as a freshman last year, D’Entremont has dramatically reshaped his body, losing over 30 pounds and reporting to practice trimmer and quicker. The Chieftains also expect big things from senior Ron Hamwey, who Bates says can be one of the best faceoff men in the region.

Rivals Wanted

One of the best things about high school sports are rivalry games, and Bates says he would really like to coach in some. The problem is, he doesn’t believe the Chieftains have true rivals, but he is working hard to change that.

“It’s like the Red Sox and Yankees used to be,” Bates said. “Yankees fans would joke and says it’s not a rival until the other team wins. That’s sort of the position we are in right now. We think of team’s like Algonquin as our rival, but we have to beat them for them to think of us the same way.”

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