North Central College’s men’s lacrosse team has already made history on campus: the team had its first-ever practice Sept. 19.
Head Coach Jason Farrell has been part of two startup programs before coming to North Central, so he knows the challenges of being a new program, as do his players.
“Every guy here is excited to be a part of a startup program,” said Farrell. “They know it’s going to take more work than a normal team, they know there is a lot of dedication and culture-building to do to set this ship in the right direction.”
Coach Farrell believes that the team, though young, is talented and very capable. “[The first practice] was a chance for us to really get a look at the guys we have, and we’re excited,” said Farrell. “We have a lot of talent, now we just need organization and intelligence and we should be able to compete pretty well in the conference. Our goal as a first-year team is to make the conference playoffs.”
They are confident about their ability, but the team understands the work ethic they need to keep to achieve their goal. “After the first practice, Coach [Farrell] is confident that we have a solid team,” said Steven Bradford (’18). “We have to keep the same intensity [as the first practice]moving forward; talent only takes you so far.”
On the field, the players still need to work on their chemistry and communication, but off the field they really click. “Our team environment is solid and we get along well,” said Bradford. “On the field, we need to build our chemistry, but that comes with any new team.”
The men’s lacrosse team’s first game is against Concordia University Chicago on Feb. 22, 2017, at 2:30 p.m. in River Forest, Ill.
