By Anthony Cardellini ’17
THE ROUNDUP
Looking at the 2015 lacrosse team, young talent is particularly prevalent.
This year is the first in recent years of Brophy lacrosse in which four freshman have been on the varsity team.
“It’s a very different team than in years past—we’ve got a lot of young guys we expect to contribute,” said Mr. Zachary Widbin, a varsity lacrosse coach.
Senior Mark Frakes ’15 agrees the team looks different this year.
“We have a younger team than last year and lost some good seniors. We will have to work hard to get to where we were last year, but I definitely think we can do it,” Frakes said.
For all the young and incoming freshman talent, Frakes and Mr. Widbin said that the team needs strong senior leadership.
“What describes the group of seniors is that there isn’t one guy that stands head and shoulders above the others. We’ve got a really good group of seniors and they’re all going to have to be leaders in their own ways,” Mr. Widbin said.
He said seniors such as Jack Traxler ’15, Frakes, and Austin Dunkleberger ’15 are those who have been successful in leading the team in the past.
James Traxler ’18, one of the four freshman on varsity, said the senior leadership has been strong.
“All of the upperclassmen are great teammates and they make playing the game fun and intense, which is a great combination. I also get great coaching and I am becoming a better player every day because of them,” James Traxler said in an email to The Roundup.
He also said the team chemistry is strong, even with a mixture of players.
“Our team is looking very good and the upperclassmen are stepping it up and playing great. Our team has lots of chemistry. We can become the best team possible by putting in the work and keeping intensity up in practice,” he said.
Overall, the main goal for the team like all others is to win the state championship.
“Last year we had a pretty strong season, but it didn’t end the way we wanted it to, because we lost in the state championship game,” Frakes said. “Our end goal is to win state this year, and our team is super motivated.”
Mr. Widbin said that no matter what happens it will be an interesting season.
“Without knowing how far we’re going to go or what the final game is going to be, it’s going to be a very different season, and that’s a good and exciting thing,” Mr. Widbin said.
Both Frakes and Mr. Widbin said that Desert Vista will be the main rival, as both DV and Brophy have fielded good teams in recent years.
Traxler said he agrees that DV will be tough, but hard work will enable Brophy to do well.
“DV is looking really good this year, but we can beat them if we go hard,” Traxler said.
