I missed another of Noah’s tournaments. As I was coaching one of my girls’ teams in a recruiting tournament. Marcia took him, and I think he did well. Had a number of goals and assists, and Marcia got some of it on film. I am so glad to get to see some of him playing. He is so exciting to watch.
One of the dads also took some more pictures. It sucks not to get to see him play. But I love that he is playing with his friends, and that his mom gets to watch and cheer him on.
Elizabeth was notified today that she was selected to play in the MD Senior Game next Wednesday night at Archbishop Spalding! She was the only one from her school selected for this honor.
Also selected were Lizzie de Guzman (Maryvale) and Sidney Snyder (Dulaney).
We are so proud of our girl.
I was able to arrange, and Maggie and Liz to take part in, an exhibition game at US Lacrosse, Tierney Field. The exhibition game was against the Los Angeles Wave. It was set up for success, because my counterpart from the Wave, Stephen Fossatti, is such a sportsman, and set up a great event.
We decided to have a tailgate together with the families from the Wave and from the Redshirts. While the parents tailgated, the players got to use the US team’s locker room to dress for the event. When they walked onto the field, each team saw their names and logos up on the US Lacrosse scoreboard. And they greeted each other on the field as friendly competitors.
It was a competitive match. The Redshirts were ahead 6-4 at the half, and the Wave pulled ahead to a 13-8 victory. After the game, the Redshirts shared some gifts with the Wave. Marcia had made each of them custom Terp scrunchies as keepsakes. And Liz put on a stickwork demo and taught the California girls how to throw fakes. While she was doing this, Maggie toured the US Lacrosse Hall of Fame Museum with her teammates.
These events are special, and are totally worth the effort.
I went a little early to pick up Liz. Sun was setting. We shot on the goal for about an hour. I took a little video of her shooting some behind the backs.
Liz and I coach Maggie’s 2026 lacrosse team. I am the head coach. I have an associate head coach, Audrey, who is great. And Liz is one of the assistants. It is a lot of fun coaching Maggie’s team, and Liz does a great job. And Maggie is fun, and she works hard, as do a bunch of her teammates. It is a good recipe for this team to be successful.
On Saturday, it was super cold. We had to leave the house early in the morning and drive more than an hour to arrive before 7AM. First game started before the sun came up. It was interesting.
Our team went 4-0. Maggie and her teammates played great through pool play. Maggie played defense and midfield. Our team had fun throughout the four games and in between, and competed hard. They earned the #1 seed and a spot in the championship game.
After the last game though, the coach of the other team was complaining about the scorekeeper not counting one of their goals. Liz keeps the stats for our team, and documents all goals scored, for both teams. And the scorekeeper had it correct. So, I signed the scoresheet, that we won 7-3. But then the scorekeeper came up to me and said the opposing coach requested to talk with me, and she ended up getting in Liz’s face saying that she kept the score wrong and didn’t count one of their goals. Liz handled herself very well (especially given that she wasn’t the scorekeeper, just kept stats which matched the scorekeeper). She showed the coach all of the scoring, how they were scored and who scored. The coach left the field with her team acting like they had been cheated, and she was very vocal about it. Liz was a little rattled, because adults should not behave the way that she did, especially not towards a conscientious teenager who is doing her best to help. But I talked with Liz on the way back to the tent and told her how well she handled herself.
A few minutes later, we learned that this team earned 2nd place and would play us in the championship. Great! In order to teach my teams sportsmanship and honoring the game and the opponents, I have instituted pregame rituals. I have each player on our team go to the opposite bench before the game and shake the hand of the opposing coach and wish her/him luck. And then when they get on the field, shake the hand of the player they are facing off against and wish them luck. I believe it sets the tone for friendly competition and sportsmanlike behavior.
But, after the opposing coach’s behavior in the last pool play game, I broke with our new tradition and just instructed the players to take the field. The opposing coach had not demonstrated very good adult behavior in the prior game, and I didn’t want it to effect us as we stepped onto the field.
In a short game, we got off to a quick lead and kept it. With a few minutes left, we were up 4-0, and I was able to make sure that everybody played in the championship. We came away with a 4-1 victory. And the girls got to enjoy championship t-shirts and medals.
We got to the field at 7AM, and weren’t done until 6PM. Average temperature on the day was 40 degrees. Hour and a half drive each way. I took the girls (Liz, Maggie, and Mackenzie – my all star team) out to Red Robin for dinner to celebrate before driving home. They earned it! And Maggie got desert!
It was a great day to be a coach. And a great day to be a dad.
Noah played in a lax tournament this weekend in Richmond. Marcia, Luke and Jack went with him for the weekend. Just mom and the boys. It was the first time Marcia got to see him play with this new team.
He had a rough day Saturday because he had to miss his last soccer game to go to the lacrosse tournament. And Marcia told me that a few of Noah’s soccer teammates were giving him grief for missing, as they lost the game 2-0, and if they had won, they would have won 1st place in the league. The coach had texted Marcia and me as well giving us some grief.
He played lacrosse well. I called him Saturday night, and he had two goals, and one of them was a behind the back. Sunday was an even better day of lax. He scored seven goals on Sunday. Including the game winner in the semi-final game to put them in the championship game.
I love watching my boy play, and was sorry to miss the tournament. But I am so glad that Marcia was there, and that he is enjoying being with the boys on his new team. One of the dads took lots of pictures. What a gift!
Six With Sticks 