Women’s Lacrosse Head Coach Maren Henley could make excuses this season. With a small 18-player roster — it hasn’t been that low since 2004 — the 12-year coach will have to strategize. The Western Women’s Lacrosse League is nothing less than the denoted Division I caliber.
Then again, she’s not pulling out her hair or gritting her teeth. A little old-fashioned work never hurt anybody.
“Nothing is going to be easy,” Henley says in a phone interview. “I’m pushing them pretty hard. The bar is already high.”
Practice started January 11; that has not left the Sun Devils much time to improve—yet. Coming off a Regional Championship last season and now finding themselves ranked 19th in the nation, that bar has to be set high.
They waste no time.
Sure, they are lacking substitutes, so conditioning is much needed. They need every practice they can get. From those physically demanding practices, though, mental preparation follows.
Henley has applied her experience from her engineering career to benefit the team mentally. For her job, Henley would have to attend chartering meetings to go over rules, responsibilities and tasks. She’s been using a similar concept for six years now on her team.
Today, the team will not stare down an opponent, but a poster board—their motivation. For this practice, they will write down what they expect to achieve out of this season and what they expect out of each other.
“Everyone has a voice,” Henley says. “It’s kind of like entering a contract.”
Once the players mark that board, they mark their calendars for a season of commitment. According to Henley, “we can improve so much in a season.” Attendance will make that happen.
Improvement is totally dependent on attendance. A routine end to practice consists of a seven-versus-seven game. The in-game scenario uses 14 players already. If players were to miss practice for any reason but “for a class or because they have work,” this would make the drill difficult.
If this were to happen, Henley would have to “be a bit more creative.” She would have to just make due.
Then again, Henley does not plan to just make due this season. On that board is a list of future accomplishments in her eyes.
“Yeah, I don’t think you should be a coach if you don’t think you can win,” Henley says. “Things can change quickly (during the season). You prepare for the unknown and it’s how you’re going to play that day.”
The players can say what they want about the season in advance. What it really comes down to, though, is their play. That should be a statement in itself.
With both the physical and mental preparation, a small team might make for a bigger team in presence.
On February 5 the team will play their first game of the season against the University of Southern California. The game will be played on ASU’s Band Field in Tempe, Arizona; start-time is 10 a.m.
Comments? You can e-mail me at bcapria@asu.edu.
