D3 Lax has partnered with several writers this season to share unique content and perspectives. Matt Coates is a junior goalie at Misericordia University in Pennsylvania. He will chronicle the season with a first-person perspective of The D3 Lax Experience.
February 2, 2024 - For everyone playing lacrosse in the northeast, preseason lacrosse is cold. I’m guessing our friends down south have it better, but it’s rough for us up north. With Oglethorpe University opening the D3 lacrosse season at home against Shorter University on February 1st, the preseason is starting in the dead of winter. So grab your surgical gloves and throw your team sweatsuit on, because it's a cold one today. Let me introduce myself: Hi, I’m Matt Coates from Cranford, NJ. I am a junior goalie at Misericordia University in Dallas, Pennsylvania out of the Middle Athletic Conference Freedom (MAC Freedom). We were selected to finish fourth in the preseason poll. This season I am going to try and give you guys a little first person look at Division 3 lacrosse, covering anything and everything you are interested in, other than our game plan 😉.
We suited up for the first time as a team this year on January 16th. The first day of classes, and the first day of practice. For those of you unfamiliar with our program, Dallas is in the Pocono Region of PA. Being up in the mountains of PA gives us a slightly different climate than the more popular Dallas that hails down in Texas. That first day of practice we were lucky to get outside, as it fell in between a few snowstorms that week. With a high of 24 degrees, we broke in our new gear and braved the elements.
Now I obviously can’t speak for every program in the country, but I think preseason at the D3 level looks the same as it does at most levels. A lot of stick work, conditioning, and installation to start the year. However, there are a lot of fun drills mixed in to keep the energy and compete level high for the entire team.
One of the most important parts of preseason, however, has little to do with the x’s and o’s and passing. The preseason is an important time for you to bond with your teammates, get younger guys acclimated to the culture of the team, and work to become one cohesive unit. As I write this the season is within reach. We have a tri scrimmage in about two weeks, with our first game just seven days later. The preseason build up to play real games is electric: your team is capable of being anything, and the countless practices without a real opponent is about to end. After that, the inseason grind begins. Preseason is a cold, cold time. However, it's a great time to come closer as a team and work towards your final goal.
Our season opener is just two weeks away, on February 17, against Penn College at home.
February 2, 2024 - For everyone playing lacrosse in the northeast, preseason lacrosse is cold. I’m guessing our friends down south have it better, but it’s rough for us up north. With Oglethorpe University opening the D3 lacrosse season at home against Shorter University on February 1st, the preseason is starting in the dead of winter. So grab your surgical gloves and throw your team sweatsuit on, because it's a cold one today. Let me introduce myself: Hi, I’m Matt Coates from Cranford, NJ. I am a junior goalie at Misericordia University in Dallas, Pennsylvania out of the Middle Athletic Conference Freedom (MAC Freedom). We were selected to finish fourth in the preseason poll. This season I am going to try and give you guys a little first person look at Division 3 lacrosse, covering anything and everything you are interested in, other than our game plan 😉.
We suited up for the first time as a team this year on January 16th. The first day of classes, and the first day of practice. For those of you unfamiliar with our program, Dallas is in the Pocono Region of PA. Being up in the mountains of PA gives us a slightly different climate than the more popular Dallas that hails down in Texas. That first day of practice we were lucky to get outside, as it fell in between a few snowstorms that week. With a high of 24 degrees, we broke in our new gear and braved the elements.
Now I obviously can’t speak for every program in the country, but I think preseason at the D3 level looks the same as it does at most levels. A lot of stick work, conditioning, and installation to start the year. However, there are a lot of fun drills mixed in to keep the energy and compete level high for the entire team.
One of the most important parts of preseason, however, has little to do with the x’s and o’s and passing. The preseason is an important time for you to bond with your teammates, get younger guys acclimated to the culture of the team, and work to become one cohesive unit. As I write this the season is within reach. We have a tri scrimmage in about two weeks, with our first game just seven days later. The preseason build up to play real games is electric: your team is capable of being anything, and the countless practices without a real opponent is about to end. After that, the inseason grind begins. Preseason is a cold, cold time. However, it's a great time to come closer as a team and work towards your final goal.
Our season opener is just two weeks away, on February 17, against Penn College at home.