Men’s Lacrosse Looking for Return to Conference Championship Game

By Wayne Dawes

The weather is getting warmer and the Kean university Men’s Lacrosse team is ready to make a playoff push and get to the conference championship. To see how the lacrosse team gets ready for that task Head coach Shelley Sheiner and Senior player Joseph McNulty gave their take on what to do to have another successful season. 

“One of the keys is to stay injury free. We’ve had some guys in and out of the lineup so I think the key to success right now is to have everyone “healthy,”coach Sheiner “said”. 

Coach Sheiner expressed that staying healthy as a team is most certainly a key to team success. Players have to stay healthy during the season and the off season, so when their number is called they are ready to help their team get the win.

“Even at the division three level all sports not just men’s lacrosse is kind of a year round commitment, such as working out, we also have a non traditional fall season and the traditional spring season, during the dark months which is october, november and december the guys are lifting, doing study hall and running around”,Sheiner said.

Playing a sport at the collegiate level involves a lot of hard work and commitment and that is what the Men’s Lacrosse team brings  year round whether that be the non traditional season, the regular season in the spring or as coach Sheiner said the dark months where players take time  to get a workout in to stay in shape. 

When it comes to sports, every team has goals,  but there is one main “goal the lacrosse team is looking to accomplish.”  

“The main goal would be to win the conference championship again and get back to the NCAA tournament, and I think to have fun along the way, coach Sheiner said.

A student athlete has a lot on their plate, it is not made for everyone, but for some they can handle the responsibility of being a student athlete.

“Being a student athlete here at kean is not easy, balancing school and athletics is definitely a big full time commitment, School is always first and with lacrosse we do study halls and gpa is a big thing. Sports is a way to get that balance and allow yourself to relieve some stress or put school aside and go to practice and enjoy yourself ”Senior Midfielder Joseph McNulty said.

Sports are a way of taking away stress. As a college student the semester can get crazy when midterms and finals come around but as a student athlete there is no playing around as they put in time into their sport and the classroom. Aside from being a student athlete, being a good team player is one of the most important things of team success.

“The most important quality would definitely be putting your teammates first, that is very important because if you’re just an I guy you only care about yourself your ego gets in the way and that can cause problems with teammates. Some other qualities would be listening and learning, you’re not always right and you can always learn from one another no matter if you are a senior or a freshman’’ McNulty said.

Team chemistry is very important, when everyone is brought in, has each other’s backs and has the same goal that can bring a team to far places.

“A big goal as a team would be to go back to the conference championship and win again. We proved to ourselves that we can do that and winning it last year made us even hungrier to win it again so that is the ultimate goal. Another goal on the side other than winning would be to build brotherhood and relationships with each other” McNulty said.

“Besides winning conference championships and getting to the NCAA tournament, building a brotherhood is very important to Joseph and the Men’s lacrosse team as relationships can be great on and off the field, playing sports creates bonds that can never be broken.

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