Boys lacrosse is already making an impact at O'Fallon
Panthers will play 12 matches this year
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| SCOTT MARION PHOTO The O'Fallon boys lacrosse team is the first in the Metro East, but coach Jim Intyre expects other area high schools to add the sport. |
The OTHS boys lacrosse team, under the direction of head coach Jim McIntyre, opened its inaugural season March 13 with an 11-7 win over visiting Hazelwood. The Panthers are playing a junior varsity schedule this spring.
"We only had three days outside starting Monday March 10) for a program where the majority of these young men have never played lacrosse," said McIntyre, a lieutenant colonel at Scott Air Force Base. "For them to go from zero to game shape in three days is a testament to how well they have done with their focus and their effort."Monday was the first time they ever saw a standard six-on-six practice with offensive and defensive sets. Tuesday we put in what you do when you have a penalty - being a man down or a man up - and a few techniques to help them get the ball from one end of the field to the other. Wednesday, the day before the game, was the first time they saw faceoffs, substitutions or any whole field work at all. Then it was game on for Thursday.
"I was very pleased with the first quarter. If they play the offensive and defensive sets that their coaches have instructed them, they'll be fine. After a while, the excitement starts to take over, but are you happy with a victory? Absolutely. For a program that has just started its existence to beat a team that has been playing lacrosse for 10 years, it speaks for their effort and the effort of all these coaches out here."
McIntyre credited offense coordinator Daniel Snow for O'Fallon's opening-game victory.
"He has taken these guys from zero to game ready in literally about an hour and a half of dedicated practice time," McIntyre said. "When they executed his game plan, they were highly effective. We had nine shots in the first quarter alone and the score was 9-3 at halftime. After that, they started to break down in communication and not necessarily run our sets. They started to freelance a little bit, but overall they did pretty well."
The boys lacrosse program - as well girls lacrosse, coached by Stefanie Grossman - is the result of several years of planning.
"I've known the athletic director (Todd Moeller) for a long time and I originally expressed my interest in starting a program here five or six years ago, but the timing wasn't right and the logistics weren't right," said McIntyre, who was an assistant coach at CBC High School in St. Louis prior to taking the O'Fallon job. "There were issues with (playing) space and there were concerns with funding.
"Ultimately once the decision was made whether we were going to have one high school or two (in O'Fallon), it was determined that we were going to be here (at OTHS). Then they started to redevelop space and decide what they were going to do with the (new) freshman campus. That opened up some field space and the next question was, was there some interest (in lacrosse)?
"In the same survey that ended up bringing the boys volleyball team (in the spring of 2007) there were roughly about 135 young men and about 75 young women that said they were interested in lacrosse. That was enough for the athletic director to take significant notice because with a school of 2,500 students, the more healthy alternatives and options that you can give them, the better your school is. Some of these kids have never played a varsity sport, or even a high school sport, before."
Once the addition of lacrosse was approved by the school board, O'Fallon prepared for the sport's debut this spring.
"The athletic department, with the push of Mr. Moeller, was adamant on funding the equipment," McIntyre said. "There aren't any other teams I know of where they don't have to buy their own gear. He wanted to make it available to everyone and since most of these young men and women have never seen lacrosse, so to sink $300 or $400 on equipment just to try out was an unrealistic approach. The school board wholeheartedly supported his position and funded the program and here we are today."
McIntyre started playing lacrosse while growing up in northern Virginia.
"I was a military brat and played up until high school when my dad was (transferred) to Texas, where as a 15-year-old I played for a post-collegiate club," he said. "I went on to play in college at the Air Force Academy, then took a 10-year hiatus right after pilot training and establishing my family.
"Then I saw three young men playing lacrosse in the O'Fallon park a few years ago and they were with the high school that I had coached up until now (CBC). That pretty much brings us to here - just kind of biding our time and waiting until the time was right to start a lacrosse program at O'Fallon.
"The lacrosse programs in Missouri were incredibly willing to play us. We've got 12 games, which is pretty good for a first-year program, and eight of them are at home."
Snow, likewise, is happy to have the opportunity to coach at OTHS.
"I just moved here from Cincinnati in the fall and when I started playing lacrosse, it was kind of the same thing," Snow said. "We were a first-year team my junior year in high school. From there I played at Indiana University, then came back to Cincinnati and coached at my alma mater for five years, including two years as head coach.
"When I moved here, Jimmy (McIntyre) got a hold of my name through CBC and we talked (about the O'Fallon program) and we thought this was a good match. We're off to a good start.
"As a coach of a first-year team, you've got to stay with the basics and make sure you're not too advanced. When you're explaining things, you have to explain all the little nuances - hand positioning, foot positioning, your shoulders and your hips. Once you get through the basics, you can go by leaps and bounds."
The other coaches for the Panthers are Dave Murdoch (goalies), Jimmy Greene (offensive assistant) and Shane Trotter (defensive assistant), Trotter is a former O'Fallon football player.
"This is just the start for this side of the river," McIntyre said. "There's little question in my mind that within a season or two, other high schools will follow suit. Lacrosse is an explosive game - it's grown 200 percent in 10 years - you can't contain it."
Seniors on the inaugural OTHS team are Rudi Atkins, Brian Boeving, Nick Fensom, Lee Geyer, Brandon Schmidt, Cameron Stapchuck, Phil Terhaar and Brad Thompson.
Juniors are Cody Anderson, Justin Federhofer, Tommy Ghormley, Evan Hauser, Brett Johnson, Matt Kendall, Drew McLean, Brice Otte, Jeff Vowell, Michael Webb and Larkin Wobbe.
The sophomores for O'Fallon are Sam Cassidy, Vosker Cowans, Josh Greene, Tevin Johnson, Josh Kaemmerer, Tyler McKinney, Chris McLeod, Danny Morse, Bryan Ohlendorf, Evan Paeth, Chris Stapchuck and Nick Teague.
Freshman lacrosse players for the Panthers are Alex Consunji and Brian Furrow.
