After posting an undefeated regular season record last season, the Bromfield boys lacrosse team stands ready to make a deep run in the postseason this year. The Trojans lost in the second round last year to powerhouse Algonquin. The team has a strong group of returning veteran players from each class and hopes to gel with new head coach Joe Gatto.
“Mr. Gatto is a great coach and knows a lot about the game,” says senior tri-captain Kevin Wilkinson. “He’s been involved with the team for awhile and we’re very familiar with him. He does a ton for HAA lacrosse and coaches one of the younger teams. His philosophy is very similar to our old one, but he’s going to implement a slightly different offense, involving more motion.” Wilkinson forms a key part of the team’s defense along with seniors Jack Broadbent and Matt Tower.
“The main thing we need to work on is dodging from any spot on the field,” explains Wilkinson. “We also need to make sure everyone keeps their feet moving on offense to create more open looks and challenge the defense. We have very good team defense and our attack is also very good. Our [midfielders] are all very athletic and we need to work on getting them more involved in our offense because they will be able to put up points. Our biggest weakness is [our] lack of unity on offense.”
The team has spent a significant part of practices working on transitioning from defense to offense and vice versa, as well as building team cohesion on the field.
“So far, we’ve worked a lot on getting familiar with the ball and our team again,” says Wilkinson. “We do a lot of work with fast breaks to get our sliding and decision-making back. A lot of groundball drills for the competition too.”
Senior captain Scott Nussdorfer echoes Wilkinson’s sentiments. “We need to work on basics, like throwing and catching, as well as team offense and defense. Our main strength is that we have a lot of all-around good players, but we just need to bring it together as a team.”
The team kicked off the season against Leominster March 31.
