Early on Sunday morning, instead of sleeping in and lazing around on the last day of winter break, the Oratory Prep lacrosse team was training for their upcoming season. This was the true start of winter training for the team as a way to keep their skills sharp before the season begins.

This training was a huge commitment, and a show of dedication from the team because it began at 7:30 in the morning. Everyone, sleepy from having to wake up early after a long break of sleeping in, was quickly forced to wake themselves up for what was to come. Run by a kind coach from Scotch Plains and an Oratory alumnus lacrosse player, Jack McKenna, the training was focused mostly on the team’s stick skills, with different drills designed to improve passing and picking up ground balls. Everything was fast-paced and served to get the players in shape concurrently with improving their sticks. Both the coach from Scotch Plains and McKenna were more than willing to help the players with their mechanics and to give them pointers to improve their game. McKenna, who played lacrosse at the College of the Holy Cross, is one of the best players to ever come out of Oratory, and learning from him and a seasoned coach of a successful Scotch Plains program was very enriching. 

As someone who attended this session of winter training, I can tell you that even though we mostly did stick work, this training was not by any means easy. Because of Christmas and New Years, I myself was severely out of shape, and I am sure that many of my teammates were as well. Thus, as the training lasted for about an hour and a half, I began to wear out as it went on and we continued to run and do drills. The conditioning aspect was what I found the toughest. Despite the challenge, however, I do believe that this was a great thing for the lacrosse team, and I enjoyed getting back on the field and playing with my fellow friends and teammates. Almost no other lacrosse team in Oratory’s history has been able to take advantage of such an organized indoor training, and so I am excited for what the season holds for our team this year as we will already have a leg up. 

With this winter training continuing every Sunday going up until the start of the season in about two months, the lacrosse team will be ready in full force for the season ahead. Rally the Rowdies, because the future is looking very bright for Oratory Lacrosse, with everyone working their hardest to be the best that they can be.