The Men’s Lacrosse Team at the University of Colorado at Boulder will kick off a fresh season with the return of Coach John Galvin, new faces and expectations for the team of spring 2012.
BOULDER, Colo. – The No. 9 University of Colorado men’s lacrosse team finalizes its spring try-out to get well equipped for their first preseason game on Feb. 18 at Colorado Mesa University at 1:30 p.m. The first regular season game is on Mar. 9 in Orange, Calif. against Chapman University at 7 p.m.
With 25 freshmen added to this year’s roster, the players are eager to start the season. The team is looking forward to the season and has a positive outlook because of the excellent coaching staff, with the return of head coach John Galvin, and a strong array of new players.
Coaches Galvin, Marty Taffet, and Ben Weisz are hoping to create a strong foundation working towards a better team dynamic.
“My expectations are the small things. Focusing on the detail-oriented goals and getting used to the system and the way we want to accomplish the big achievements. Whether that’s winning games or just moving forward, we have a lot of little goals,” Galvin said. “We’re trying to create a culture and better bonded team. The previous coaches did a great job, but we are trying to build a foundation off of what we have.”
Freshman midfielder Austin Colaizzi is excited that Galvin returned to CU after two years away from the program.
“I hope to learn as much as possible from Coach Galvin and a lot of the senior guys,” Colaizzi said. “With the right work mentality, I’ll try to be able to carry it on for the three years after this and try to lead the team.”
The upperclassmen players are just as motivated because they already feel the potential of the talent offered by the additional players on this season’s team.
“I’m super excited for the season because we got a lot of really young kids and they are all really passionate. More passionate than I have seen in a while,” said senior defenseman Danny Schatz. “It’s good to know they’re as dedicated to you as you are to them.”
“I think finally we can make a great run as a team,” said senior midfielder Thomas Appel. “We have some great coaching back so we’re going to be a little bit stronger in that department, which is awesome. I think as a team we will do pretty well and go pretty far in our conference as well as the national tournament.”
Assistant coach Marty Taffet said he is looking forward to the team’s Rocky Mountain Lacrosse Conference schedule.
“The games we have circled on our schedule has to be Utah in April, followed by the Colorado State University game at Mile High,” Taffet said. “Two tough opponents right before we head into the RMLC Tournament will provide a good measuring stick of how far the team has progressed over the season and hopefully it will build some momentum for a deep run at nationals.”
Taffet, who once was a CU lacrosse player on Galvin’s team, also expressed his excitement to work with his former coach.
“I think this season is going to be different than past seasons because of Coach Galvin’s return to CU. I think his two years away from CU helped him get a better idea of what he wants from players, his assistants and everyone involved with the program. With this new approach compared to past seasons, I think you are going to see a tougher, more blue collar lacrosse team.”
In 2011, the CU men’s lacrosse team finished with an 11-6 record. The wins last season came against the teams of Kansas, Utah, Simon Fraser, Minnesota – Duluth, Oregon, Arizona, Texas Tech, Boston College, Connecticut and New Hampshire. Keep up with the CU Buffaloes stats this year at www.mcla.us.
Buffs lacrosse fans can follow the team throughout the 2012 season through redhotbuffs.com. Former CU lacrosse players Colin Rosenblum and Steve Keyes are continuing their love of lacrosse and the Buffs through their Club Ball documentary, which can be viewed on the Red Hot Buffs website. Also, keep an eye out for apparel found on the website.
For more about the CU men’s lacrosse team and the coaches, please visit www.culax.org or www.redhotbuffs.com.
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