We started our fourth annual “Preseason player’s perspective” feature by checking in with a pair of championship teams from this past spring — New York State Class A champion West Islip and Connecticut Class M champion Darien.
Today, we visit with another title-winning team from 2012.
And 2011. And 2010.
And, of yeah, 2009, too.
You see, St. Anthony’s has won four straight New York CHSAA championships, beating Chaminade in the AAA final each season. In fact, the two teams have won every CHSAA AAA title since 1987.
Each of the last two years, St. Anthony’s has beaten Chaminade in the final after falling to the Flyers in the regular season twice.
For a look at how the Friars look heading into 2013, we get the thoughts of one of the squad’s seniors, Jordan Lefranc.
The 6-foot, 185-pound attackman is a lefty who is headed to Siena College.
Now, here are Jordan’s perspectives on the 2013 season.
What have you been doing to get ready for the season?
My teammates and I have been doing a lot to prepare for this upcoming season. As far as myself, I have been getting together with speed and conditioning trainer to stay in top notch shape.
Also, I have been shooting and running before school with one of my teammates, Brandon Cortazar, weekly at 6 a.m. in our indoor facility at school.
How does your schedule look, what games are you looking forward to most, and who are some of your scrimmages against?
Every year our schedule gets harder. We have some top programs in the country on our schedule such as Delbarton, Darien, Fairfield Prep and Yorktown.
I would have to say the game I am looking forward to the most is against our in-league rival Chaminade. We get to play them three times throughout the year, but everyone knows the third game which is for the championship is the one that matters the most.
As far as scrimmages, nothing has been set in stone, but we do have Garden City, another elite program on Long Island we get to scrimmage each year.
What player or players on your team do you think will surprise some people this season?
We have a lot of talent on our team that not too many people know about, but a couple of names that do come to mind are goalies: RPI-bound senior Anthony Delosreyes and Hofstra-bound junior Jack Concannon. Both are going to be fighting for the starting spot and they both have the lacrosse ability to surprise many people after being the the shadow of Kieran Burke for the past couple of years.
Also, junior midfielder Conor Byrnes is another great lacrosse player that will see some time and surprise and impress many people, and even college coaches, being that he is still undecided. He has great work ethic.
What do you think the strength of your team will be?
I think our offense is going to be a strength of our team this year. Our midfield is loaded with over eight Division I players, all who are great dodger and finisher.
On attack, myself, along with Matt Koerner, Dylan Molloy, Mikey Laviano and A.J. Core, all will be having key roles in creating and distributing the ball for scoring opportunities .
How do you view the race in your league and who do you think some of the contending teams will be?
In our league, the outcome is pretty much the same each year. It ends up being St. Anthony’s vs. Chaminade in the finals.
Each year, the three-game series is unpredictable, but we have been working hard enough to win the past four championship and are looking to continue this year by finishing with our fifth straight Catholic championship.
It’s going to be a challenging road to the championship, but with the group of guys we have on the team this year, there is no doubt in my mind that we can get it done.
If you’re a player from the NY/NJ/CT tristate region and would like to share your perspectives on the 2012 season, send an email to info@laxlessons.com.
* LaxLessons.com story on Jordan’s commitment to Siena
* For more info on Jordan, check out his player profile by clicking here
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Posted In: CHSAA lacrosse, Player's perspective
Great job with the early look at the team Jordan.
Here’s a bold prediction – St. A’s vs. Nade in CHSAA final!
Lots of good info> Really enjoy reading these.
Well on paper Nade does have more talent but if St As wins yet again there is some kind of psychological factor coming into play.