Since the beginning of the 2012 lacrosse season, freshmen and sophomore boys on JV lacrosse have put on their pads every March and tried to get back into lacrosse shape. As March 23, the day of the first JV lacrosse game, closes in, the team is reminded daily of the high expectation to maintain its undefeated streak.
Boys JV lacrosse has gone an unprecedented three seasons without a loss.
According to athletic director Scott Rivinius, this is the first time that JV boys lacrosse has been undefeated for this long.
It has been 28 games since the team lost a game, and the Bulldogs continue to thrive under the leadership of head coach David Blumenthal.
“I’ve been blessed with kids that have bought into my system of lacrosse,” Blumenthal said. “Instead of having two or three shining players, I’ve had five or six that share the workload, and I think being able to have multiple threats who buy into the system has really helped continue the same success we’ve had year-to-year.”
Blumenthal is entering his fifth year as head coach and is 32-2-2 with CHS. He has mastered a style of coaching in which he understands each player’s strengths and weaknesses.
According to Blumenthal, at the beginning of each season, he experiments with each player’s skills, tries to emphasize the strong parts of the team and spends time on things the team needs to improve on.
Going undefeated is hard enough, and doing it consistently with a JV team is almost unheard of. Not only does the roster consist of fewer returning players and less experienced athletes, it is often the first time they have played together as a team.
“It shows the strong program that the coaching staff has put together to have that consistency for three years when JV rosters tend to change more from year to year than varsity ones,” Rivinius said.
As the season approaches, the Bulldogs have pressure to maintain their previous excellence. However, Blumenthal and the players are trying to keep their focus on becoming better as a team and working on playing the best lacrosse they can.
“It’s definitely in the back of our heads to go undefeated this year, but as of now, our goal is to improve as a team and be as successful as we can,” sophomore attackman Harrison Gerber said.
To maintain his hot streak and incredible winning record, Blumenthal approaches every new season and all of his new players with a similar mentality.
“I’ve learned that the attitude of the players is going to reflect the attitude of leadership, so I’ve learned to be a little calmer and more understanding, especially early in March, when these kids are learning because they are new or trying to knock the rust off and need a calming influence who tells them it’s okay to make mistakes,” Blumenthal said.
The season opener will be against The Heights School on March 23. With Bluminthal’s previous win percentage, the team is sure to have another incredible, if not undefeated, season.