Captains keep team on course

When senior Jim O'Brien first picked up a lacrosse stick, he swore he'd never play again. Accustomed to being naturally gifted at sports, when he showed up to his first practice in fourth grade and was unable to cradle or catch, he went home discouraged.

"I was really upset, I didn't know how to do it all," O'Brien said. "I told my dad 'I'm never playing again.' Fortunately, I came back the next year."

His resiliency has paid off, as this fall he was named a tri-captain alongside fellow seniors Ryan Schoenig and Grant Hewit.

Coming into this season, before naming the captains, head coach Bill Tierney was a little worried. Unlike years past, when players had immediately jumped out as captain material, he wasn't sure who his captains would be. But as they were named one by one, he began to relax, and now he knows the team is in good hands.

"Sometimes having captains who aren't your greatest players can sometimes worry you, but in this case I'm not worried at all," Tierney said. "Because what we're trying to stress with a team like this — where there are no superstars — is camaraderie, is hard work, is unselfishness, and those three guys couldn't represent that any more."

The camaraderie among the three is immediately apparent through the jokes they exchange and the respect they have for each other, evident in their playful banter. Though their personalities are distinct, they all have one goal.

"Every year we go into the season wanting to win the national championship," Schoenig said.

The team will be relying heavily on Schoenig, a defensive midfielder who Tierney describes as "a rock." Extremely versatile and dependable, he even brings two sticks to practice.

Since the team has tremendous depth at Schoenig's traditional short-stick defensive midfield position, Tierney decided to move him to long-stick. Very few players are capable of switching positions so easily, but both Tierney and his teammates agree Schoenig is a special player — he was unanimously elected to the captaincy last spring.

"Ryan's one of those gentle giants, he's a big imposing guy, but he's really a teddy bear," O'Brien said. "He's one of the most respected guys on our team."

While Schoenig is, by all accounts, a lead-by-example type, Hewit and O'Brien are the talkative ones.

"Jimmy and I tend to be a little louder," Hewit said. "A little more attention-grabbing, I guess."

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The captains' differing personalities lend to their effectiveness as leaders as they help different players to relate to each one of them at different times. Both Hewit and O'Brien were named as captains in the fall for their assertive leadership in conditioning workouts and practices, where their loud voices complemented Schoenig's quiet example.

Hewit caught the eyes of Tierney immediately when the team returned from summer vacation, and he was named a captain in the fall. At defensive midfield, Hewit is an intelligent player, and Tierney compared him to Tim Sullivan '05 for his steady play.

"Right away, Grant stood out, he just came back ready," Tierney said. "He's not the most talented athlete, but he has composure, dedication, and every time you try to get him out of the lineup, he plays so well and so smart you have to keep him out there."

Despite Hewit's intelligence on the field, O'Brien was the smart one among the captains when they decided to take on the bulls in Pamplona, Spain after their sophomore year.

"I was convinced that I was faster than he was, Jimmy was a little smarter," Hewit said. "I was like good, they're 100 yards away from me, and next thing I know I'm like: uh oh."

The two not only escaped being one of the 18 people hospitalized that day, but they also made it into the arena, the ultimate goal when running with the bulls.

To lead the team this season will require both guts and smarts, as the team deals with a transition in offensive style as well as an influx of numerous talented freshmen. On the other hand, motivation is not in short supply. After a disappointing season last year in which the team failed to make the posteason for the first time in over a decade, almost the entire team attended optional practices over the fall and winter. Also, the off-season work ethic displayed by the entire team has been at a level surpassing that of years past.

As O'Brien says, "If you can't get motivated by the season we had last year, you shouldn't be playing at all."

The captains' job is made easier by a number steady senior leaders who have stepped up and taken responsibility, as well as the general camaraderie of the team, which they believe is second to none.

"Off the field we all just enjoy hanging out," Hewit said, "It's just a great group of dudes."