The Youth Lacrosse Season has begun. So the pace of life has picked up considerably. Our East Meadow 3rd/4th Grade Girls Team is off to a good start. Though the record is 1 Win and 2 Losses, I think they are playing at a higher level than last year’s team, so I am pleased with how it is going, so far. The 5th/6th Grade Boys from Hempstead dominated a Club Team from Brooklyn in a scrimmage and then beat a strong Floral Park Squad in the opening game of their season. The Boys are also way ahead of last year’s team and it will be exciting to see just how good they can become.

Along with the start of Lacrosse Games, the Spring brings House Projects. I began the garden, indoors this year, with some lettuce and spinach seeds I had saved from last year. I have never had much luck with growing from seeds. They begin fine, but something always seems to derail them. Our cat Arya, has already done some damage (twice!) and I am getting ready to see if the seedlings can make it outside – I am not optimistic. I spent more than a week, prepping and then painting the Dining Room, Living Room and Stairway. Being a bit of a perfectionist, and not painting on a regular basis, I am thus a slow painter. I think it came out pretty good – it pays to buy good paint.

After 9 days in painting confinement, I was so, ready to get out. So, Wednesday morning I hit the road for Nazareth’s Game at Alfred University, or so I thought. About an hour into the drive, I was speaking with Diana, who jokingly (or was it half jokingly?) said that Alfred was not a strong team and that I would be better off going to the Cortland vs. St. John Fisher Game in Rochester. The prospect of being able to get an in person scouting report on Naz’s Conference Rival and next Opponent, was instantly appealing to me! I engaged the microphone feature on Google Maps and found that the trip to St. John Fisher would only be about 15 minutes longer than if I went to Alfred. I suddenly felt useful and decided that it would be worth giving up the chance to see Diana (we are planning on going to next Saturday’s Game at Hartwick College in Oneonta), if I could possibly help her team, if even the slightest bit.

During the remainder of the ride, I had a good conversation with my friend/lax mentor Chick Chakrian. When I told him that I was going to scout St. John Fisher for Nazareth, he chuckled and said “you are a Lax Rat and a Road Warrior”. I think he may have been a tad jealous. I arrived at Fisher and found a pen and exactly one sheet of paper to write notes on. Having endured about 4 hours of rain, I was happy to soak up the sunshine and enjoy the temperature in the low 60’s. I, of course was rooting for Cortland, but was mostly focused on putting together as thorough a report as possible for Diana. It was a great game that was tied at 8 at the end of the 3rd Quarter. Cortland owned the final stanza and wound up with a 12-8 road victory. I spoke briefly with Diana, giving her my general thoughts on the game, as I drove to my hotel in Corning, and we agreed to speak more at length in the morning, after she had time to look at my notes.

We spoke in detail on Thursday morning before I embarked for home. While I wish I could have gotten to see Diana, I absolutely loved scouting for her and her team. I hope it helped them at least in some small way. After we covered all of the finer points, I got on my way. During the ride home, I could not help but wonder if this trip illustrated that I had reached a new level of crazy, when it comes to lacrosse and coaching. If so, I don’t care. I had fun doing it!