The Westwood High School Boy’s Lacrosse team starts their season on April 5 against Don Bosco Prep. The Cardinals have played in three scrimmages so far and have had one victory.
This year, Westwood hired Casey Drummond as the new head coach, who has had previous experience as a coach in the game of lacrosse. Prior to Westwood, he volunteered as a coach at Paramus High School and then spent three years at Pascack Valley High School. “I had the privilege of being under two great mentors in my time and really have to credit them for always challenging me to push for more of myself as a coach,” said Drummond. Drummond has also worked at West Milford High School where he served as Varsity assistant and head JV coach.
Since this is only the second season that the Cardinals have a lacrosse team, they must play as a Junior Varsity team and all grade levels play together. According to Drummond, the team is working toward building experience for the Varsity level next season.
Westwood starts their season playing Don Bosco Prep. They have a mixture of games this season against Junior Varsity and Varsity teams. Even though they are a JV team, they are able to play some Varsity teams, a decision that was made by Coach Drummond. “I felt it would be a good idea to expose the players to what Varsity is like,” he said. “The move was made in order to give the players a taste of what lies ahead next year.”
According to Coach Drummond, the main goal of the season is to build a foundation for the players. He wants them to get better every day and learn as much as possible about the sport.
Walking into a new program is not a surprise for Coach Drummond. When he played lacrosse in High School, he was part of an inaugural program. Also, two of his previous coaching jobs were new programs.
“It can be a challenge because most players have little to no prior experience playing the game before, but young minds have not yet been corrupted by bad habits. This allows the formation of an identity a coach and the rest of the team can mold to their own liking and put on a path of growth and success,” said Drummond.
Drummond says he will not measure the success of the season on wins and losses. Instead, he will ask that his players come out and work hard every day no matter what. All he wants for his players are for them to get better and learn more about the sport. “If a few wins come along the way, it’s only icing on the cake!” said Coach Drummond.