By Teddy Simpson ’13 and Caroline Willian ’13, Staff Writers

For two teams whose seasons went in completely opposite directions last spring, the men’s and women’s lacrosse squads are preparing for a much more unified performance in 2011. If the positivity that both Minutemen forces are radiating this preseason is any indication, success should become a shared theme on both sides of the lacrosse field in the next couple of months. Let’s preview the upcoming seasons.

Boys Lacrosse

The past is the past. The N.A. boys lacrosse team is entering 2011 with a spring in their step uncharacteristic of a team that mustered just four conference wins a year ago. Bolstered by the experience of eight returning seniors, and charged with the excitement of deep underclassmen corps, the Minutemen are confident that this spring will be the time they finally break out.

Balanced almost perfectly from grade to grade, it is difficult to pinpoint exactly what Coach Gilbreath’s squad’s identity will look like. The team could easily feature a group of elder statesmen, fueled by the thirteen juniors and seniors, who together account for around fifty percent of the roster.  A number of these returning players were recognized with all-Conference honors last spring. Alternatively, the team may center around exciting young-blood of new players, focusing on extracting the abundance of talent from a sophomore class that posted an 8-1 record playing in junior varsity competition last year.

For a team that lost just two players to graduation last spring, change has been good in the  off-season. A rigorous new weight-lifting program has whipped the team in shape even before they started preseason, and certain strategic positional swaps have awakened a vigorous hope for a positive start to the season.  Most notably, senior Jack Bloom will play goalie for the Minuteman squad this spring, his first time playing the position in his four-year career at NA.  “He has been working hard in the off-season, but he played attack last year, so it’s new for him,” comments Captain Whit Harwood ’11.

Don’t expect much of a learning curve or slow start for this squad however.  The squad’s unity is too strong to let this happen, and the team is hoping to garner wins just as soon as the games start. “We’re really as close as can be,” says Harwood, rattling off a dozen or so nicknames as demonstrative of this point, with names ranging from “Hoge” to “El Dante”, by which teammates affectionately address each other.  The team’s upcoming team trip to Florida should only solidify the casual, but tight-knit bonds the team has already been able to form.

From their strong team dynamics to their balanced roster, all signs point towards redemption for the boys’ side of the lacrosse field this season.

Girls Lacrosse

Girls Lacrosse is looking forward to a solid, but challenging upcoming season. The class of 2011, possessing a massive seven of the team’s returning varsity players, has finally reached its senior year.  They’re an experienced group, with many seniors having seen varsity time since their freshman years, and most have experience playing the sport since their middle and elementary school years. Their strong leadership will certainly elevate the team to a new level, helping the girls to shoulder the loss of last year’s star attacker, Laura Kleiber, and to usher in a new generation of budding varsity hopefuls.

Last year the team won their conference in a three-way tie for first, but this year the girls will face tougher competition.  A conference re-allignment now pits the team against perennially strong programs like Caldwell, Millburn, and MKA.  Cross-over games could also force the girls to face off against top-20 teams like West Essex and Oak Knoll, but this remains to be seen.  While the girls are hopeful that will strong showings they will be able to fare well against this toughened competition, defense is rumored to be a focus this spring.

Last year, Coach Tavormina created a new defensive alignment, which will continue to be a big focus during practice this season. The team will face “lots of close competition, so having a strong defense will be integral in our success,” said one of four senior captains,  Ashley Ulrich ’11.  She added that the team is “concentrating on mastering the defense we first learned last year, and hoping that we will continue to perfect the system.”

The team will also have to introduce the system to a large group of new players, because ten out of the twenty-two team members are freshman. Although many of these freshman girls participated in the middle school program, they are still widely inexperienced, and with only a few sophomores and juniors, building up the skills of these young players will be extremely important for the future of the program.

Luckily, the team has time for all that. Their first game isn’t until April 1^st, and between now and then, they have lots of fun-filled and game-preparing practices planned — including several scrimmages, trips to see two college lacrosse games, and even the trip to Disneyworld. With the team composed of new players, and another large portion playing in their final year at NA,  this season should be very exciting.