LHS teams train together to gain agility

Field hockey players join in football’s preseason exercises.

By: Tim Falls
   Lawrence High School senior Amanda Deficcio is already thankful she took part in the Cardinal football program’s agility and plyometrics workouts this summer.
   Kristin Shields, Lawrence’s new field hockey coach, accepted head football coach Rob Radice’s open invitation and had her team join in the agility training.
   Deficcio, and many of her teammates on the field hockey team are already reaping the benefits of those workouts.
   "I’m not sore like I am every other preseason," said Deficcio on Tuesday morning during the Cardinals preseason training. "I’m not at all sore, so that’s good."
   It’s the first time another team took up Radice’s offer and he was happy to have the girls come out.
   "We open up the workouts to all our athletes," said Radice. "We believe its a key component to getting stronger. You have to get bigger, faster and stronger. The agility workouts are the faster and stronger part."
   The Lawrence football players also spend plenty of time in the weight room so they can get bigger.
   While it might have been the first time the field hockey team joined in the training, it quickly became clear to both coaches that the athletes had the same goals.
   "One commonality they all had," said Shields, "was they all wanted to become better athletes. They noticed that they were getting quicker with their movements and once they saw that, they were motivated to work even harder."
   "We felt it was a great meshing of the athletes," said Radice. "At first we weren’t sure how the kids would handle it, but the were like ‘this is cool, they’re out there working as hard as us.’ It wasn’t a boy-girl thing. Their common goal was to become the best Lawrence Cardinal athletes they could become."
   The summer is when the football team needs to build its strength. If they waited until their first game, it would already be too late.
   "Those workouts help speed, acceleration, agility," said Lawrence’s Brian Mills. "During the season it’s so hard to find time. Now we have the time and we don’t want to sacrifice any of that. Doing it over the summer during the off season really helps out."
   The football team has been doing the agility and plyometrics workouts for a few years and have several season of success to show for it.
   "Usually it’s just the football team," said Will Nahan. "This year the girls field hockey team took it upon themselves to improve their team and get ready for the season, so they joined us in the workouts. Our season for football is year-round. We don’t take days off. That’s why we keep winning. The field hockey team is getting better and they want to keep winning too. It was great that we incorporated the two Lawrence teams together, not just separated by sport, but as the teams of Lawrence getting together and working out together."
   Along with the physical training, the field hockey team got to share in the football team’s intensity.
   "The first day we walked in, it was a whole other mentality," said Shields. "When you go in with the football team, they all have this mentality and this focus. When my girls jumped in, they took on that mentality of becoming better and stronger. It was contagious."
   Shields and assistant field hockey coach Kristen Deficcio ran a speed ladder station during the agility workouts alongside the stations conducted by Radice and his assistant coaches Dave Bossio, Anthony Ammirata, Reeves Ferguson, Chris Gresko, Dean Mason and Nate Jones.
   The drive the football players had rubbed off on the field hockey team right away.
   "I’d see the football players and they’d try so hard," said Mahera Rehman, a junior on Lawrence’s field hockey team. "That motivated me to do even better too."
   Rehman also felt better prepared after the agility training.
   "It helped me a lot," said Rehman. "I’m able to keep up with everyone a lot better than I was before."
   "There was a lot of teamwork," said freshman Niki Ikeda. "When we were stretching, everyone was talking and yelling and kind of pumping it up, sot it was a lot of fun. Last year I remember dying during field hockey. This year it’s been a lot easier for me."
   Just like football, the field hockey team wants to be ready to play.
   "I think our first game is the second day of school," said Ikeda. "It’ll be a lot easier to start and be in shape instead of starting out of shape and having to work during the season to get in shape."
   While the football players are an intimidating force on the field against their opponents, the field hockey team felt welcomed from the start.
   "It was a lot of fun, I think it benefited the girls who came," said senior Lauren Gutierrez. "It worked on everybody’s speed, and in the game of field hockey you need that quickness. The football teams was very welcoming to us. They boys weren’t there to make fun of us, they helped us out, which was great."
   "There wasn’t much competition between the teams," said Mills. "It was more of trying to help each other out. Like if someone’s having trouble or someone needs help getting up you give them a hand."
   Sharing the same training brought pride to both teams.
   "We’ve been out here every summer," said Anthony Russ. "I guess our success has got the other teams thinking they should get out here too. Having the field hockey team come out was great. We didn’t really get a chance to talk, but I think it helped bond the teams together because we were both out there sweating and working real hard."
   The Lawrence football team went undefeated in the Colonial Valley Conference last season, but were upset in the NJSIAA playoffs providing plenty of inspiration for their training. Likewise, the Cardinal football team’s success has inspired the field hockey players to work harder in the summer as well.
   "You have to put a lot of work in if you want to be ready," said Gutierrez. "We see how hard they work and they’re three-peat CVC champions and they’re looking for a fourth. We see how hard they work and how it’s paid off and that’s what we want."
   That’s why the field hockey players know the work they’ve done will be worth it when it comes time to play.
   "It was a lot of work," said Maddie Price, "but we know working hard will make us do better in the games."
   Now the teams are off on their own fields doing the preseason drills and learning plays, but their time together was well spent.
   "Having another Lawrence team there helped make us be better," said Brock Krawczun "We’re always trying to work our hardest and it’s great to have another Lawrence team help us. It show’s everyone’s trying to win."
   The Lawrence Football team opens its season with a home game against Notre Dame at 11 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 8.
   The Cardinal Field Hockey team hosts Hamilton at 7:30 p.m. Friday Sept. 7 at the Mercer County Community College stadium for their season opener.