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By Idaho Head Coach Mike Band

The month of February was inaugurated by the unthinkable.  Last Sunday night, club rats (and reigning champs of MCLA D1) Michigan Wolverines “upset” NCAA D1 princes of Bellarmine University 14-8 in an unofficial scrimmage.  Now if you’re just reading this, you may be reacting as I did at first: screaming non-sense obscenities, and tearing off your clothes to bathe your nude body in sausage grease before storming down the hall to tell your boss that you’ve never liked his moustache.  Certainly, the end is near.  Right?  Right!?

But worry not, ye faithful!  For the stalwart defenders of the lax aristocracy quickly swarmed the Inside Lacrosse message boards to put the so-called “victory” in perspective: (more…)

By Idaho Head Coach Mike Band

I’d like to (and will) begin by apologizing for my 2-week hiatus.  I spent my spring break in southern California, basking in warmth and sunshine and happiness.  I spent the subsequent week back here in Moscow, ID cutting myself and weeping quietly.

Myself and my boys returned from spring break refreshed and ready to get back to work.  If you don’t believe me, you can check the team’s Facebook statuses between March 18-24.  If you didn’t know what “lacrosse” was, you’d think my players were all pining for some lost lover. (more…)

By Idaho Head Coach Mike Band

Weekend Results

Saturday night: L to my girlfriend’s dog, Benny, in a game of keep-away, 0-1.
Sunday night: W over a 6 pack of beer, 6-0.
(Oh, and Vandal Lacrosse undefeated for the weekend at 0-0.) (more…)

By Idaho Head Coach Mike Band

Weekend Results
Friday: W, 8-5 over Gonzaga University
Saturday: W, 16-5 over Washington State University

Over the weekend we managed to notch a couple of “must-win” wins and bring ourselves back up to .500 with a record of 3-3.  The win over GU was our first in the regular season (we took a couple from them during fall ball, but we all know how little fall ball means).  After a heartbreaking last-second loss two years ago and a disappointing showing last year in Spokane, finally taking one from the Bulldogs was nice.  In particular I need to take a minute to give it up for my defense (lovingly dubbed, the Legion of Doom), who made a stand-out showing which included an awe-inspiring 3rd quarter marathon stand.   (more…)

By Mike Band

Mike Band nearly had to choke somebody on Saturday.  Over the weekend we got stomped by the University of Washington.  It was worse than Indiana Jones 4.  Now I’m not going to blow smoke up your collective asses: UW is legit this year and right now they are better than we are.  But by the same pragmatic token, know this: we aren’t as bad as we played on Saturday and the score should have been much closer.  In fact, I haven’t seen a Vandal Lacrosse team play that miserably in some years.  Star players were dropping the ball mid-cradle as they ran down the field with nobody on them.  Everyone on the team simultaneously had the worst games of their lives.  It was the damnedest thing. (more…)

By Mike Band

Weekend Review
Loss to Simon Fraser, 5-15
Over the weekend, we played Simon Fraser (the “vicious right-handed beasts they’re calling a lacrosse team” that I referenced last week).  My description was apt and we lost by 10 points.  Sadly, due to some scholastic responsibilities I was unable to travel with the team and I arranged for fellow Vandal Lacrosse founding father and alumnus, Brian Johnson, to stand in the coach’s box and shout at people for me.  I believe that my presence could have mitigated the damage and made the game a goal or three closer.

Coaches periodically missing games is an unfortunate reality in this league, as very few of us get paid and I have yet to hear of any coach whose doesn’t have a full time job or course load on top of his coaching duties.  That said, I’ve promised the team that I won’t be missing another game this year and that’s a promise I’ll be keeping. (more…)

By Mike Band

PSU Prologue – Saturday @ 10:26am, opening faceoff in 214 minutes.

This pregame period is rough, and I just sent texts to both my girlfriend (for sympathy) and Coach Hanavan (for empathy) saying as much. Evidently my brain failed to send the message to my body that I don’t get to play anymore. Maybe brain just didn’t have the heart to break the news. As a result, I have this familiar energy that I’m now unsure what to do with.

When I played, I would have tossed my gear into my bag and headed to the field an hour before the rest of the team to tool around on the field by myself with my headphones in. I’m not sure there’s an analogous form of catharsis for coaches. Am I supposed to go to the field and start sauntering around on the sidelines by myself, shouting at ghosts? I’m not looking to get committed here. (more…)

By Mike Band

FIRSTLY

When one is presented with an opportunity to be heard, it is easy for one to jump at it. The notion is attractive. As soon as one is actually expected to say something worthwhile, however, the whole thing suddenly seems like a trap. Roughly, the saying goes, “it is better to be thought a fool than to open your mouth and prove it.” Luckily, if what you have to say isn’t worth anyone’s time, then people will stop paying attention soon and forget about you. I suppose what I’m getting at is that this whole blogging business presents an interesting risk in that very soon (and perhaps already) you will decide if I am an idiot or not and if you do then I will be wasting both my time and credibility. That’s alright, though, as my time is worth very little and I don’t have much credibility to begin with.

My name is Mike Band. You had probably already figured that out. I’m the new head coach of the University of Idaho Men’s Lacrosse Club. That isn’t to say that I am new to the program. I founded the club. I used up all of my eligibility playing for the club. I have been the president, the vice-president, the webmaster, and a captain. And now, having worn all of those hats, I have assumed the rather dubious title of head coach. You’d think that I really enjoy this, however I’m not sure that “enjoy” is precisely the right term but I’ll come back to that at a later time. The fact may be obvious, but it bears mentioning that all this gives me a rather unique perspective, or at least one that is somewhat rare. What I have yet to determine is whether or not the ability to understand the challenges of participating in lacrosse at the “virtual varsity” level from the perspective of nearly every interested role within a program is helpful or harmful as it pertains to my ability to coach. That, I think, will be the first focus of this blog and it is a revelation that will take some time to come to. (more…)