Goalie Ben Warren squares up to the shooter.
By Jon Styf
LocalSportsJournal.com
The boys lacrosse program at Mona Shores found a lot of success in a short period of time and now, this year, coach Murle Greer knows the Sailors have to find their own identity.
They lost 11 seniors and, just as the season began, lost senior Eric Cotner as well.
The defense is back, built around seniors Madden Flanders and Western Michigan football signee Andrew Baker in front of a split goalie role between senior Matt Tallman and junior Ben Warren.
But the offense is still trying to find its identity with a 3-5 start and 2-2 conference record.
“This season is about finding our own identity, not being the team from last year but being our own team even though we know we have a huge target on our back,” Greer said.
For Cotner, the peak was last season as he planned to enter his final year and make it his best.
Not too long ago, Mona Shores was 1-17.
But once Cotner reached high school, the success came quickly. As freshman, this year’s seniors saw the team finish second in Tier 3 OK Conference lacrosse. As sophomores, they won Tier 3.
Then, as juniors, they went 9-0 in conference play and 18-2 overall to win Tier 2.
“It’s exciting to know we did something to change who we play against,” Cotner said. “That was by far my favorite season of competitive sports.”
This year, he was planning for a repeat. But, when it came time for sports physicals, he was found to have high blood pressure. A warning sign, he was then sent for an echocardiogram.
Then an MRI. Then he flew to Minnesota to have more tests.
That sports physical led to the discovery that he had heart issues in his right coronary valve, leading to scheduled open heart surgery on April 25 followed by four months of scheduled recovery.
“It’s really kind of a bummer,” Cotner said. “But it’s better to find out about it than not, because it’s like the whole ‘Healthy kid drops dead on the field’ thing. That’s what they’re worried about.”
So Cotner will cheer the Sailors from the sidelines before heading to Grand Valley State, where he will be part of the club lacrosse program.
For Baker, it wasn’t a difficult decision to return for his senior season. Some advised him to skip lacrosse before he heads to Western Michigan on June 26 as a scholarship football player due to injury risks, but for Baker that was never really a consideration.
“I couldn’t really do that to all of these guys,” Baker said. “I would feel awful about it. With how fun it was last year, I couldn’t really say no to it.”
Instead, Baker and Flanders lead the Sailors in what Greer calls a position that’s more brains than brawn. He compares lacrosse defense to playing offensive guard in football, where it’s all about angles and protecting the goal like a lineman protects his quarterback.
It’s about footwork, legwork, angles and picking and choosing the right time to throw a check.
Because while a great check can become a turnover, it’s also always a risk.
“You have to be smart, you have to be thinking to play defense,” Greer said. “It’s not a meathead position with just the biggest, toughest guys. It’s really about the smartest guys.
Knowing where to be, especially when you’re off ball. He leads our defense in communication.”
For Baker, that’s all part of being a good teammate and playing his role. He thinks playing lacrosse has helped his lateral agility for being a linebacker and he knows he wants to cherish every moment he can this season.
“This is my last thing to do with all of my friends,” Baker said. “I’m just really trying to make the most of it and having fun. Do as much as we did last year, if not more.”
The season started tough, but some of that was by design. Rather than elevating again to Tier 1 after last year’s title, Greer knew his team would be losing enough talent they would be better off remaining in Tier 2.
But that didn’t stop them from scheduling the gauntlet of Tier 1 opponents East Grand Rapids, Grand Rapids Catholic Central and Forest Hills Eastern to start the season. All were losses. All learning experiences.
“We saw the best lacrosse that we’re going to see for the season in our first three games,”
Greer said. “And that’s not a knock on the competition we have left.
“Those first three games opened our eyes to what we need to improve on.”
Now, they will find that identity. Part of that falls to the goalies. Greer said that who is better depends on the day, so he will ride the successful option in a match when one gets on a roll.
Warren had an equipment issue at Traverse City, for example, and Tallman entered with little warmup before rattling off 12 straight saves.
“You don’t take out a hot goalie,” Greer said. “You leave him in there. If he’s seeing the ball, he’s seeing the ball. Some days it looks like a golf ball, other days it looks like a beach ball. “Matt was definitely at the beach on Saturday.”
Greer looks at players like twins Ezra and Micah Carafelle and sees how far the program has come. Both are excellent athletes who picked up the game as freshmen and now are junior leaders.
That’s what he hopes for from all of his players, leading to success on and off the field.
“We have had tremendous success in a short amount of time and it’s a testament to a lot of things,” Greer said. “Playing extra lacrosse, we have a lot of outstanding multiple sport athletes playing lacrosse. We have had great support from administration.
“When you put all of those things together, it’s not hard to be successful on and off the field.”
LocalSportsJournal.com
The boys lacrosse program at Mona Shores found a lot of success in a short period of time and now, this year, coach Murle Greer knows the Sailors have to find their own identity.
They lost 11 seniors and, just as the season began, lost senior Eric Cotner as well.
The defense is back, built around seniors Madden Flanders and Western Michigan football signee Andrew Baker in front of a split goalie role between senior Matt Tallman and junior Ben Warren.
But the offense is still trying to find its identity with a 3-5 start and 2-2 conference record.
“This season is about finding our own identity, not being the team from last year but being our own team even though we know we have a huge target on our back,” Greer said.
For Cotner, the peak was last season as he planned to enter his final year and make it his best.
Not too long ago, Mona Shores was 1-17.
But once Cotner reached high school, the success came quickly. As freshman, this year’s seniors saw the team finish second in Tier 3 OK Conference lacrosse. As sophomores, they won Tier 3.
Then, as juniors, they went 9-0 in conference play and 18-2 overall to win Tier 2.
“It’s exciting to know we did something to change who we play against,” Cotner said. “That was by far my favorite season of competitive sports.”
This year, he was planning for a repeat. But, when it came time for sports physicals, he was found to have high blood pressure. A warning sign, he was then sent for an echocardiogram.
Then an MRI. Then he flew to Minnesota to have more tests.
That sports physical led to the discovery that he had heart issues in his right coronary valve, leading to scheduled open heart surgery on April 25 followed by four months of scheduled recovery.
“It’s really kind of a bummer,” Cotner said. “But it’s better to find out about it than not, because it’s like the whole ‘Healthy kid drops dead on the field’ thing. That’s what they’re worried about.”
So Cotner will cheer the Sailors from the sidelines before heading to Grand Valley State, where he will be part of the club lacrosse program.
For Baker, it wasn’t a difficult decision to return for his senior season. Some advised him to skip lacrosse before he heads to Western Michigan on June 26 as a scholarship football player due to injury risks, but for Baker that was never really a consideration.
“I couldn’t really do that to all of these guys,” Baker said. “I would feel awful about it. With how fun it was last year, I couldn’t really say no to it.”
Instead, Baker and Flanders lead the Sailors in what Greer calls a position that’s more brains than brawn. He compares lacrosse defense to playing offensive guard in football, where it’s all about angles and protecting the goal like a lineman protects his quarterback.
It’s about footwork, legwork, angles and picking and choosing the right time to throw a check.
Because while a great check can become a turnover, it’s also always a risk.
“You have to be smart, you have to be thinking to play defense,” Greer said. “It’s not a meathead position with just the biggest, toughest guys. It’s really about the smartest guys.
Knowing where to be, especially when you’re off ball. He leads our defense in communication.”
For Baker, that’s all part of being a good teammate and playing his role. He thinks playing lacrosse has helped his lateral agility for being a linebacker and he knows he wants to cherish every moment he can this season.
“This is my last thing to do with all of my friends,” Baker said. “I’m just really trying to make the most of it and having fun. Do as much as we did last year, if not more.”
The season started tough, but some of that was by design. Rather than elevating again to Tier 1 after last year’s title, Greer knew his team would be losing enough talent they would be better off remaining in Tier 2.
But that didn’t stop them from scheduling the gauntlet of Tier 1 opponents East Grand Rapids, Grand Rapids Catholic Central and Forest Hills Eastern to start the season. All were losses. All learning experiences.
“We saw the best lacrosse that we’re going to see for the season in our first three games,”
Greer said. “And that’s not a knock on the competition we have left.
“Those first three games opened our eyes to what we need to improve on.”
Now, they will find that identity. Part of that falls to the goalies. Greer said that who is better depends on the day, so he will ride the successful option in a match when one gets on a roll.
Warren had an equipment issue at Traverse City, for example, and Tallman entered with little warmup before rattling off 12 straight saves.
“You don’t take out a hot goalie,” Greer said. “You leave him in there. If he’s seeing the ball, he’s seeing the ball. Some days it looks like a golf ball, other days it looks like a beach ball. “Matt was definitely at the beach on Saturday.”
Greer looks at players like twins Ezra and Micah Carafelle and sees how far the program has come. Both are excellent athletes who picked up the game as freshmen and now are junior leaders.
That’s what he hopes for from all of his players, leading to success on and off the field.
“We have had tremendous success in a short amount of time and it’s a testament to a lot of things,” Greer said. “Playing extra lacrosse, we have a lot of outstanding multiple sport athletes playing lacrosse. We have had great support from administration.
“When you put all of those things together, it’s not hard to be successful on and off the field.”
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