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Boys Lax Season Preview
After a very successful campaign in 2016, the St. Luke’s Boys Lacrosse team members are looking forward to another season challenging for honors this Spring.
The man tasked with leading the charge is the program’s new Head Coach Andy Towers who brings a wealth of experience with him to St. Luke’s, as both a coach and a player.
Towers was on the coaching staff at Dartmouth University for eight years, the last five as the head coach of Big Green. Towers also enjoyed an illustrious playing career at Brown University and was a two-time first team All-American and All-Ivy performer (1991 and ’93), while earning Ivy League Player of the Year honors in 1993 and leading the team to three appearances in the NCAA Tournament.
He returned to his hometown of New Canaan recently and has been impressed with what he has seen from the boys so far in preseason: “It’s been great so far and everything at St. Luke’s has really exceeded my expectations. Being from New Canaan, I’ve always been aware of St. Luke’s and the talent here. I have been really impressed with the overall depth of the athleticism and the team camaraderie as well as how hard these kids compete.”
Towers takes over a team who were 7-5 during the regular season last spring but went on to challenge for both the FAA title and the New England (NEPSAC) Class C title where they were narrowly defeated in both. The new coach knows expectations are high but is ready for the challenge: “We are going to work to win but we will not have winning be the definition of whether the season is a success or not. The goal, in a subjective sense, is for us to become the best version of ourselves individually, both skill-set wise and IQ wise, but most importantly, to become the best teammate that you can be.”
This year’s team will be lead by senior captains Hunter Libman, Alex Nerod and Paul Woodberry. Towers has been impressed with the team across the board: “I think the senior class as a whole has taken ownership of the team to this point of the season, but I have been extremely impressed with the entire group. The overall work ethic is off the charts.”
That work ethic was clear to see when the majority of the team traveled to the ESPN Wide World Of Sports complex in Orlando, FL for five days of spring training. During the trip the Storm played three scrimmages against Blair Academy, St Mark’s School and Brooks School and, despite coming away 1-2, competed well in each game.
In terms of what we can expect to see this season Towers concluded: “I like the game to be played fast. I like our guys to epitomize hyper-competitive spirit, good sportsmanship, mental toughness, physical durability and a team first mentality. We are focused on appreciating the opportunity and controlling the controllables.”
The St. Luke’s Boys Lacrosse team opens up the season on Saturday, 4/1 at home to Suffield Academy at 3pm.
St. Luke’s School is a secular (non-religious), private school in New Canaan, CT for grades 5 through 12 serving over 40 towns in Connecticut and New York. Our exceptional academics and diverse co-educational community foster students’ intellectual and ethical development and prepare them for top colleges. St. Luke’s Leading with Humanity curriculum builds the commitment to serve and the confidence to lead.
