The Palo Alto High School boys’ lacrosse team is preparing for its first league match of the season against University High School on Tuesday, March 8, at Paly.
In the team’s first year of competition, the Vikings won the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League title with an overall record of 17-5 and league record of 9-1. As a result of their strong finish, Paly has moved up into the more competitive De Anza division and hopes to recreate its success by winning the SCVAL championship again.
“Our primary goal is to repeat — to be clear about that — to win the SCVAL championship again,” head coach Craig Conover said. “Winning the championship last year allowed us to move up from the El Camino division to the more competitive De Anza division which means we play those more challenging teams from De Anza twice instead of once.”
Besides retaining its title of SCVAL champions, the team aspires to defeat strong competitors in the league as well as improve the team’s overall performance, according to Conover.
“Winning the SCVAL championship puts added pressure on the team the following year to defend that title and you can’t do that by doing the same things you did last year,” Conover said. “You have to raise the bar and expect more from your players and from your coaching staff. Some other goals include beating the big fish from the other leagues: Bellarmine of WCAL, University of the North Coast Section and R.L. Stevenson of MTAL.”
Despite the loss of key player junior Kris Hoglund due to a broken leg he received during soccer season injury, the team expects to have a strong lineup comprised of seniors defenseman Cooper Levitan, defenseman Michael Cullen, long stick midfielder Elliot Beckstrom, attacker Cory Valenti, attacker Zach Spain, midfielder Kevin Proceviat, midfielder John Brunett, and goalie Josh Chin. Having graduated three seniors last year including defense Ashkaan Khatakhotan, midfield Isaac Plant, and defense Dominic Cala, the Vikings expect contributions from freshman defenseman James Harrison, junior long stick midfielder Gabe Landa, sophomore midfielder Walker Mees, and junior midfielder Matt Lam.
“Kris’s absence is obviously a major challenge for the team to adapt to,” Conover said. “This was to be the perfect storm of talent for Paly lacrosse. We’ll all miss Kris this season but I’m trying to look at the positive side and I believe the rest of the players will step up to fill the void that Kris’s absence leaves.”
The team’s strength lies not only in its strong defensive play, Chin said, but also its experienced lineup and talented newcomers.
“As a team we are very balanced, but as for the strength of our team it would have to be our defense,” Chin said. “We are stacked with returning varsity players, and new players who have already made an impact on the team.”
To improve the team’s overall shape, Conover has changed not only his strategy, but the conditioning of the players as well.
“My coaching staff and I have prepared the team to take it to the next level,” Conover said. “Our offensive plays are more layered, our transition game is more complex and our practices include more conditioning. I’ve been doing my homework as a coach and I ask all my players to do theirs as well by pushing themselves more and to focus on one or two things that can improve their game. More demanding conditioning is one area that has been added to practices. We’ve introduced medicine balls to our sprint training this season. I’ve got some more surprises for the players as we get more and more in shape.”
Players on the team share a similar mentality, specifically in regard to working well as a team and executing offensive plays effectively, according to Chin.
“As a team we always want to get better,” Chin said. “Whether it is passing, shooting, or just cradling we want to improve. On defense, working on communication and defensive responsibility is our main goal. On offense, passing the ball and running plays are something we want to focus on.”
Conover encourages Paly students to actively support the team, as he believes success for the team in the future is imminent.
“I’d like to see enough fan attendance to warrant getting bigger stands installed on the new field,” Conover said. “It’s going to be another great season and I’d like to bring the entire student body along for the ride with the team. We can’t bring another state championship to the school this season because lacrosse doesn’t even have a CCS playoff yet, but we aim to prove that we could have a legitimate shot at that title if were possible.”
The team will play its first game against University High School on Tuesday, March 8, at Paly.