After battling through a shortened season that was still feeling the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic last year, head coach Pat Lamusta and the Lynnfield boys lacrosse team have been itching to get back to a more normal routine.
And it looks like they’ve finally gotten to that place.
“To be honest, everything just kind of feels back on track,” said Lamusta, who also coaches the Pioneers football team. “Things just feel right. The guys had a break between seasons and are back in their normal routines. They’re always excited to get started in March, and we finally get to do that again.”
This time last year, Lamusta was coaching the football team through the “Fall Sports II” season — with the lacrosse season still two months off. This year, he’s running lacrosse drills on the turf with his team.
“The energy is incredibly high right now,” said Lamusta. “Last year was so strange in a lot of ways, and it was hard to really dig in like you would in a normal season. This year, it’s hard to explain but the level of commitment and focus is at a place where it just wasn’t last year. The guys are itching to play every day and they’re competing hard in practice.”
There may be a few reasons why the Pioneers are competing hard in practice, and one of them could be the fact that a handful of players are coming off of an incredibly successful hockey season this winter. Guys like team captains Janssen Sperling and Will Steadman, along with the likes of Drew Damiani, Will Norton, Aidan Norton, Jake Connell and others, were part of a Lynnfield hockey team that went 19-4-1 and made it all the way to the Division 3 state semifinal.
“Having those guys, those cross-over guys, they bring momentum, a sense of competitiveness and a winning attitude to our team,” said Lamusta. “Those are the kinds of guys who will be leaders on this team because they’re hungry to compete and they’ve played in big games.”
That leadership will certainly help ease the sting of losing strong seniors from last year’s team like John Briggs, Myles McKay and Niko Marotta. Lamusta also feels that the talent coming back this year is going to make the Pioneers competitive from the very beginning.
As far as the schedule for the next two weeks, Lynnfield plans to hit the practice field hard in preparation for the April 7 opener. The Pioneers have a couple of solid scrimmages set up in that span as well, as they’re set to go up against both Bishop Fenwick and Tyngsborough.
“Our goal over these next two weeks of practice is to mainly just mature and get more comfortable back on the field,” said Lamusta. “We’re going to be going up against some really good teams in those scrimmages and it’s really going to show where we’re at and where we need to improve.”
Lynnfield opens the season April 7 (5) against perennial rival North Reading, in a game that’s starting to become something like a tradition.
“It’s always fun going up against your rival, and it’s been like this two years in a row now,” said Lamusta. “The guys are dying to get back out there and play a real game.”
