The Orion Online

Issue date: 9/26/07 Section: Sports

Media Credit: David Flannery The men's lacrosse team comes together before a game against Cal Poly San Luis Obispo last spring. The team has cleaned up its image and is focusing more on the game itself and studies. [Click to enlarge]

While the men's lacrosse team is continuing to revamp its image, its previous reputation still lingers like a bad hangover.

The days of reckless drinking, out-of-control parties and unmanageable players are gone. Thanks in part to head coach Paul Rocchio, they have been replaced by mandatory study hours, dress codes for away games and intolerance for public unruliness.

Senior Joey Vila has been on the team for five years and has seen the dramatic disciplinary changes first hand, including conflict last season over the transformation. Those who were used to the freedoms didn't like being told what to do, Vila said.

"We went from a wet season to a dry season," Vila said, and Rocchio has "definitely made some major disciplinary changes."

Last fall Rocchio asked one of the team's better players to leave during practice when the player showed up late and smelled of alcohol, Vila said.

Rocchio wasn't going to tolerate it but said it was the player's choice whether he wanted to return in the spring. The player didn't come back, Vila said.

This year's returning players have come back knowing the expectations. The attitudes are serious, and the morale is higher than it's ever been, said Vila.

"Everyone respects the way he's leading us in the right direction," Vila said.

But he remembers a time, not so long ago, when the team was infamous for its partying reputation - those crazy nights when parts of the old "lacrosse house" were destroyed, couches lit on fire, even an incident leading to a teammate walking home in "tight pink pants," Vila said.

Today, much of that old reputation has changed. The team didn't have a designated house downtown last year, and although they have one this year, it is "more organized and under control," Vila said.

Even Recreational Sports Coordinator Mary Wallmark has witnessed the evolving lacrosse club program and remembers some of the negative aspects of the old team.

"Our team sort of developed a reputation where they came in the fall and were ineligible in the spring (due to grades)," she said.

Now the lacrosse team has mandatory study hours, including during the times of power hour and buck night for team members with GPAs of 2.7 or lower. But having another lacrosse house could present a setback.

Generally those who lived in the previous house had the worst grades. But she has seen a change in the team's acting officers and the effects of the structured discipline.

For Rocchio, it's not necessarily the players' drinking that was a problem, it's the way they have done it in the past, he said.

Rocchio has zero tolerance for underage drinking and bad behavior in public. He even gives a roster to University Police so he can know about any misconduct. He seems to incorporate his own values into his coaching.

"Being the Italian grandma, I want them to be safe," said Rocchio, who comes from a big Italian family. "I want more for them."

Most importantly, he has high standards when it comes to the expectations of his team. Along with dedication to fall ball and practices six days a week in the spring, his expectations include being safe and smart when it comes to alcohol, while getting good grades and being a team player, he said.

"We're trying to be a family on and off the field," Rocchio said.

As far as the team's attitudes and playing are concerned, Rocchio has seen changes both on and off the field, though it has taken a long time for players to feel like they can talk to him. He's not the easiest person to deal with, he said, but their actions are "in the hands of the team and the officers and captains as much as me."

This year the expected team of 58 is scheduled to play five of the top 10 teams in the country and will travel to Colorado this fall and to Texas in the spring for games, all while upholding its new standards.

"We're going to march through the airport with shirts and ties and suits," Rocchio said.

Rocchio's ultimate goal is to be the premier athletic team on campus. But he doesn't feel like they are there yet, he said.

Simply put, "It's a lot to ask."

Antonia Nunes can be reached at anunes@theorion.com

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools