Last season, the RM boys lacrosse team finished with three wins and nine losses, and won their first playoff game against Northwood High School. But where they were adjusting to a new coaching staff last year, this year they are looking to improve many aspects of their team for their upcoming season.

Senior midfielder Noah Ventimiglia explained, “[The team was good at] conditioning, having stamina throughout the game. Because we were such a small team last year, we needed people who could run back and forth for a long time.” Senior Ben Rosenberg added, “We were good at working well with the new coaching staff.”

The lacrosse team is working on making team adjustments, which they hope will pay off for the rest of the season. Rosenberg explained that the team’s chemistry needs to improve in order for the team to succeed. The team’s coach, Steven Puhl, added that the team has been doing lots of conditioning throughout the winter. They have even been playing in winter and fall lacrosse leagues to prepare for the season. “Our leadership needs to improve, we didn’t have too many players last season that took that roll, and we need more players that show dedication to the team,” Ventimiglia explained.

The team has many specific goals for the season. “My goal coming here was to change the culture of the lacrosse program and raise expectations of the program at RM,” Coach Puhl explained. “I have done this by running a clinic at the RM field. We had about 50 kids come out to the clinic who got free coaching. This helped our overall numbers increase, especially by adding many to the freshman class.” Rosenberg continued, explaining that the team wants to win as many games as possible and be known as a much stronger team than they were last season. “We really need to build a foundation, and be known as a much better school,” Rosenberg finished.

Another goal for the team this year is to beat Rockville and Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School, which both offer two teams that the Rockets narrowly lost to last season. “I think that this season, we need to play to our full potential,” senior Nathan Serway explained. He also said that the team needs to have much more spirit and dedication, which will be crucial in helping the team win more games than last year.

Among the seniors who have graduated, Zak Hill, Kevin Chatlin, and David Silverberg particularly stood out for their work ethic and leadership qualities. Coach Puhl expects for players such as Nathan Serway, Jack Muha, Josiah Belfon-Valentine, Noah Ventimiglia, Ben Rosenberg, Jack Ramos, and Noah Lee to help fill the talent and leadership void that the graduated seniors left. “I believe that we need to improve our teamwork and work together more. We need to fill those holes as a team,” said Serway.

During the offseason, the team participated in a winter league to help prepare them for the spring season. “We’ve all been going to practice five days a week,” said Ben Rosenberg. “We have many dedicated sophomores, juniors and seniors that have been putting in work at practice and conditioning. We are a lot stronger and in better shape than last season, and especially, many of the younger players have been putting in hard work too.” Serway continued, “We’ve had some of the hardest conditioning ever. We’ve been practicing since July, not only conditioning, but helping new players learn about the game.”

In regards to up and coming players, Coach Puhl remarked, “There are about 15 new freshmen coming out to play, and a couple of them, such as Garret Parker and Kaden Hoffman are looking good with experience, while many others are new to the sport.”

An estimated 40 players will try out for the team, a huge increase from last year. Coach Puhl said, “I definitely expect to have a better season this year. We hope to finish with a winning record on the season and continue our success into the playoffs.” The goals Coach Puhl has set for this season, in addition to the hard work the team has put in since July, put success easily within the grasp of the boys RM lacrosse team.

Click here to read more about yesterday’s game against Gaithersburg.