East Brunswick Lacrosse is not for everyone. With the hacking and body slamming that dominant games, it is a sport that resembles football in many ways. Coaches lacrosse a character-building game.
Listen to Rory Murray, who concluded first season as coach of the boys team
East Brunswick High School: “We believe lacrosse is a reflection of who our athletes are as they strive to compete and success through hard work. This can applied not only to the game but all of life.”
That is why Murray’s first-year record, shouldn’t be the measurement for determining whether the program is headed in the right direction. He arrived following two years as an assistant at Mount Olive High School and prior to that, two seasons as an assistant coach at Centenary College. His knowledge of lacrosse is broad, not only as a coach, but through the years as a high school player.
Still, Murray believes he is still a student of the game.
“In order to become the coach I believe I can be,” he said, “I can never stop learning.”
The hope is Murray learns from what was a tough first season during which the Bears won four games and lost 12 in what has become an extremely competitive Greater Middlesex Conference.
“Perhaps the best game we played all season was a 10-1 loss to Somerville,” he said. “The team played with pride and integrity and, in my opinion, was never truly outplayed by our opponent.”
Murray is hoping his teams continue to play with that level of commitment. If they do, the wins will come.
From a statistical standpoint, East Brunswick’s glaring weakness was goal production. Only three eclipsed double figures in goals — senior midfielder, ShaneMacNiven (15), junior attack, Wesley Lynch
12), and sophomore attack, John Krayowski (10).
Junior John Henry Glascock was a workhorse in goal with 185 saves, junior defender Jake Krantz finished with 154 ground balls and caused 60 turnovers, senior Jake Wojotowicz accrued 85 ground balls and caused 44 turnovers and MacNiven finished with 108 ground balls.
Murray, who teaches biology at the high school, believes that with the team’s continued development and a commitment to the youth program in town, the results will pay off in East Brunswick’s return to the upper echelon of the GMC.
“We’ve committed ourselves to promoting a family mentality,” said Murray. “I’m confident that by ingraining a system in our players now that they are young, we’ll be promoting a program that contributes to our community, both on and off the field.”