JV Boys Lacrosse: Freshmen trio of Hodos, Ganley, and Glover look to make immediate impact for Knights

By Ben Spector
Winning After MidKnight

                       

The Middletown High School Knights JV Boys Lacrosse team is in a unique position as with the largest squad in recent memory the Knights will charge head first into a season that is filled with question marks around every corner.

One of the biggest question marks for the Knights will be how well their large contingent of 9^th graders can perform in their first taste of high school lacrosse and how well they can balance with the sophomores on the team.

The Knights carry a squad of 25 into the season opener with 15 of those coming from the freshman class, including some freshmen which may play a large part in whether the Knights have success this season.

The 9^th grade weapons for the Knights include Jack Hodos (a freshman who has already established himself as a talented lacrosse player in middle school and in club lacrosse), Joseph Glover, and Chase Ganley. The freshmen trio of Hodos, Glover, and Ganley will look to provide an immediate spark for the Knights as all three have the talent to not only compliment the sophomores on the team but provide a distinct change in the culture and attitude of the team.

Still, even with the talent of Hodos, Glover, and Ganley producing in the past, question marks will follow the freshmen trio and the team as a whole throughout the season. For starters, one could argue that the Knights are lacking in leadership on a team that only includes 10 sophomores and will have a large amount of youth on its side.

That is where Middletown sophomore Andrew Ceresini will come in for the Knights as he not only represents the most talented sophomore on the Knights but adds a strong but subtle sense of leadership to a team that appears to need as much leadership as they can get.

Another question mark for the Knights that will loom large for Middletown is if the trio of Hodos, Glover, and Ganley will be able to turn their success in middle school lacrosse and the club level in to success on the high school level.

After all, it can hardly be debated that the difference between middle school athletics and high school athletics is large. The players at the high school level are bigger, stronger, faster, and just a bit meaner.

Middletown head coach Michael Hayden has hoped to alleviate these concerns with some help from Knights Varsity Boys Lacrosse coach Ty Crompton as the two teams have held joint practices over the past couple of games, partly out of necessity but also out of design.

The undertone from these practices has been a physical and aggressive style of play that the Knights hope will bleed over into scrimmage and game scenarios as Middletown is searching for an edge of toughness and resiliency that is found among the top teams at every level of play.

This style of play can only help the freshmen as it will allow them to adapt to the high school game – and its physical style of play more seamlessly allowing players like Hodos, Glover, and Ganley to thrive for the Knights and lead them to a winning season.