McGann-Mercy unveiled its first varsity lacrosse team this season and head coach Don Denning knows he has his hands full. “The opportunity to start something new” lured Denning to Mercy but “playing in one, if not the most difficult conferences in the country” will without a doubt present challenges.
Mercy lost 16-1 against Mt. Sinai at home on Thursday in a Division II contest, falling to 0-3.
“It’s going to be a series of tough games,” said Denning. “We have programs in our division that have been around for a really long time. They’re incredibly coached and well disciplined.”
Wins will be welcomed this year but not expected.
“We’re pretty much teaching these kids the basics,” said Denning. “They need to learn the fundamentals. Only a few kids have played before.”
The absence of a youth lacrosse program at Mercy surely doesn’t help.
“A lot of our opponents have youth programs,” said Denning. “I live in the Sachem district and my son in kindergarten is already starting lacrosse. Most of the kids we face have been playing forever.”
Denning believes he can start something special at Mercy doing things his way.
“I want to make sure that the kids are learning the proper fundamentals,” Denning said. “I want to relay the respect of the game that I have. The game has been very good to me and I want to extend that to the players. But it’s definitely going to be an uphill battle.”
While the team lacks experience, Denning surely doesn’t.
“After playing for Sachem in high school, I attended Boston College where I won a national championship my freshman season in 1998,” said Denning.
After finishing his collegiate career, Denning decided to become a coach.
“I’ve coached at Farmingdale State University and Suffolk Community College before taking the job at Mercy,” said Denning.
Denning has set short-term and long-term goals for Mercy lacrosse.
“I want our guys to learn and respect the game,” said Denning. “And we would want for the next 2-3 years for some of our players to become student-athletes in the NCAA as we try to build a program that can be respected.”
Mercy will play its next game on the road Wednesday against Miller Place at 4:30 p.m.
RiverheadLOCAL photo by Michael Hejmej
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