The LSU men’s club lacrosse team begins a new era Saturday with its first game against Millsaps in Jackson, Miss.
New coach Jeff Echols has led a culture change, with more organized preparation that has the team more focused and ready for a new season.
Captain Andrew McHale said the added intensity in this offseason practice has increased player participation. The number of players attending practice has increased from 20 to 40, McHale said.
The increase in attendance preseason camp exemplifies the change Echols instilled in the program, embracing discipline as the focus of the program.
Echols extended preseason camp from a couple of days to a week of two-a-day practices.
Echols designed the camp to combine agility training and lacrosse-specific training by researching top NCAA Division I programs, such as Notre Dame, and adapting programs he had implemented other places.
Captain David Escott said there is more competition among players for playing time since the players behind them in the depth chart are putting in more effort to prepare for the season.
Escott and McHale said during camp, the team came together not only on the field, but also off it.
“Especially during camp, we had a lot of team get-togethers outside of practice,” Escott said. “We are definitely more tight than we have ever been. We went out to a team movie.”
The team unity makes players more accountable to one another, encouraging them to work harder so they don’t let down their teammates.
Through more intense preparation, the team has a new confidence entering this season.
“Confidence comes from knowing that the man behind you can do his job, so each player can focus instead on his own responsibilities,” Escott said.
Echols’s season mantra, “winners are disciplined,” has his team confident and excited for the challenges that lie ahead this season.
“I am looking forward to beating teams that we have never beaten before,” McHale said.