Rush hope practise makes perfect
Road-heavy schedule has not allowed lacrosse team to develop cohesiveness
The Saskatchewan Rush will walk onto a lacrosse pitch Friday afternoon without an opponent staring them in the eyes.
Friday is practice day, and it’ll be a pretty special thing, given the circumstances.
“We haven’t practised in almost a month,” Rush forward Robert Church noted Thursday. “When we get a good practice in (Friday) afternoon, it’ll be big for us, to get some chemistry back we’ve maybe lost the last couple of weeks.”
Unlike most professional sports leagues, National Lacrosse League players lead a scattered existence. Rush players live and work elsewhere, flying into Saskatoon for games just like they fly to road contests.
Their schedule of late has been road-heavy, and it hasn’t been practical to stage formal team workouts in advance of games. But with the team playing at home on Saturday night, they ’ll congregate a day early — like they usually do when they play in Saskatoon — to work out some kinks.
“Our offence is so structured, and you play at such a high pace. You need the chemistry,” Church said. “When you go a couple of weeks without the sticks in the hands, plays maybe get a little out of whack. Getting everybody back on the same page is big. You don’t really think about it until you don’t practice, and you see what can happen.”
Saskatchewan leads the NLL with an 8-2 record, but they’re coming off a 16-11 road loss this past Saturday to the host Rochester Knighthawks, who improved to 4-6.
They’re playing the 4-5 Calgary Roughnecks this weekend at SaskTel Centre. Saskatchewan has played seven of its first 10 games on the road, but that means six of their last eight will take place in Saskatoon.
That should mean lots of practice for everyone down the stretch.
Church, meanwhile, is quietly enjoying his most productive NLL season, from a raw points perspective. The product of Philadelphia’s Drexel University is second in NLL scoring with 58 points (23 goals, 35 assists) through 10 games. He’s one point behind Toronto’s Adam Jones, and one ahead of teammate Mark Matthews, who has led the Rush in scoring every season since 2014.
You’d think that race for both the league and team scoring title might create a little friendly in-house rivalry, but Church says it’s not an issue, at all.
“We don’t pay attention to that stuff,” Church said. “It’s wins and losses. If I have zero points and we win by 10, I’m perfectly fine with that, and I know Mark would be, too.
“We’re an offence by committee. We’re just happy to get the wins. If Mark and I are getting the points, so be it, but there’s plenty of nights where Ben McIntosh is having a big night, or Ryan Keenan. We’re good with anyone getting the points.”
The Rush will follow Saturday’s Calgary clash with a home contest the following Saturday against the Vancouver Stealth. Game time both nights is 7:30 p.m.