Mollie Mackler Blog #4

DURHAM, N.C. - Duke senior Mollie Mackler will keep a weekly blog for the 2011-12 season, giving Duke fans an inside look at life on the Blue Devil women's lacrosse team.

Look for Mollie's blog every week during the year on GoDuke.com.

Mackler Blog #4 (October 3, 2011)
Greetings Duke Lax Fans,

Hello from slightly chilly (60 degree) Durham! The fall weather is finally here as we cross over into October. Yes, you heard right, somehow it's already October. I don't know about the rest of the world but the weeks and months feel like they just fall off the calendar here. The arrival of October brings so many fantastic things to the world of duke lax. Fall Ball season (along with post-game parent sponsored tailgates), Halloween festivities, fall break, new Nike cold gear apparel ... the works.

We spent most of the week zeroing in on key focus areas in practice. The early fall is really about the little things like footwork, positioning and overall technique. Breaking things down into the raw fundamentals early on makes it easier to put them all together into a well-oiled, fully-powered finished product when it really counts. Of course, mechanics mean nothing if there's no speed or power behind them. Howser sees to it that we'll perform at our peak physical level come season, but right now it's on us to put in the effort (even if this means that Alyssa Ogle may or may not need to take a full body ice bath) to get the best results.

I think everyone can agree that the best part of the week was our scrimmages this weekend at UNC. From start to finish, we had a blast. We always think it's hilarious that we take a Duke campus bus eight miles away to Chapel Hill - the same kind that we took from East to West campus in our earlier years at Duke. The senior class had a multitude of tales from our sophomore year, revolving around the Duke busses. We all lived together in the same hall in the dorm right next to the bus stop on West. Despite our convenient proximity to the bus stop, I once managed to be rushing (running) to class, back pack on tightly, at about 60% speed onto the stairs of the departing bus when I clipped the top step with my foot and wiped out in front of the entire bus. Luckily I had a friend there to sit next to after I acknowledged the shocked and horrified passengers. Bridget Nolan witnessed the entire thing from outside the bus. I've taken extra caution ever since and luckily no such wipeout has happened since, or on Saturday.

Once we got off the C-1, it was so exciting to get onto the field to battle some formidable opponents (including our favorite Tar Heeled neighbors) on a beautiful fall day in Chapel Hill. Although we had a few players out with injuries, the team looked as fast and tenacious as I expected. The defense was sliding to shifty dodgers, the middies were scrapping for ground balls and interceptions, and the attackers were downright dangling overall. It was great to see some eager and talented new faces strike fear all over the field. Many underclassmen got their first taste of the college game this weekend although not very many tweeted about it (duke lax has a growing presence in the twittersphere). We went into the weekend with the goal of outhustling our opponents, playing with heart and having fun, which we definitely feel we accomplished. We don't expect it to be perfect, but we do expect to set the tone for the spring during the fall season.

This weekend was just the beginning, though. In terms of competitive difficulty, our fall schedule is nearly as intense as our spring schedule, so expect more updates on those contests as the fall goes on. The Halloween costume contest between classes at Kerstin's house is also on the blog horizon. This should be a treat considering we've already been brainstorming ideas for a while now (we don't take this competition lightly, to say the least). Check back for next week's blog, including updates on fall break and so much more!

Remember to watch your step when boarding public transportation,
From,
A concerned lacrosse-playing citizen