Axcess Sports spoke with New York Lizards head coach BJ O’Hara and discussed the upcoming season. Below are some highlights of the conversation.
Axcess Sports (AS): How much are you looking forward to the 2020 ‘season’?
BJ O’Hara (BJ): I’m excited. Now that we know things are in place, we can actually prepare in terms of watching film. We’ve gotten the lineups from the other teams so we glean information from them. We are preparing gameplans and all those things you do at the beginning of a regular season, it is a little bit condensed now, but we’ll be ready.
AS: Have you ever participated in a short season like this?
BJ: I’ve never seen anything like this before. It’s going to be new for all of us. I know the guys have been training hard. As we have been going through this situation, we have been looking at different models– we are bringing in extra players which certainly will help.
AS: Over half of your 25-man roster is made up of former and current Long Island residents. Does coaching so many ‘local’ guys benefit the team chemistry?
BJ: It certainly helps, especially in the getting acquainted phase. This year we have a number of returning guys and some new faces, as well. A lot of them played on travel teams together or against each other in high school. But we don’t have a lot of time doing anything real intricate. It is going to be a fast learning curb.
AS: Your team will be playing five games in seven days. Have you coached that many games consecutively before?
BJ: Not that many. We have played back-to-back games many times, but never five games in seven days. I think that is a lot for any sport, certainly for a sport like lacrosse that is a grind. But these guys are professionals and that is what these guys are prepared for. I know they are really, really chomping at the bit to get out there.
AS: This week will be the first time many of your players will have played in an organized setting in a few months. What are you expecting at this training camp?
BJ: I don’t know. I’m an optimistic guy and have been in touch with all of them and they have been in touch with each other through these months of waiting. I know they have been training but we won’t know till they get out there.
AS: The Lizards will open their season against a tough Boston Cannons team. Does facing arguably the toughest team in the league first make the rest of the schedule easier?
BJ: With the season being so condensed, you are going to have to play everybody anyway. I don’t think it is going to really matter. We just got to really make sure we focus on ourselves instead on our opponents, and our guys building that chemistry and speed of play.
AS: New York has a lot of veterans making up the roster. What are some of the benefits of having a more experienced roster?
BJ: We got a lot of guys back one year wiser, older and more confident. We got the ability to score a lot more goals. Defensively, we got the entire group back and added a couple of new pieces so we feel good about where we are.
AS: Who do you see leading the team on the field this season?
BJ: We are led by an all-star goalie, Austin Kaut. Of course, Dylan Molloy is one of the best lacrosse players in the world. The thing about him is he is so strong and powerful and draws attention to him. But, the thing about his game is he’ll get to the goal when he can, but if he is getting doubled, he is really good at getting the ball to the open man. So we will build our offense around Dylan and obviously Austin will be the quarterback for our defense.
AS: You will also be coaching your son, Connor, again. How excited are you for that?
BJ: It is fun, it’s great. I was happy for him when he joined Denver [with me]. We were a championship team, so he didn’t get a lot of time to play, he was a practice squad guy. Last year he was acquired by Boston, got there on his own and really made a name for himself and scored a bunch of goals against his old man’s team, so he proved himself. I was delighted we were able to work a trade and get him to New York. I think he fits in well with some of our pieces.
AS: What was it like chatting with him after games against the Cannons?
BJ: It’s bittersweet. I was certainly happy for him, I was not happy for the outcome of some of the games. But in all three of those games he played really well.
AS: What is some of the strategy behind the 25-man roster you and the coaching staff selected for the 2020 MLL season?
BJ: It wasn’t ideal. Usually, we would have had a training camp and conduct tryouts over the offseason, put those guys against each other and determine who makes it from that outcome. It was basically based on who we knew was coming back from last year, who we drafted from the college draft– that involved a lot of film. We tried to create depth at every position.
AS: The Lizards are the only team taking three goalkeepers to Maryland. Why did you decide to do that?
BJ: It is a little unusual but these guys haven’t been playing. You don’t know how that is going to affect a goalie. We are going to need that depth there playing that many games in a short time, they are going to get some rubber. I felt it was in our best interest to forego one other guy and take a third goalie.
AS: What is key to maintaining success and winning the championship this season?
BJ: I hope that the guys are returning learned from their experience last year and are focused and prepared, I am confident they have. Some of the new guys give you that little bit extra to get over that top. In every pro sport, especially lacrosse, the difference between winning and losing is ever so slight. We are hoping we can get the pieces together to get us over the top.
This Friday: New York Lizards 2020 Season Preview
