NLL Insider

Well it’s that time of year again! NHL, NBA and now the National Lacrosse League playoffs are all in full swing and the electricity is so strong that even a bald man’s hair would be standing on end!

However, unlike the two big leagues playoffs, the NLL’s games are, as we all know, one game - winner takes all! That’s a lot of pressure! I mean seriously …  ONE GAME! There’s no opportunity to go back to the locker room and say, ”OK boys, forget that game. We have to come back harder tomorrow night.”

This time of year you can throw streaks, who’s hot, power rankings, Money Ballers, Top 25 lists and the other regular season water cooler topics out the window. These are the playoffs! The only thing that matters is that 18 guys show up ready to go on that given day. But there are lots of intangibles that go into a playoff game that will have an effect on all teams. Whichever team handles these little bumps in the road the best will have a decided advantage come game time.

If you have never been behind the scenes during the playoffs, you can’t know the side show going on down below before the game starts. Hell, even practice the night before is that much more stressful. You start to see media that you haven’t seen all season. But it’s the playoffs and they are standing up and taking notice! Every coach puts the pressure on to make sure your stick and pads are legal. Wanting to get a good meal in, you hope coach ends practice a bit early so you can crush some dinner then hit the wrapper for a solid sleep.

Game day is even crazier. For most home games, players are given 8 tickets to disperse to family and friends but, just like the media, come playoff time, everyone is your best friend and they would rather get tickets from you than have to pay for them. So you scramble around, asking all the young rooks or out-of-towners for extras and it can totally rattle you as you want to make sure you please everyone. Game day meals must be perfect, lots of hydration and what ever other rituals you have been sticking to all year must be taken care of to exact detail so as to not throw yourself off. 

So it’s game time and all you can think about is the nerves going berserk in your gut.  But you try to settle down. Out on the floor, you toss the ball around, keep drinking, and have a few laughs with the boys. Staying loose is key to not falling prey to a psyched up mental block. The veterans are showing the young players how to control the emotions, how to not get caught up in the hype of the atmosphere in the arena. It’s pandemonium plus fifty.

But the best part about the playoffs in the NLL? IT’S ANYONE’S GAME! Especially with the tightness of the league this year on both sides, it’s going to be one crazy opening weekend of lax. Every matchup has lots of underlying stories and history to evidence what a great game it will be. I can see some big attendance numbers out of Minnesota and, of course, Colorado. And Buffalo will have standing room only seating. The only concern I have is for San Jose but just like everything the players are going through, it’s something I have no control over.  I just have to push it aside and go about my business and let it take its own course.

When the first whistle goes, all will be forgotten, the music will be muted, the fans blocked out and all the boys can do is go out there and play the game. They are the only ones that can control the outcome of the game. This is when you get to make a difference. One game, 4 quarters, throw in a couple TV time outs and all you have to do is win one 5-minute battle at a time. That’s all you can control. So when that final whistle blows, you better make sure you have no regrets, that you left it all out on the floor.

‘Cause if you go back into the locker room and say, “I should have …” then you are most likely changing your lacrosse gloves for a golf glove.

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