NLL Insider

The Orlando Titans don’t seem to care what you or anyone else thinks of them. Make them play in 3 different New York arenas last year? OK, we’ll just advance ourselves to the National Lacrosse League title game. Shift them to Florida this season and rank them No. 5 before the season starts? No big. We’ll just come out of the gates with a 3-1 record while holding our foes to 8.5 goals a game, best in the NLL. Point is, general manager/coach Ed Comeau has his Titans off and running in 2010. And no matter what you may think of this team, there’s no denying that this is a squad of ballers poised to finish what they started last season.

1. A 3-1 start isn’t too bad for a team that picked up everything and moved from New York to Florida.
“Yeah, we played well in Colorado, but in fairness I don’t think Colorado played their best. But yeah, we’re playing well together.”

2. Was it a tough transition?
“There are a lot of positives, but it has been tough in some areas. Instead of a 1-hour flight to New York City for guys, now you have a 2.5-hour flight to Florida and it’s peak travel time, so you have to plan ahead for all that. The Friday games have been tough for some of the guys, but all in all it’s been good.”

Ed Comeau and the Titans are off to a 3-1 start this season. (Photo: Larry Palumbo)

3.Has Florida been receptive?
“Oh yeah. No disrespect to New York, but we played our games in 3 different venues last year. That was tough. But Florida has been great and the whole state is in a huge lacrosse growth mode. The media’s been very supportive and we’re getting the guys out in the community. It’s a good setup.”

4. Any of the guys make the move to Florida?
“Casey Powell’s down here and he’s been well-received. He gets recognized quite a bit down here in Orlando. Jordan Hall, Rory Smith, Jesse Guerin and Chet Koneczny are down here too.”

5. The guys seem to bond well. Who’s the team clown?
“Kurtis Wagar. He’s our backup goalie and the team entertainer, too.”

6. Do the guys do much together outside of games and preparation?
“It’s tough when you have guys flying in from all over, but the guys who are down here try to get together once a week or so for lunch or dinner.”

7. Notice any superstitions among the guys and if so, which one’s your favorite?
“If they have any, they keep it quiet. It’s an individual thing.”

8. What about you? What keeps you relaxed?
“I think my hobby is coaching lacrosse. Between lacrosse and a full-time job, it doesn’t leave much downtime. But we as coaches, after practice or a shootaround, we’ll go for a walk around town or something. Clear the head.”

9. Your starting goalie, Matt Vinc, appears to have a clear head. How much better can he get?
“I think in Matt’s case, it’s a maturation thing. By the time goalies get to this league, they’re already good goalies so Matt works hard and he takes his role seriously. He studies goalies and himself and watches a lot of film. He gets himself familiar with shooters and situations, and he knows he can’t be thinking about the goal that just got past him. That’s a part of his game that’s growing.”

10. Characterize your offense.
“The opposite of selfish. Guys are willing to move the ball and it’s a big thing in this league. Everyone wants to score and get points, but if sharing the balls means success, the guys are good with that.”

11. And the defense?
“We play with athleticism and attitude. We have good athletes back there but it’s the attitude that their performance is a big part of this team that really helps.”

12. With so much going well, where do you want to see the most improvement in your team?
“We want to continue to see improvement in the trasition game and create more opportunities. That, and consistency. We want to be better at that night in and night out.”

Just got news late Tuesday that Comeau has been named Coach of the Year by the Canadian University Field Lacrosse Association. Comeau coached McMaster to a big playoff upset of Guelph en route to an appearance in the the Baggataway Cup, where it lost to Brock University.

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