Jan. 9, 2017
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The Irish return from Christmas break to a busy preseason schedule in preparation for the upcoming 2017 campaign. The preseason slate will include four exhibition games, including a contest against Team USA in Florida, before the Irish open the regular season against Georgetown in Dallas at the Dallas Cowboys practice facility.
“It’s a unique way to start your preseason, being on the road with the urgency of playing a game against the best team in the world in the US National Team five days in to the start of training,” Notre Dame head coach Kevin Corrigan said. “We look at it as part of the continuum of our preseason to prepare our team for the season and to prepare our team to become as good as they can be.
“We will compete like crazy but we are not going to be focused on the final score as much as we are focused on the progress and preparing our team for the season.”
FLORIDA IMG/TEAM USA EXHIBITION
Kicking off the preseason slate will be a five-day trip to Sarasota, Florida from January 11-15. The team will arrive in the Sunshine State on Wednesday, Jan. 11. Each day the Irish will have at least one training session at the world-class IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida.
“The trip to Florida is a great opportunity to really be focused on ourselves for five days,” said Corrigan. “The guys don’t have classes or anything else going on. We can be together and we have some things planned outside of practice that will be fun and unique opportunities that will continue to develop the culture of the team to where we think it needs to be.”
Highlights of the trip will include team dinners at Hall of Fame college basketball announcer Dick Vitale’s house, Notre Dame alum Dan Connor’s home and Carlson Milikin’s house. The Irish will also partake in a number of team building activities to prepare for the season.
Both of Dick Vitale’s daughters (Terri and Sherri) played tennis at Notre Dame and married fellow Irish athletes. Terri is married to former Notre Dame lacrosse player Chris Sforzo and Sherri is married to former Notre Dame football player Thomas Krug.
The trip will conclude with an exhibition game against Team USA at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 15 at IMG Academy. Matt Kavanagh, a 2016 Notre Dame alum and four-time All-American, will suit up against Notre Dame for the first time, as he will don the Red, White and Blue for the game.
HOME EXHIBITIONS
Upon return from Florida, the Irish will host three exhibitions in preparation for the upcoming season. Notre Dame welcomes Bellarmine on Sunday, Jan. 22 at 11 a.m. before the 2016 SoCon champion Air Force comes to town on Saturday, Jan. 28 for a game at noon, which is a part of the program’s National Coaching Clinic (see below for more details). The Irish defeated the Falcons in the opening round of the NCAA Championships last season by a score of 15-7 at Arlotta Stadium. The Irish wrap up the preseason slate against Detroit on Sunday, Feb. 5 at 8:45 a.m. All exhibitions will be played in Loftus Sports Center.
UNDER ARMOUR/NDLaxTV NATIONAL COACHING CLINIC
The Notre Dame men’s lacrosse coaching staff will host its seventh annual NDLaxTV National Coaches Clinic powered by Under Armour from January 28-29. Taking place on the University’s campus, the clinic will aim to encompass all facets of the game.
The previous five editions of the clinic have reached capacity, including a record 300 coaches registered for last year’s event, including attendees from more than 20 states and Canada. The cost of the clinic is just $50. Click here to register.
“We welcome the opportunity to meet with coaches across the country,” Corrigan said. “Our annual clinic gives us the opportunity to share ideas with and learn from the lacrosse community.”
The Notre Dame staff has customized this clinic to make sure it is accessible and valuable to youth, high school and travel/club coaches. Subscribers of the team’s YouTube channel, NDLaxTV, know that nearly every drill can be done by players at all skill levels.
The clinic offers an opportunity to learn first-hand from a staff that has guided the Fighting Irish to the forefront of the nation’s elite, year in and year out. Notre Dame has advanced to Championship Weekend four times in the last seven years (2010, 2012, 2014, 2015), as well as qualified for the NCAA Tournament each of the last 11 seasons.
The clinic also will feature access to the Notre Dame vs. Air Force exhibition game, which is scheduled to take place inside Loftus Sports Center.
SEASON OPENER VS. GEORGETOWN IN TEXAS
The regular season gets underway on Saturday, Feb. 18, as the Irish travel to Dallas to take on Georgetown. The game will be played at the Dallas Cowboys newly constructed $1.5 billion facility in Frisco, Texas called The Star. Here is a video tour of the headquarters:
COMPLETE PRESEASON SCHEDULE
Wed 1/11 – Sat 1/14: Training at IMG Academy
Sun 1/15: Exhibition Game vs. Team USA @ IMG Academy – 1 p.m.
Sun 1/22: Exhibition Game vs. Bellarmine @ ND (Loftus) – 11 a.m.
Fri 1/27 – Sun 1/29: Under Armour/NDLaxTV National Coaching Clinic @ ND
Sat 1/28: Exhibition Game vs. Air Force @ ND (Loftus) – Noon
Sun 2/5: Exhibition Game vs. Detroit @ ND (Loftus) – 8:45 a.m.
Sat 2/18: Season Opener vs. Georgetown @ Dallas (The Star – Dallas Cowboys’ Practice Facility) – 2 p.m.
The University of Notre Dame men’s lacrosse team pursues excellence on and off the field through the three pillars in which the program is built: Character, Culture & Community. These three foundational values guide the promise of the program, which is to provide its student-athletes with the most compelling and enriching experience in all of college athletics. Through academics, competition, service and travel, the program aims to immerse its players in situations that enhance their student-athlete experience to help them become the people, students and teammates they aspire to be.
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