Champions Think Different! The FHSAA Champions' Tournament!

This past season we played in a champions' tournament, known as the FHSAA Class 1A tournament.  Unlike many of the FHSAA post season tournaments, you actually have to win your District, ie become Champions in order to move on in the Champions' Tournament. Second place doesn't cut it!

Our Championship Tournament started with our District 8 Finals competition against the Benjamin School, who were an extremely worthy opponent, capable of being a championship team in their own right.  In fact, they were the regular season champion in our District.  Their strength of schedule was first in all of Florida HS Lacrosse and their record of 5-0 in the District 8 regular season was completed in strong fashion.  Coming into our District Final they were 11-4, and the favorite to move on in the playoffs.  Clearly evident in our play that evening was the following:  #2 Champions celebrate the Small Wins!   and I must point out that #4 was outstanding:  we focused on What We Got to Do, to get Benjamin off of their game! (Scroll down for more recap).

Then we took on a stubborn champion in Holy Trinity Episcopal, 17-2.  Their record was accomplished, but their weak schedule was more a product of their location and league play set up, that only masked their true ability.  What I saw in them in my game scout was a team that never gave up, and was always working to find a way.  Holy Trinity Episcopal was a great team, and honestly (and you can ask my wife), I was more worried about this game than any of the other Championship competitions.  That said, they put in a new defense and really scouted our tendencies well, and thus gave us a game that challenged us into the fourth quarter.  They had a great performance and earned my total respect in what they tried to accomplish!  We prevailed 11-4, but that score hides our opponent's championship resolve!

We next took on LakeHighland Prep, and it was if the 'obstacles' were higher than a snowcapped mountain in the middle of the summer. The tragic events of April 30, the undeniable mental toll that took on all of our players, coaches and school, the fact that on Monday practice before the Tuesday game was really just a 'let's just hope we can gather ourselves' and pass the ball around....  Tuesday May 4th's new game at 6:00pm on the Lake Highland turf was brutally hot, and and so was the official crew doing the game, brutally 'homed-in.'  We were fighting many elements, including a very good Lake Highland team, that wasn't much interested in losing that game, their 9-8 record just hiding their overall improvement during the season.  Lots of the characteristics of Champions came about that day for Saint Edward's, maybe led by divine action, maybe not.  But one thing was certain, we never once gave up against any of the elemental obstacles working like crazy to derail our Championship Run and our Regional Championship win of 12-11 in OT.  Perseverance, improvising and overcoming all obstacles!  I mean "Just wow!"

Then Bolles School in the FHSAA Semi-Finals was next, and we came out of the blocks running and scoring.  It looked early that we were hitting a new level and Bolles wasn't ready to fight.  But Bolles proved their championship status and run was not clearly done yet!  They had won their regional championship over Maclay, another champion.  Champions just don't quit.  And Bolles started hitting back and hitting back hard.  Bolles was proving their championship metal.  However, we never stopped believing, Expecting to Win, Believing We Could Win the next one; and although we had to get back to putting the ball in their goal and keeping out of ours, time seemed to be in Bolles favor after taking a three goal lead, at 11-8 going into the fourth quarter.  As coaches, we just gave our team two things to concentrate on, battling and winning gb's instead of conceding them, and focusing on scrapping up the face-off battle.  The tide turned as we began to Win Small Battles and we also had some great individual and team performances in that 4th quarter as we focused on what We Get to Do to Win; the Champions from District 8, and the Champions of our Florida Region, Saint Edward's School, came through with incredible gutsy performance with gritty play to overtake Boles 15-13.   

And a shot at #1 Saint Andrew's in the Florida HS Championship.

Our next game was 24 hours after our hard fought and won battle against Bolles, and would be our third game in five days.  But who is complaining?  No one!  We Make No Excuses.  We did not win, and certainly a disappointing ending to a wonderfully challenging, and adversity-filled season.  We had improvised and overcame many matters during the season, and we had managed over a stretch of years to prepare ourselves for this moment. 

Where did we go wrong?  The only thing I think that I could have done earlier was to be patient enough to have scheduled Saint Andrew's during the regular season.  Just having them to see in person and have failed the first time would have given me the insight to possibly overcome their strength's... JUDO!  I could tell you that RJ Dawson and I tried to get it scheduled, but it wasn't going to happen way back in September when I was trying to get it done.   

And, all I can tell you is that if we had it to do all over again would I have done anything different during the game.  I've thought about it much, but in the end I'm not sure it would have made up the difference in our opponent's championship caliber without having a chance to actually work or try to replicate that work.  Might we have turned the tide?  Maybe, but maybe it would have made it worse? But here is what I know about our squad of players, coaches and parents... we will hit back harder next year!  Smarter and more experienced for the work we have done. 

Making it through the Championship Tournament and not finishing it the way we wanted, we are all looking inside to explain some of our failings that day, including myself. But it's only the beginning of a Saint Edward's 2022 Team who knows where they will be next year in May!