By Madeleine Nichols
TopLaxRecruits.com, Posted 11/10/13
BEVERLY HILLS, Mich. – Minnesota Loons senior attackman Jesse Rice had one major goal today in the second day of competition at the Can-Am Showcase at Detroit Country Day School.
“Coming in today, I just wanted to have as much fun as possible,” said Rice, who plays high school lacrosse for Central and hails from St. Paul. “I know I play better when I am having fun so I just wanted to help out the guys and not just play for myself.”
The Loons were joined by 19 other elite club programs from the Midwest and Canada on Sunday. The two-day event, run by NXTsports, also featured an individual showcase on Saturday. In all, the weekend event drew 80 college coaches.
“I think I did meet my goals,” said Rice, whoa also competed Saturday in the individual showcase. “In the first game, not as much. But in the second game, I did a lot. We just (jelled) as a team. It was great.
“The competition was really good. There were a lot of really good players out there; a lot of different skill sets out there. So it was good to see all that and play with that from all over the country.”
What does Rice need to work on heading into the 2014 season?
“I think I just realized I needed to work harder than how I did before,” he said. “I just tried to work harder, work harder and again have more fun than anyone else on the field at all times.
“I learned that I only do well when I’m not just working for myself but I’m working for everybody, for the whole team. I’m really happy with how I played today.”
Other player reaction:
Jake Kocovsky M 2014 Andove, MN, Anoka Minnesota Loons:
“I wanted to play hard and just have some fun with this tournament since it’s my last one. I wanted to get some looks and that’s about it. I’m pretty confident that I met my goals. We played pretty hard this tourney. The competition was tough. It’s a lot of good players out here and it’s nice, coming from Minnesota, to see everything. I never stopped and ran a little bit harder, ran a little bit faster. I shot harder, picked my selections and honestly, we just all around played as a team.”
Ben Calvitt 2014, Minnesota Loons:
“My goals were to get noticed and have fun as well. I think I had a lot of fun. I just need to stay focused and continue to work hard, because I would get unfocused and then mess up. I’m very happy with how I played. We played well this weekend. The competition was really good. A bunch of Canadian teams played really well and there were teams from all over the Midwest.”
Rocco Mularoni A 2016 Howell, MI, Detroit Catholic Central Shamrocks:
“I just to play well as a team and maybe get recruited. I learned that I need to work on some stuff and just get better.”
Cooper Belanger A 2016 Bloomfield Hills, MI GBL Lacrosse:
“My goals coming into today were to play as best I can and to get some looks from some colleges here. I think I played well today and we’ll see how it turns out. The competition was good. There were a bunch of good players here from all over. I reflected on how I previously played and went over it in my mind and tried to figure out how I could change it.”
Jackson White G 2016 Detroit Country Day, Juiced Cherries 2016:
“I wanted to win every game and just to play my best in front of all the recruiters. (The first two games) we won by a good amount of goals and today I played the best I have all fall! Even though we are winning by a lot, you still have to be locked in mentally the entire game.”
Blain White 2017, Juiced Cherries:
“I was actually playing up, so I was looking to move the ball a lot more. I think I met my goals. I got a lot of assists last game. I learned that moving the ball is a lot faster than keeping it. If you get it going faster and on a line, then it gets the defense off balance.”
Kyle Killen A 2015 Peterborough, ON, Crestwood Evolve Elite:
“I think I played pretty well. I could have sharpened up a few mistakes but other than that it was pretty good. The competition wasn’t bad. It’s a lot different than playing Canadian lacrosse but it’s still pretty good. You have to work as a team. Some of these guys I’ve never played with before so you have to kind of see what they can do.”
Cody Ward 2015 Holy Cross, ON, Canada, Evolve Elite:
“I wanted to play the best I could. I tried to play more as a team and work with my teammates. I (learned I) have to shoot better.”
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