New Look Needed

As some members of the UVM men's lacrosse team have been picking up awards from America East, I've been reminded about how much dislike their uniforms and helmets. I'll spend more time in another blog about their uniforms, but I would like to comment on the helmets.

In short, the helmets don't look good. They are too busy and the combination of gold and white doesn't work, or at least not the way UVM has done it. I don't know who designs the look for the team's helmets but they don't know what works. Hopefully the helmets the team used this year won't make another appearance.

Rather than just squawk about this years helmets I thought I would offer some suggestions. Please click the following links to see what I think would be good alternatives for the Catamounts.

Green & White Home Helmet

UVM athletics doesn't seem to like designing any part of any team's uniform in gold lately but I though the following would look good.

Gold & Green Home or Away Helmet

Rather than using gold, one of the school's official colors, UVM athletics has moved towards black. If this is really the direction they want, I designed a black helmet too.

Black & Gold Away Helmet

UVM's official colors are Green and Gold so here are my suggestions.

Green & Gold Option 1 Away Helmet

Green & Gold Option 2 Away Helmet


Green & Gold Option 3 Home Helmet

Hopefully UVM athletics will make some changes and the Cats will finally have some good looking helmets.

A Step Forward

I was very impressed with Andrew Kelleher, the Senior attackman from UVM this season. From the look of things, so too was America East and its fans. In fact, Andrew was just recognized as the innguaral Fans' Choice Player of the year. A great accomplishment.

I would have bet the house that a player from Albany or UMBC would have snaged the award. Vermont and Kelleher were nominated to the America East weekly awards only once (3/3/09), where as the Albany and UMBC players were nominated regularly. Again, a great accomplishment.

I look at Andrews selection as a big step forward for the UVM lacrosse program. I bet Coach Curtis and his assistants will use Andrew's development as an example of where the program is headed on the recruiting trail this off season. This award is also the product of good coaching from Coach Curtis and I'm excited to see how Andrew's award translates into success for the program going forward.

Click here for the full story

Sparty Heads South

How great are non-conference games in college football? I'm already looking forward to watching Michigan State battle it out in Tuscaloosa and in Morgan Town. State pride will definitely be on the line when these three teams meet in the upcoming seasons.

Click here for the full article

Sharp Looking Statesmen

Speaking of great uniforms, the Hobart Lacrosse team has some of the best. One of these days I'll write about the evolution of the Statesmen uniform but for now I'll leave it as Hobart has a sick look. Dark blue away helmets are some of the best in the game.

Side note: I've always found it interesting that you will never see a brand name on any of the Hobart lax jerseys.

Looking Sharp

On a recent visit to Proctor Academy I watched the boys varsity lacrosse team practice in some terrible looking attire. Gloves didn't match, helmets had no consistency, and overall the look was messy.

To my pleasant surprise the Hornets play in these......

Talk about sick uniforms.

Hornets Nest

The Proctor Academy lacrosse team is having great success this year. After five games the Hornets sit at 4-1, boasting 14.8 goals a game. Defensively, Proctor is allowing just over 6 goals a game. However, Proctor has played teams that are not lacrosse powerhouses with the exception on KUA (Proctor's one loss).

The Hornets have a tough road ahead. After another meeting with New Hampton, PA has to play Cushing Academy, Brewster Academy, and the Tilton School. It'll be in these three games that fans will learn more about the '09 Hornets.

It'll be interesting to see if the 13 goals scored by KUA was a fluke or something to expect when the Hornets play some better competition. I bet Coach Hamlet is stressing defensive intensity, starting with New Hampton.

As a fan, it has been great to see the development of the Proctor program. Not too long ago, the Hornets won just two games all season.

Same Same

Is it just me or does the logo for the "Rally Awards" look very similar to the Flat Irons in Boulder, CO?

Why not choose a more Vermont looking image?

A Transformational Gift

Hobart College recently announced that major upgrades are in store for many Statesmen athletic teams.

Check out the full story

Thank you James and Cynthia!

Just Another Joe

Joe Fischer - You seen this guy? Talk about ordinary and a big scoop of vanilla.

I'm not convinced he's even a true Catamount fan. I've observed him at numerous games and never a cheer. Hardly a clap. When he does root for the Cats it's out of obligation. During hokey games he glares at the students as well as many in section 12. I've seen him even pull aside enthusiastic fans and tell them to quite themselves.

Joe Fischer - Where's your Cat Pride?

Mr. Fischer is an Assistant Director of Athletics at UVM

How much does a W cost?

The Hobart lacrosse team opened the season with a five game tear. The Statesmen defeated two ranked teams and was holding opponents to below 6 goals a game. The highpoint might have been holding Georgetown to zero goals in the first half of the March 3^rd contest, eventually beating the Hoyas soundly.

Things have certainly changed. Where have the Statesmen gone? They can’t buy a win. They lost a heartbreaker last weekend to UMass and way things have gone lately, might not win another game. As a Statesmen fan, I guess there’s always next season.

(Please note, Hobart won this week vs. St. John's.)

Word Play

US cyclist, Tyler Hamilton announced he was retiring Friday after he admitted using banned performing enhancing substances - for the second time. Tyler's employer, Michael Ball was quoted as saying, "For him to have to retire on this note is a very tough pill to swallow".

Perhaps Ball could have exercised better word choice.

Hilarious.


Click here for a link to the original story

Frozen Four - Cats in D.C.

Check out pictures from the Frozen Four

Cats lost to eventual National Champions - BU.

Québécois

The woman's basketball team added six new student athletes to the 2013 recruiting class today. Four of them from Canada. I'd kinda like to see Sharon Dawley attract more talent from the states. UVM's program should use UCONN as a model for recruiting. Curently, UCONN has no players from Canada. If you want to talk about recruiting paying dividends on the court, all you have to do is look at their undefeated season, capped by a sixth national championship.

I know UVM is not UCONN, but still. Then again, winners are winners and I wish Sharon and the class of 2013 good luck in the upcoming season.

Green & Gold in the Championship?

I've been watching the national championship hockey game and noticed something peculiar. Is it me or is Jack Parker, head coach of BU, wearing a Green and Gold tie? I saw Kevin Sneddon wear a strangely similar tie in Bridgeport, Conn., and would be impressed with Jacky if he was giving UVM a shout out. Seems like my answer will have to wait.

Oh, and I would have bet the house that Melrose would be wearing the pin strips tonight. He's such a joke.

What's Next

(Friday, April 10, 2009)

I was incredibly tense during the second semi final game between the University of Vermont and BU, which the Terriers won. It was a terrific game and although UVM lost I was exceedingly proud to be from Vermont. Nevertheless, I was left thinking about the Cats future? Where does the team go from here? I hope the exposure of having such a fast paced well-played game on ESPN2 will catapult the Cats to the next level yet I’m worried. 

Coach Sneddon was recently nominated as a Coach of the Year Candidate for the second consecutive year, and although he has pledged his support to the program as well as said that he and his family loves Vermont, I’m worried that he’ll be snatched away. 

Kevin Sneddon has had tremendous success at Vermont, which saw the Catamounts reach the national semi finals for only the second time in school history. Sneddon coached UVM to an appearance in the Hockey East Championship game last year - a program first. These accomplishments along with numerous others boost Sneddon’s appeal and my concern that another school would request a meeting. (I should give AD, Robert Corran lots of praise for working with Sneddon to become Vermont’s coach.)

Another area in question is UVM’s athletic facilities. I’m not sure that our facilities will soon become an obstacle in recruiting, if the haven’t already. Was all that National attention a blessing and a curse? Will recruits recognize UVM as a national power because of our recent successes, want to visit campus, but discover that our facilities cannot compete with other elite programs? I sincerely hope that UVM will be able to carry this momentum for the next few years, but have to think our facilities will catch up to us. 

Many things, like the economy for example have their ups and downs. Many things rise and fall along a curve. Where is UVM hockey on their curve? Are they still rising and have yet to peak? Or was their Frozen Four appearance the peak and now the program is on the way down? What will fans think if UVM doesn’t reach the NCAA tournament next year? Hockey East is arguably the most competitive league in college hockey, and a home ice playoff birth is no guarantee. Tough realities to think about for sure.

I love the job that Sneddon has done and is doing. It has not gone unnoticed that he emphasizes UVM’s "student athletes". It has not gone unnoticed that his athletes are good people on camps, who don’t expect the limelight and who aren't involved in “off ice incidences”. He recognizes and recruits great character. Dean Strong, Peter Lenes, and Corey Carlson for example. I hope Sneddon doesn’t go anywhere. I hope Viktor Stalberg doesn’t leave – less we forget he has a huge decision to make about his career in the next few days (I hope you return #18). I hope that UVM can improve its facilities soon, so that Sneddon can continue to attract high caliber, sound moral character players to Vermont. I hope we are still on the way up. What’s next? I'd like a national championship, but I’d be content with another senior class as classy as our exiting seniors, because I know with such great student leaders, another trip to the Frozen Four and a victory won’t be far off. 

A Bad Loss

(Tuesday, April 7, 2009)

The University of Vermont men’s lacrosse team lost today to The Cross. For those of you who don’t know what I’m talking about, I’m referring to the Jesuit school in Worcester, MA – Holly Cross. The Crusaders came to Burlington carrying a 4 game losing steak and a 1-10 record overall.

 I had the opportunity to watch the Cats go up 3 to 1 just as the first quarter winded down. I had to leave but thought for sure Vermont would pull away. And they did. Vermont built a 5 to 1 lead with 11 minutes left in the first half but managed to let it slip away. The Catamounts let in 6 goals in the fourth, were forced into 2 OT’s and in the end fell to 4 -7 on the season.

 Prior to the game I thought Holly Cross would be an easy win. Perhaps I should have looked more closely at the Crusaders’ lone win before making my prediction. The Crusaders’ 1 win and Vermont’s last win, came against a common foe, The Hartford Hawks. Holly Cross put a beat down on Hartford, 7-3, where as Vermont barely beat the Hawks by 1. My oversight but still a bad loss.