Hello Swarm Fans, its been a few weeks since I touched base with everyone.

As some of you may know, I am no longer able to finish the remainder of the NLL season, which is a very tough pill to swallow for me and some of my fellow MN laxers. This bad news comes with the good news that I have been recently hired by the Fire Department just north of Toronto, in Markham. I'm currently in my third week of training and enjoying it very much. I have never hit the books this hard in my life. I have 15 weeks of training and another 6 months probationary period from there to ensure "job security".

As for lacrosse, I am still really excited about what our team can do this season. We are currently sitting at 5-6 and have playoff hopes staring right at us. Once we get to the playoffs I know that anything can happen, but if we play the way that we know we can, I see a good finish to 2010.

I am hoping to make it down to Minny in the near future or for a home playoff game if the timing works out. Hoping to see everyone soon and I hope everyone understands my work situation.

Here's to all the best of the luck in the rest of 2010!

Swarm it up!

Cuz

Last weekend was the type of lacrosse that we need to play every weekend to ensure success in the NLL.

It was a total team effort and within that great team effort were many great individual efforts. Callum Crawford pulled off an impressive night with 4 G's and 5 helpers as well as Ryan "ReTran" Benesch with 3 snipes. It was nice to see the offense light the lamp on Colorado. On the defensive end of things Nick Patterson only allowed 5 goals, which is very low for this league. The whole D-end played great as a unit and will hopefully continue to do so this weekend in the Mile High City.

I must also mentioned how great the fans were last weekend. You guys were really loud and that always keeps our spirits up. We are not at home for a little while so we are going to miss your generous cheers!

From a personal standpoint, I will not be able to play this weekend because I have been hired on by the Fire department and have mandatory function to attend. I will definitely be watching the game over the internet and cheering my teammates on. It is very hard to miss a game mid-season but this is one of those opportunities that I can't pass up.

We will see everyone in about a month, until then I will update everyone over the blog about our times on the road.

Swarm it up!

Cuz

It was great to be back at home last weekend vs the Washington Stealth after suffering a tough loss the weekend before in the rainy state of Washington.

Things felt really good this past weekend and it's about time! We started our weekend off with a good practice Friday afternoon, which is a very rare occurrence in this league. Usually it is a super late practice the night before a game with minimal time to recover in time for the following day's game. This past weekend was luxurious! A true treat for the boys!

After practice is was off to MOA for a little shopping and a couple meals for most of the guys, followed by a nice early shut down to rest up.

Morning shoot around just had that great energy and desperation that was truly needed to get the W. All the guys were excited to play that night and we all knew it was 'do or die time'! Sometimes different factors motivate athletes to play well and this was one of them.

We brought that same energy right into the game with in your face lacrosse, high energy and a total team effort. This was truly one of our first complete games and we need this same effort to make an impact in this league. It was nice to be a part of that effort.

We ended up winning the game 16-12. This was the perfect time of the season to get a win, especially against the top team in the NLL. This win has definitely given us an injection of confidence as we continue to build on for the rest of the season.

See everyone this Saturday.

Swarm it up!

Cuz

Ok, so we are sitting at 1-2 at this point in the season. Not exactly where we want to be as a team, but a few good games under our belt and we could be looking alright!

I must say that 2 weeks ago at our home opener was a really great feeling for all the boys. It was nice to see such a large crowd, as well hear such a LOUD crowd. You guys were awesome! Shout out to all the staff members at the Swarm that put all the people in the seats, I know you guys are always working hard and all the boys appreciate it.

The home opener was a solid game from all ends of the floor... from the goaltending out. We played a very high tempo, in your face style of lacrosse that night vs. Calgary and it ultimately led to the W for us. 12-10 SWARM!

Last weekend vs Colorado has left a very bad taste in my mouth as well as all of the guys on the team. We did not play to our full potential, personally or as a team. We were given a game plan and did not stick with it, which led to a tough loss in OT, 15-14. The good news is we are right back at it this weekend vs Buffalo at the HSBC arena. It is always a good place to play because it gives friends and family a chance to watch us. Gotta love it!

We will see everyone in a few weeks at home when we take on Washington and I will keep you posted on road games and travel.

Swarm it up!

Cuz

By the time you read this blog you better forget the past and move onto what is ahead of the Swarm this Friday. OUR HOME OPENER!

We started last weekend off with a less than perfect outcome and I'm not just talking about the game.

Our first flight of the season was pretty good minus all the middle seats the guys were sitting in. This is always a bad setup for guys because we like to dangle our legs in the aisle and stretch out. Not on this trip. We were in middle seats sweating bullets with frowns from jaw to jaw. Better luck with the friendly skies this week.

We landed in Edmonton for a Friday night practice... only there was one problem. About 8 guys equipment bags didn't make the trip and ended up in Edmonton the next morning. This is always an obstacle in this league and you just have to deal with it.

We spent our Friday in Le Duc, Alberta with a lunch at the Nisku Inn, which was truly a highlight for Le Duc. Then caught some sleep and headed off to practice... well half practice because like I mentioned, only half the guys had equipment. We still got a decent sweat in a were ready to roll for Sunday.

On Saturday we woke up and boarded the bus for practice, which was driven by a man with 3 names: Lonnie, Earl and Justin. This guy was a treat! He only stalled the bus 5 times in a 7 mile radius and got lost 3 times. He set new records in my book. Just a beauty!

That morning we got a great practice in and went over all the essentials to get the W in Calgary. Unfortunately, we failed in Calgary. I don't want to get into great detail about the game because I'm sure most of you watched it on Channel 45. Even though we lost there we still a lot of positives and the negatives can definitely be addressed for Friday's re-match. Look out Roughnecks!

I'm really looking forward to getting back to the Xcel to put a show on for our hometown fans. I can tell you that every single guy on the team is totally excited and will be ready to get the W at home.

Looking forward to seeing all of you on Friday. Make sure you're loud and lets get it done!

Cuz