Not too shabby for our first official year as a Varsity & JV team!!!

Yes – The Warriors had a great year!!!

We graduated two seniors -- Shane Wilkinson and Brad Reeser – and they will be missed!!! We return twenty-two players from a team dominated by 13 juniors, 8 sophomores and 1 freshman.

Shane Wilkinson works hard “all” the time!!!

Personally, I have never had a player – in any sport – with the work ethic and dedication to push their body the way this guy can! When you hear commentators say; this player came off bus ready to play with his helmet on – they were talking about Shane. Our players in practice can attest to the same! I know he made our attack men better by working them hard all season! They played against few defenders with the same intensity and this led to a lot of success on the offensive end of the field for our attack this season!

Going back four years ago, when Shane played on the HR Lax “Warriors” and the Jamestown JV, he was determined to get the most out of his high school lacrosse experience – and he obviously accomplished the same! Shane will be a “star” at VMI and will be one of the catalysts to move the Cadets lacrosse program forward in 2007-2008!!!

Shane, we all know you will excel, both on and off the field. Congratulations!!! We are planning our team trip to watch you play in the spring of 2008!

Shane Wilkinson receives the Warriors Leadership & Service Award for 2006 – 2007!!!

Brad Reeser emerged during the season as a quiet leader who was consistently supportive to his teammates and coaches throughout the season. Brad is a very determined person and this became evident during our conditioning in early February as he continually “pushed himself” – often in visible discomfort -- to improve.

Brad improved tremendously and developed the confidence to man down defense during some key situations during the spring.

One regret is that we did not have the opportunity to coach Brad earlier in his lacrosse career. We have as much respect for Brad as any player to date and know he will excel at JMU this fall.

Congratulations on your efforts this season!!!

Brad Reeser receives The Warriors Service Award for Spring 2007!!!

Moving forward – I could write more than everyone wants to read about our players efforts, enthusiasm and commitment to the team this season! With that in mind --

Let me start with our defense. They were flat our good!

As highlighted previously -- When you hold a team to less than 10 goals, thirteen times (13) you are doing something right on defense!!!

I received several calls after our Cape Henry game regarding the speed and athleticism of our close defense and that of our LSM’s -- long stick midfielders. These accolades came after our third game of the season and we improved dramatically as the season moved forward.

Brian Elliott, Hunter Griggs, Andy McNitt, Nick Shankland, and Shane Wilkinson rotated as starters on close defense for most of the season. Colin Morton and Brad Reeser played good minutes off the bench. We expect Colin to get more game time as we move into the summer as his stick skills continue to improve.

Hunter Griggs and Nick Shankland were our most consistent defensive performers and Brian Elliott came on very strong the second half of the season. As a result --

Hunter Griggs, Nick Shankland and Brian Elliott – are – “Our Most Valuable Defensive Players” – for the spring 2007 season!!!  Congratulations Hunter, Nick and Brian!!!

Alex Armbruster – needs to be recognized with the defense – even though he filled many roles this spring!

Alex is the only player I ever coached, or even remembered, or know, to actively play all positions on the field during the same season!!!

Alex started on attack – and did well – moved to the midfield – also played well -- played a half in the goal Vs- Hanover – making several saves-- and finished as a LSM (Long stick midfielder) – his permanent position moving forward with the Warriors!

Alex -- thank you!!! Your enthusiasm and willingness to support the team in an unselfish way – has not gone unnoticed by the coaches and your teammates!

For his efforts – Alex Armbruster is The Warriors 2006 – 2007 – “Unsung Hero!!! Congratulations Alex!!!

Micah Matthews was our backup goalie this season – not an easy role to fill! Micah continued to improve as the season progressed and played well – in particular Vs- Hanover LC and Blue Ridge School. Micah has dedicated himself to getting in shape and getting stronger which is reflected in his work ethic as it applies to lacrosse. Micah probably has worked harder than any other player on conditioning and has a strict regiment to include weight training and running. I also suspect he has been secretly working on developing his face-off technique over the spring and might get the opportunity to face-off this summer!

Joe Ketron – read on – You have not been forgotten!!! (Joe – do not skip forward please!!!)

In the midfield, we experimented with different line- ups and after the Dan Nolan Tournament – came up with units that worked well and complimented each other.

Brian Dillon really came on -- once he realized he could run by almost anyone on the field -- and wound up playing on the first midfield unit. Brian finished with 9 goals & 4  assists for 13  points.

Taylor Morgan anchored our midfield defense, playing a lot of transition and man down defense. Taylor is a multisport athlete whose stick work improved dramatically this spring. This will eventually lead to Taylor playing more offense over the summer and next spring.

Drew Epps, Will Fallon and David Grieff improved collectively more than any group on the team.

Drew is a rising “star”! We have had several college coaches ask – Who’s # 7? Drew will play more offense as we get into next year. Very fast and athletic!!!

Will decided during the Glenelg Country game, that “he wanted to be a lacrosse player” -- and took off from there, getting more playing time accordingly.

David had some questions about Coach Hofmeister’s sanity when he was moved up from our JV team in early February. He accepted his new promotion and put all his effort into the new challenge! Dave’s hard work paid off as he began to play more – scoring his first goal at The Dan Nolan Tournament! He has improved 100%!!!

Drew Epps, Will Fallon and David Grieff are – The Most Improved Players -- for the Spring 2007 season!!! Congratulations Drew, David and Will!!!

Taylor Terry – spent most of the spring on crutches – but once back from injury – played some key minutes, in particular on defense and man down.

Matt Jordan – also hampered by injuries – came back and played very well Vs- Blue Ridge and Woodberry registering a nice assist at a key point in the 4^th quarter!

Taylor and Matt -- will play key roles in the future of the program! Keep up the hard work!!!

Patrick Lynch is a very solid player who does a great job supporting those around him. Patty does not get enough credit for his offensive capabilities – he probably has one of the hardest shots on the team! He also was our #2 faceoff guy and his won/loss percentage was better than 50%. Patty also played on the first midfield and played extra man offense. He had 3 goals and 5 assists – 8 points – this spring!

Thomas Rice has been with us since the beginning! That takes us back to 5^th grade -- when we wore the purple HR Lax jerseys!

Thomas has come a long way since playing in the sandbox behind Norfolk Academy. He is one of the players that we can count on to get a ground ball, make a key play or score when we really need it!

Three times this year – Charlottesville, Glenelg and Christ Church –( 4 goals) --  that come to mind – Thomas delivered in key situations!!! He finished the season with 13 goals & 7 assists – 20 points!

“Will Perkins, Will Perkins, Will Perkins”!!! – I’m sure Will went to sleep with my voice ringing in his ears at times!

 I had one of our parents tell me that their son measured how well he played by the number of times he did not get yelled at during the game. One night this player came home and told dad -- “I must have played well because Coach Hofmeister only yelled at me once tonight! I know Will can appreciate the same!

Will is a tremendous athlete, who if we allowed him to so so – would stay on the field for every minute of every game! He does not like to come off the field – even trying to hide behind the officials at times!

He has a real “passion” for completion and is probably one of our best all around athletes. Will has greatness attached to him and should continue to develop as he heads into his senior year – and have a big year!!!

He also took the majority of our face-offs winning a very high percentage of the same. Will finished the season with 18 goals & 24 assists for 44 points. A very good year!

Will Perkins is our Outstanding Midfielder this spring!  Congratulations Will!!!

Our attack – As our players would say – they are nasty!!!

John O’Hara comes to mind first!

John is an ice hockey player in his spare time! We now know – “he only plays hockey to develop his wrists for lacrosse!

John is also a “rising star” – he just doesn’t believe it yet! He has great quickness and good stick skills and most importantly – is very unselfish with the ball! He understands his role at the present and there are good things in John’s lacrosse future!!!

Sean Kelly, Michael Laycock and Mickey Hofmeister were our starting attack unit this season. All three complimented each other and played great lacrosse this season. Sean and Michael played the majority of the season with a lot of pain and this attests to their toughness and dedication to the team!!!

This group, with few exceptions, moved the ball better than any attack unit all year!

During the second half of the season when all were healthy, the three accounted for a very high percentage of our offensive output. They possess the ability to score in spurts and strung together enough goals that demoralized many of the defenses that we faced this spring!

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Sean played the point and has the ability to split the defense to score or find the open man -- as he did so often!

In addition he has a quick release and is very accurate inside which makes him hard to play. He also is very dangerous moving without the ball and is a great target on the crease. Sean had several 5 goal plus performances this year!!!

Michael Laycock was converted from midfield to attack as the spring began and emerged as the number two point leader!

Mike has developed into a great finisher!  We also saw -Vs- Woodberry Forest – that he has the ability to power his way to the goal when he scored back to back unassisted goals!!!

Michael also had several 5 and 6 goal performances this spring.

 Mickey Hofmeister was responsible for distributing the ball this season.

Mick handled this very well as he turned into a very dangerous dodger with a quick first step and great vision when it comes to finding the open man!

He also has the pleasure of reliving the good and bad with us after every game – well into the evening on most occasions!

Mick had two 9 point games and one 12 point performance as he led the team in scoring this spring!

Our attack’s numbers this year attest to their productivity on the field!!!

Sean Kelly -  35 goals, 18 assists – 53 points – Michael Laycock – 41 goals & 13 assists – 54 points and Mickey Hofmeister – 43 goals & 37 assists – 80 points.

The three had an outstanding season and together are Our Most Valuable Offensive Players!!!  Congratulations to Sean, Michael & Mickey!!!

Now we come to Joe Ketron!!!

When you think about the one player you absolutely did not want to go on the field without this spring -- that would be Joe Ketron!

We “all” watched Joe develop from the fall to the final game this spring at Woodberry Forest not only as a lacrosse player, but more importantly -- as a person and leader on and off the field!

Joe flat out won many games for us this season -- in particular the close ones! He either came up with a big save at a key point or kept us in the game until our offense got on track.

Joe is one of the best (if not the best) goalies that we saw play this year – and I saw “everyone” in this area play.

Without exception, Joe was consistent, motivated, intense and focused on managing the game from inside the crease on every occasion. He will have a great senior year and has the ability to make a big impact in college lacrosse one day!

Joe Ketron – Is The Williamsburg Warriors --  Most Valuable Player for the spring 2007 season!   A well deserved honor!   Congratulations Joe!!!

Well – Hopefully we haven’t missed anyone!!!

As Williamsburg’s own Bruce Hornsby has noted on many occasions -- 

‘That’s Just The Way It Is” – Or -- In this case -- “The Was It Was”!!!

The Spring Lacrosse Season of 2007 is behind us!!!

The Warriors Inaugural Season!!!

11 wins & 6 losses – Ranked # 28!!!

What’s next? ??

Our goal should be to hit the Top 5 in 2008 and make a run for #1 -- And National Recognition!!!

Let’s not forget the parents and all the support this season –  in rain, wind cold, sun and bugs too!!!

You all get an A+!!! – Thank you!!

John Perkins also gets an A+ as operations manager – keeping the finances and officials on track!

A special THANK YOU!!! to Gigi Kelly for all the time she devotes to managing our website, travel and sundry other things!!! We need to get Gigi to agree to a long-term contract!

And Thank You too – John Kelly – for letting us have Gigi and keeping stats on the sidelines!

Dawn & Steve Griggs – Thank You – for you support!!!

Cathy Lynch – our new Travel Coordinator!!! – Thank You!!!

JC Morton – our new special events, food, beverage and party coordinator & for keeping time @ Home games and great ribs!!! Thank You!

Jay Matthews – for the pictures, fixing sticks and being our #1 Fan!!!

Kathy Grieff – for her quiet generosity – Thank You!!!

Kerry Armbruster –for getting us the First Colony field & courts – Thank You!!!

Steve Hofmeister (Co-Coach) – a great job this spring getting all our resources on and off the field!!! Steve also made some key moves with players throughout the season.

Steve gets credit for our win –VS- Norfolk Collegiate when he moved Nick Shankland to long stick midfield at halftime. Nick consequently picked up every ground ball that led to a 9-1 run – really a 10-1 run – as one of our goals was ignored as the third quarter ended!  Thank You Steve!!!

Finally – We cannot forget Bridget Hofmeister – who encouraged and convinced me to coach again! Thank you Bridget!!!

It was a great spring lacrosse season for the Warriors!!!

See everyone in Richmond – June 1, 2, & 3, 2007!!!

All the best!

“Mark”

Coach Hofmeister