Spring sports get underway at Bedford
The snow and the cold haven't let go of New Hampshire yet, forcing many teams around the state to start tryouts and practices for the spring season inside.
Not so for the boys and girls lacrosse teams at Bedford High School.
All week, both squads have braved the elements to get on the turf to begin preparations for the 2014 season. Some members of each team were at the stadium last Friday to shovel some of the snow from the field, and boys lacrosse coach Matt Guerard figures neither team would have been on it this week if not for that.
"We wouldn't have been if we hadn't done that on Friday," he said. "Between the boys and the girls programs, we had about 45 kids out there. I think it's a great experience for some of the younger kids to meet some of the older kids. We put it together on Friday simply because we knew that if we didn't, there was no way that we were going to get out on the field."
Bedford goes into this season with a 40-game winning streak intact after having won back-to-back Division II titles. The Bulldogs' last loss came in the 2011 semifinals and they ended last season as the No. 1 ranked team in the state, according to LaxPower.
With Bedford expected to move up to Division I next season, Guerard did his best to put together a schedule that would prepare the Bulldogs for a new challenge. Bedford plays some of the best in Division I, with regular-season game against Pinkerton, Londonderry, Exeter and Hanover. The Bulldogs will also play a preseason scrimmage against Bishop Guertin.
While there's still almost three weeks to go until the first game that counts, Guerard likes what he's seen in the Bulldogs short time together, despite the cold.
"We only have a quarter of the field, but I thought everything is going well," he said. "There are a lot of rusty sticks from guys who didn't play in the winter.
"I think (the weather) only affects guys as much as they let it affect them. We try to tailor drills for as many reps as we can to try to stay moving around. It’s got the tendency to break sticks. The plastic gets cold and with hard checks, but I think it affects them only as much as they let it."
