HEART
& GRIT
CENTRAL KENTUCKY LACROSSE
ASSOCIATION CHAMPS
“They didn’t skip practices
for haircuts or vacations,”
Coach Joe Conley, middle
school foreign language
teacher, says with a smile,
and that dedication was
the key.
18
Reflecting on this year’s huge win, Alex Baldecchi ’19
notes that it began with an equally huge loss when he
says, “Because we lost last year’s lacrosse championship,
we really wanted to win it this year. Coach Conley gave
us a talk before the season even began. He said, ‘You
can’t do this without heart and grit.’ The first game this
year, we didn’t win, but after that, we played insanely,
with plenty of heart and grit. We practiced when we
didn’t have practice, and it all paid off.”
Everybody associated with this team knows what
Alex is talking about. While last year’s championship
game was being played, they practiced. It wasn’t a
scheduled practice. It grew organically. From the get-go,
Coach Conley has admired the team’s will to win, and
he loved every minute of seeing each player mature
throughout the months. They practiced after school,
throughout breaks and recess during school, on the
weekends. As they improved, they grew closer as a
team. They began sending motivational text messages
to inspire each other. They became more disciplined.
Their determination spilled over into non-LAX areas
of their lives. They were more focused on success at
home and in the classroom. Parents noticed. Teachers
noticed. The boys took more ownership of their sport
and of their actions. For every game, they arrived
one hour early to set their sights on the job at hand.
Sometimes there were doubleheaders; the days were
long. Coach Conley credits Alex Baldecchi ’19, Ben
Pund ’19, Teague Roth ’19, and Buntaro Yoshida ’19
as being strong eighth grade leaders who paved the way
for success.
Buntaro hastens to add, “What I really liked was
Coach Conley always giving us inspiring speeches about
why we were the best and about winning, working
harder, and determination. On the last day of practice,
the Thursday before the championship game, Coach
told us we would not win unless we wanted it. We
wanted it badly!” Buntaro goes on to say, “This lacrosse
team is like family to me. Every day at school we would
meet and talk about our strengths and weaknesses.”
Assistant coach for the second year, Will Chapman ’96,
also enjoyed his days and months with this team,
noting, “I’ve been impressed with them from the very
beginning, from when all the kids thanked me after our
first practice. I’m proud of every one of them.”
Give a robust round of applause to the Central
Kentucky Lacrosse Association 2019 champion varsity
boys. Now they can get haircuts and go on vacation.