Between The Pipes: An Inside Look at Cape Boy’s Lacrosse | Volume 1

Factory Sports in Lewes, DE and Cape Henlopen High School have once again partnered in the Student Career Pathways Program. The program provides students with an opportunity to concentrate their study in courses that will add to their success in their chosen career field. A vital part of the Pathways Program is an internship opportunity, that is where Factory Sports comes into play. 

The 2020-2021 academic year has Cape Henlopen Boy’s Lacrosse players; Nick Arnold, Landon Best, and Blake Gipko participating. One of their responsibilities will to be provide a sneak peek into a high caliber, state championship program. Have you ever wondered what players are thinking before a game? What about during a game? What a team practices like? How about the long bus rides to and after games? These 3 young men will be providing us all with a periodic inside look. 

Game 4. Thursday April 8, 2021. Cape Henlopen HS v Appoquinimink HS

The bus ride to Appoquinimink High School is an hour and a half. As a team, we do not like these long rides but we know that they are necessary. Our team rides to games are strictly business. As a team, we are quiet and focused. My teammates all had their headphones or earbuds in and listened to their favorite pregame songs, this gets us all focused and pumped for the game. On occasion you make contact with a teammate and a simple head nod is all that is needed. For this game in particular, it was important that we maintained our focus. We are a better team than Appo, but if we let them hang around it would be much closer than it should. Appo also has a reputation for being a bunch of “hot-heads” who will take cheap shots during games. Focusing on doing our job and not falling for their tactics was the goal on this particular bus ride. 

Coach Mark has always taught us to prepare for every team we play like they are the best team on our schedule. This is how he coaches. No exception here, we stepped off the bus and got into a face paced and sharp warm-up. If any of my teammates thought that they could take it easy on this night, that thought quickly went of our heads. It felt like had already played a half of lacrosse when our warm-ups were completed. Coach Mark is an excellent motivator and this pregame speech was no exception. I do not remember it exactly, plus I do not know if I should quote it even if I did. The game started, but I think as a team the hour and a half bus ride got us off to a slow start. Coach mark stayed on us and finally we broke through. The first goal is all we needed. 

We earned possession after possession and by halftime the score was 12-2. Coach Mark emphasized not losing focus and not letting up during halftime. We came out on a mission. Our team continued to wear down Appo. Unfortunately, but as expected, their reputation started to show in the second half. The opponents head coach was extremely frustrated and his actions were beginning to take a toll on his players. On the field, we would watch his antics and immediately see how it impacted his players on the field. Thankfully, as a team we did not stoop to their level. 

The final score of the game was 17-2. This was a game that we were supposed to win. However, this is a game that tests your mental make-up as a team. You are not quit sure how you are going to react as an individual, or team, until you are put in a certain situation. 

About the Author

Blake Gipko is a senior at Cape Henlopen High School in Lewes, DE. He will be attending Lynchburg University in Virginia on a lacrosse scholarship.