In Bob Dylan's classic song Subterranean Homesick Blues he sings, 'You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows'. Not to quibble with Bob but when it comes to junior lacrosse, at one time or another during the season good teams usually need a strong weatherman to set them straight.
In the case of the Jr. Bellies, stormy weather hit mid season with a series of sub-par performances and it took all the skills of Head Meteorologist aka Head Coach Brad Parker and his assistant weathermen Ray Porcellato, Jason Dallavalle and Kevin Stewardson to get the team back to sunny sky’s.
The “ Weatherman’s” application of the right combination of discipline, expectation and encouragement was the delicate mix needed to bring a team back to playing to it’s potential. Along with a change of tactics to a more traditional offense/ defense scheme the Bellies are back to the strong play expected of them as they head into the last few games of the season.
Recent victories over Delta, Victoria and PoCo and a narrow overtime loss to league leaders Coquitlam bode well for the rapidly approaching play-offs but skillfully dealing with potential storm clouds is one of the key attributes Brad and his coaching team bring to the team.