Coach/GM Wayne Colley eyes better things in 2013
From www.durhamregion.com, by Shawn Cayley
WHITBY — Though not pleased with how the season ended for his Brooklin Redmen, Wayne Colley insists the quick playoff exit is all part of the development process for his young group.
Those were his prominent thoughts Tuesday, a day after the Redmen was swept aside in four straight games of their Major Series Lacrosse semifinal series following a 17-10 loss to the Peterborough Lakers at the Memorial Centre.
“We did OK,” he said of his club that finished first in the regular season and earned a bye into the second round. “It’s still a learning curve for us. We’re a young group of guys. We did well playing against a veteran group. You know, what else can I say?”
To that effect, the veterans took the youngsters to school for the most part over the four games, registering wins of 10-8 in the series opener, 14-7 in Game 2 and 11-8 in Game 3 before closing things out in a forceful manner. The Lakers, a team loaded left and right, top to bottom with talent at both ends of the floor, showed, skill aside, what it takes to not only win games big, but also take the close ones when they matter most as well.
However, to suggest the Redmen weren’t in the series at all would be a misrepresentation. Brooklin had its chances, obviously, in the first and third games, and even in the fourth, trailing just 9-7 heading into the third period before the Lakers pulled away.
The bottom line though was the veteran poise of the Lakers roster allowed them to get things done when they needed to.
“They executed to perfection and we didn’t. That’s probably the simple answer,” said Colley when asked to explain what the main difference was between the two clubs in the series.
Colley, as coach and general manager, shouldered some of the blame as well.
“We’re happy to gain some experience. We’re not looking to point fingers. We just didn’t play very well, it’s plain and simple, but it’s a coaching problem too. We weren’t prepared,” he said.
Now while the Lakers advance to the MSL final where they will face the Six Nations Chiefs, who eliminated the defending Mann Cup champion Brampton Excelsiors in the other semifinal, Colley is confident 2013 will be a different story for the Redmen.
The learning curve he’s spoken of all season will be no more. No crutches of any kind. No excuses, he said.
“Next year, there’s no excuses. Next year we should be fine,” Colley stated, before adding “we didn’t rise to the occasion and now we have to regroup heading into next season. I know for sure we’ll be a lot better next year.”
Read the entire article: http://www.durhamregion.com/sports/article/1483536–brooklin-redmen-swept-aside-by-peterborough-lakers-in-msl-semifinal