Edmonton, AB---With the Edmonton Rush training camp only one month away, new head coach and general manager Derek Keenan has a message: Come to camp in top physical shape, or don't come at all.No, he's not talking about his new assistants in Todd Lorenz and Jeremy Tallevi, but rather the message directed to Rush hopefuls as the club prepares for the 2010 National Lacrosse League season.
Keenan, named the Rush bench boss and GM back in July, spent this past off-season pouring over game video, evaluating personnel and talent. Out of it all, he knew there were big obstacles ahead for the club.
Jeremy Tallevi"I really took this position looking at the big challenge," said Keenan, who previously guided the Portland Lumberjax to a West Division title in 2006 and a Champion's Cup title game in 2008.
"I like the idea of a challenge. I had success in Portland building from the ground up. I looked at this, as a similar challenge here except for it's a more established case of players and personnel.
"This team hasn't been very good over the first four years, but, there's a good core there," he said.
"The Edmonton market is just on the brink of really becoming a strong pro lacrosse market, but the team needs to have success on the floor," added Keenan - who won four championships with the Toronto Rock in late '90s and early 2000s. "I'm really excited about the opportunity and the challenge going forward."
Edmonton's 2009 campaign saw the club's finish with a 5-11 record for sixth place in the West Division and on the outside of a playoff spot for the fourth consecutive season. The Rush struggled in three key areas: Scoring goals, goals against and special teams play.
"The transition game was very poor," said Keenan, an Oshawa, Ont. native. "That needed to be addressed. In this league, you need a team that can push the ball up the floor, or the opposition's going to kill you."
Keenan added Brodie Merrill and Scott Stewart to the Rush fold in the off-season to immediately address the transition game, while the addition of Ryan Ward (from Minnesota) and key draft selections instantly made the club more athletic on offence. Re-acquiring goaltender Matt Disher strengthened the netminding.
So how does Keenan meld in Rush players from the previous regime, dispersal draft acquisitions from the now-defunct Portland Lumberjax and the 2009 Rush draftees?
According to Keenan, his approach for the Rush training camp is everybody starts off on an even keel.
"It's pretty much a clean slate for them," said Keenan. "However, my message to the guys was they have to come to camp Dec. 5th in game shape."
"The message was, 'don't make it easy on me, " Keenan said. "It's easy for me to release a guy if he comes here and he's not fit. The team hasn't been that good in the past that players should feel they've already won a job here."
"I think there's going to be some great changes in the team and the way we play," chipped in Tallevi, a new assistant in Edmonton, who'll primarily work on the backend. "One thing Derek's always done a great job making sure players are in top physical condition and mentally prepared."
Tallevi, part of the new-look coaching staff under Keenan, is a good communicator with a strong sense of preparedness and attention to detail. He spent four seasons working on defensive schemes with Keenan in both Anaheim and Portland in the past.
He'll instantly strive to improve the club defensively, as the Rush allowed the second-worst goals-against (200 in 16 games) in the NLL in '09 and has had difficulty keeping the ball out of their own net in the four years of existence.
With a bulked up transitional talent pool joining a top-notch defender in Ian Hawksbee, Tallevi feels the Rush defence will improve and make the club stronger overall.
"I don't think there's a surprise around the league that Derek likes a strong transition and defensive game, so, I think there are a lot of players on the roster that will be able to do a great job at that and build an exciting game," said Tallevi, who's previously held head coaching positions with Kitchener-Waterloo, Burlington, and Brampton of the Ontario Junior 'A' League, as well as the current CIS season with the University of Western Ontario Mustangs.
toddLorenzAnd with the Rush getting together in one-month for training camp, Tallevi is abuzz with excitement. "I'm really looking forward to getting back into the swing of things. Getting together with the guys and working on building the team -- especially the chemistry this season with new coaches and a lot of new players on the team - and building for a successful season," he said. "From what I've seen in the past, it's a great environment for lacrosse in Edmonton."
No stranger to the Alberta lax scene and especially the Rush -- Todd Lorenz -- was also named an assistant to Keenan. Lorenz, a Canadian Hall of Famer, will be attending his first Rush training camp as a coach. He'll now be calling the offensive plays for the Rush, rather than his familiar position calling the shots on the carpet as an NLL official.
With a wealth of experience under his belt, including a star-studded career with the New Westminster Salmonbellies and coaching with the Edmonton Miners and Edmonton Outlaws, Lorenz will parlay his latest role as a top-flight referee to his new position on the Rush bench.
"Reffing enabled me to get a good understanding of the players today on the floor," Lorenz said. "Often, I saw myself coaching the game in my mind as a referee. "I really benefited by watching the games as I was watching from the same perspective as the players."
The task ahead for Lorenz is transforming an enemic Rush offence as Edmonton ranked last in goals-for last season in the league. The club also failed to register a win when it was unable to score 10- or more goals.
Going forward, Lorenz stressed the club's offensive weapons will have to continually move their feet in order to avoid the struggles of past years.
"We need to focus on movement," he said. "We need all five guys to be moving their feet and have the defences move as well. We need continuous movement - the guys flying all the time."
Lorenz also emphasizes strong communication between himself and the players - something he's not sure has happened in the past.
"I truly believe that communication is the key to success," he said. "It's paramount that we're all on the same page on the same program and that we work together and understand the concepts of where we're going. That sets everybody up for success and we want to set the players up to succeed, not to fail. And communication plays a huge part of that."
With new weapons in Ward, Derek Malawsky, Stewart and Merrill to complement Andy Secore and Callum Crawford, Lorenz feels the Rush is moving in the right direction,
"It's going to be exciting. I truly believe with the changes and the club has made strides in the right direction and there should be reason for optimism. It's going to be a good year."
Training Camp opens Saturday, December 5 full details of times and location will be announced on Tuesday, November 10.
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