Hubbard A Lasting Figure
May 4, 2007 - Major League Lacrosse (MLL)
New Jersey Pride News Release
SOMERSET - Prior to the inaugural MLL draft Jesse Hubbard was placed on the list of 18 elite players who would be assigned a team, as opposed to being drafted, and became a member of the New Jersey Pride.
Now, six years later, Hubbard is in training camp with the Pride for the seventh consecutive season, a feat rarely matched around the league.
As the MLL begins its seventh season, Hubbard, along with co-captain Scott Urick, now headlines an even shorter list of ten players who will have played for the same franchise in all seven seasons.
While the jersey on Hubbard's shoulders has stayed the same, little else has. The league has matured and developed a sense of consistency through its six prior seasons.
"The first couple years," Hubbard said, "college kids may have not really been looking forward to the MLL, because they didn't know if it was going to last." The league has lasted, and now serves as an arena to continue competing at the highest possible level. "Nowadays, kids in college definitely look forward to the opportunity to play in the MLL." Hubbard said.
Through the years Hubbard has changed as well. While he was no rookie for the league's inaugural season, having played three years of professional lacrosse in the National Lacrosse League after graduating from Princeton as a three-time National Champion, his role on the team has evolved, as has his game.
In the beginning Hubbard led by example. With vocal leaders like Reid Jackson, Steve Koudelka and former captain Jon Hess handling the emotional leadership, Hubbard let his play do the talking.
Today, Hubbard is a co-captain, and that means a change in the style of his leadership. "These days," Hubbard said, "I have to be a little more vocal in the locker room."
Perhaps the most noticeable evolution is Hubbard's role on the field. In the league's founding years Hubbard was primarily a shooter.
"Jon Hess was a pure feeder," Hubbard said, noting that he and Urick handled the shots with a great deal of success. They have combined for 403 goals in their six seasons, with Hubbard's 210 the second most in league history. In 2002 Hubbard recorded a hat trick in twelve of the team's fourteen games en route to a career-high 54 goals.
As the personnel around him changed however, so did Hubbard. In the 2006 season, Hubbard recorded more assists (20) than goals (17) for the first time in his career. One factor in the change was a painful injury suffered in the 2005 season opener.
In the first quarter of the game Hubbard was slashed and suffered a clean break of his index finger. The injury required a steel plate to mend and caused Hubbard to miss three games. "My right-handed shooting-ability probably suffered a little bit from that," Hubbard said.
Hubbard's impact on the field hasn't suffered. Hubbard will be playing alongside fellow attackers Urick and Liam Banks for the third consecutive season in 2007.
Urick's 35 goals in 2006 showed he is still among the league's premiere scorers, and Banks and Hubbard offer double-threats to the opposition, able to feed for a shot or take it themselves.
Said Hubbard of the balance his play has taken on, "I just try to do whatever needs to be done."
In the modern sports world inconsistency is often the only constant, with players and teams seeming to be perpetually on the move. Pillar players such as Hubbard and Urick may be diminishing in quantity, but none can deny the richness in quality they bring to the field every week.
Notes From Week 1
Pride coach Peter Jacobs held the team's first day of training camp Saturday at Rutgers Preparatory School, following team physicals. Absent from the day's events were attackman Scott Urick and midfielders Dan Chemotti, Rob Parengkuan and Matt Rewkowski.
Consistency was the word of the day at the team's first practice. The three-man attack team of Liam Banks, Jesse Hubbard and Urick will be returning for the third consecutive season. This year however, the consistency does not end at the front. "The exciting thing," Pride General Manager Trey Reeder said, "is that our defense is intact for the first time since 2002-2003."
The Pride had a quiet off-season, but Reeder said there are still several additions the team is looking forward to seeing in action. The Pride brought in defensemen Oliver Barry and Mike Peyser to add to the returning defensive unit, as well as Rewkowski in the midfield. Attackman Jason Doneger will be also be joining the Pride to play alongside his brother Adam, a midfielder beginning his fifth season with the organization.
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Major League Lacrosse Stories from May 4, 2007
- Riptide To Host CIF Lacrosse Final On Saturday - Los Angeles Riptide
- Hubbard A Lasting Figure - New Jersey Pride
- Cannons Trade Garrity - Boston Cannons
- Cannons Hold Final Weekend of Training Camp - Boston Cannons
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