— — It may sound cliché, a phrase recycled by coaches time and time again.

But first-year North Tonawanda boys lacrosse coach Todd Faddoul has no problem sticking to it.

Get better every day.

“Every day is a learning experience for these guys,” said Faddoul, who replaced coach Derrick Rose earlier this year. “It’s going to help them get better playing the tougher programs. It’s going to show how hard we have to work to obtain the goals we set.”

The Jacks are off to a dismal start (0-2) after losses to more traditional lacrosse programs in St. Joe’s and Hamburg by a total of 26-3.

But Faddoul said his squad has remained positive and focused on the big picture.

“It’s a rebuilding process right now,” he said. “We’re still grasping to get the basics down. A lot of these guys haven’t been taught the basics.

“I hear positive responses from the fans and the players that it’s the best effort they’ve given since they’ve been in the program,” Faddoul continued. “We still have work ahead of us.”

The young Jacks committed more than 12 minutes worth of penalties in the opener against Joe’s and were able to cut that down to just 30 seconds in the second game.

Leading the way on the back end is Nick Duerr, who Faddoul said is doing an outstanding job defensively.

Chad Stuff, Tyler Louis and Tyler Oswald lead a small group at attack, while Zach Wheeler will man the goal for the Jacks.

“Our biggest thing right now is passing and catching the ball,” Faddoul said. “We’re just working on refining our skills, but once we get that we’ll be pretty solid.”

NT boasts a short bench with just 22 all together.

“We don’t really have the numbers right now,” said Faddoul, who coached the Niagara-Wheatfield boys to plenty of successful seasons from 1995 to 2002. “Once we get the numbers and develop on the JV level, we’ll be very competitive.”

The Jacks are slated to host Lockport today at 5 p.m. Due to recent field and weather conditions, the game will be played at Niagara County Community College in Sanborn.



St. Joe’s

The Marauders return this season still with the bitter taste left over from a overtime loss to Nichols in the Monsignor Martin Association League playoffs.

St. Joe’s head coach Peter Hudecki said he hopes the early season experiences will translate come playoff time.

“We’re just concentrating on the fundamentals of the game and working on the fundamentals right now, and hopefully, they’ll show up later in the season for us,” he said.

The team has to overcome the loss of a handful of seniors, including the likes of Mark Pinski, Rich Paglioroli, Geoff Blosat and captains J.P. McCleary and Michael Schreck.

“We’re a young team and we’re trying to gel together right now,” Hudecki said.

Junior attack Christian Curatolo returns from a sophomore campaign in which he scored a team-high 34 goals.

“So far we’re very athletic,” he said. “We’re very deep this year at all the positions. We just need to learn how to play together. There are a lot of guys on the team that haven’t played varsity lacrosse yet.”

Also expected to lead the way for St. Joe’s is midfielder Max Spina, and captains A.J. Polechetti and Adam Smith.

The Marauders have a big test later this month when they travel to play four games against top notch talent across the northeast.

They take on Bethal Park (Pa.), University High (W. Va), Morgantown (W. Va.) and Seneca Valley from April 18 to April 21.

“By then I feel we’re going to be able to work together and know our strengths and weaknesses,” Hudecki said. “And take that later in the season as opposed to now, where we’re still learning.”