The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/116680
T By Tim Sullivan hose associated with the University of Michigan, particularly the athletic programs, are not used to experiencing much failure. That's es‑ pecially true for most members of the U‑M lacrosse program. The Wolver‑ ines' club team won national titles in 2008, 2009 and 2010 under the tute‑ lage of head coach John Paul. Since promoting the program to the varsity level last spring, however, winning has been a struggle. The in‑ augural edition of the Division I Wol‑ verines won a single game in 2012, a 14-4 victory over fellow first-year program Mercer. U-M's second year has been more of the same, with the Wolverines still seeking win No. 1 on Team Two. For fifth-year senior defenseman Rob Healy, however, the opportunity that the lacrosse team pioneers have is unlike anything in recent Michigan athletics history. "You still see the pictures of the first football team hanging in Schem‑ bechler Hall, and they're up to Team 133 right now," Healy said. "They were just as much a part of building their program as hopefully I'm going to be in building the lacrosse team's program for the years to come. "I think that each team has its own responsibilities in building the program." Being a part of that building pro‑ cess is painful for the current Wol‑ verines. None of them picked Michi‑ gan because they thought it would be fun to lose a whole bunch of la‑ crosse games. It's a necessary part of the process, though, and one that the U-M team is doing its part to get through as quickly as possible. The upperclassmen have taken a key role in helping guide not just Team Two, but the direction of the program on the whole. Building a strong foundation will help the Wol‑ verines reach success down the road. "It's obviously frustrating right now. In the next couple years, we're going to be a team that's hopefully contending for a national champi‑ onship," freshman midfielder Kyle Jackson said."That's our ultimate goal, and everybody that's here knows that's what we're working towards. "We know we're not going to win a championship our first year, but we're striving for that in the future. It's all part of the process." Building a culture of toughness and a clear championship attitude are key parts of Michigan reaching its goals as a program. Without the right leadership and direction, all the tal‑ ent in the world won't win national titles. That attitude starts at the top with Paul, who took the reins in as the first varsity lacrosse coach after his successful career leading the Wol‑ verines' club program. However, culture isn't everything, and the Wolverines are simply de‑ void of top-notch Division I talent. The roster will take years to build up, after U-M took the leap from club program to varsity squad. The major‑ ity of the team still consists of for‑ mer club players, and an infusion of young talent is necessary to contend for those championships.