“Make me want you on my team and make the decision hard on me.”

The above words were from Bandits head coach John Tavares last Saturday afternoon as 30-plus players huddled around the all-time great before the start of the first training camp session.

In addition, before one stride was taken out on the turf, general manager and defensive coordinator Steve Dietrich went right to a large video cube to highlight what made the Bandits back-to-back champions.

“We showed some clips of basic defensive principles and clips of unsung heroes that differentiated us and made the difference between winning and losing,” said Dietrich, a three-time NLL general manager of the year winner.”

At the end of the video snippets, there was a freeze-frame of Dhane Smith holding the championship trophy from last May.

This reflected the team’s dedication to winning back-to-back championships and four consecutive trips to the NLL finals.

“We have a lot of great players. There are many player coaches out there, and they make my job easier. Like Dhane, Josh, Priolo, and Weiss, they lead on the floor and off. These guys have been around for a long time, so they know what I expect in games and practice,” said Tavares.

Is “Three-peat” in the Bandits’ vocabulary?

“It’s always a challenge to win the National Lacrosse League Championship. We’ve been fortunate to win the last two,” said Tavares, who, in the last 16 months, coached two back-to-back Bandits titles and two back-to-back Six Nations Chiefs Mann Cup titles.

“But no one cares about who won the last one, the last two. All it means is teams are going to gun for us even more.”

From a player’s perspective?

“You can’t look at that without starting from scratch and laying down the bricks that will make you successful,” said Kyle Buchanan.

“You don’t win a championship without doing the little things: preparing, working hard, watching videos, etc. At the end of the day, you will hopefully give yourself a chance.”

Looking for Mr. Goodbar

This Bandits camp is similar to previous ones. The usual suspects have returned in excellent shape, the new faces from other NLL teams are a welcomed addition, and the draft choices and free agents- all striving to make an impression.

“We’ve had some high draft picks and made a couple of trades, and we are still looking to bring some youth in, offsetting the age difference – and some energy,” noted Tavares.

“With Brandon Robinson traded to Rochester, a spot on the left side opens up. We are unsure if someone new to the team will take that spot. It’s such a tough lineup to make, but I’m looking forward to seeing what the younger guys have.”

Beat the Rug

Every coach and GM use the most worn-out sentence this time of year: “We’ll have some tough decisions to make.”

Generally, nothing happens regarding decisions as most of the team stays intact, save one or two new faces.

This camp will be different. I’m no expert and only play one on the radio and TV, but I feel it. Some changes will be made, paying homage to “tough decisions.”

“I hope so. I don’t know which ones and who they are replacing. We will have some tough decisions as coaches because we like to make room for the youth.

I think it’s essential to have two or three new guys join the team every year, offsetting the veteran age. It’s a tough business, but you want to put the best team on the floor, and sometimes, that decision has to be made to move a veteran.

Back to Reality

The Bandits put in three two-hour sessions last weekend, which included talent-laden inter-squad scrimmage. Dan Ristine, the Bandits coordinator of lacrosse operations, mentioned it was fast and very talented.

“I’m looking for ‘gamers’ – guys that stand out– and see the decision-making in a scrimmage-type situation,” concluded Tavares.

Camp continues next Saturday in Oakville.