Shutting off his alarm, senior Joe Rayman gets out of bed and checks the time. 4:45. As badly as he wants to go back to sleep, he knows he has to get up, because it is the start of “Patriot Week,” the title given to the week of 6 a.m. lacrosse practices. While most people think these practices are ridiculous, to the varsity men’s lacrosse team, they’re just part of the process.

According to Rayman, the team engaged in strenuous workouts each morning during the week of Feb. 13 to Feb. 17 in order to get faster, stronger, and closer as a team. Patriot Week was an attempt to get better and build more confidence, says head coach Brian King. “I think, in an odd way, the kids liked it,” King said.

In addition to Patriot Week, the team also worked out during the fall and winter seasons on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays in the school weight room. “We had a different schedule every day with a different lift each day, too,” Rayman said.

These off-season workouts have been a new change under King contributing to the transformation of the lacrosse program. According to senior attackman Nick Rosaschi, the lacrosse team was more lenient and less intense before King was hired. “With Coach King there are high expectations to be great and we are trying to sustain this success,” Rosaschi said.

King wants both his team and his players to be great. “We provide opportunities for our guys to get better, and we encourage them to play multiple sports, too,” King said. King has also seen players appreciate aspects of discipline and structure. As a result, the players have also enjoyed the physical workouts and getting into better shape.

The team is coming off back-to-back MIAA B Conference championships and is looking to complete a three-peat. While they have lost some seniors from last year’s team, they are still confident that they will get the job done this year. “We are a different team this year,” Rayman said. “We have a different group of kids and a different team dynamic, but we have the same goal: winning.”

Although the numerous off-season workouts may seem intense, but in the end, it all pays off for the players. “In the moment, it sucks and you ask yourself why you’re doing it, but after you’re done you feel accomplished,” Rayman said. “Conditions change, but standards don’t.”

Daniel Robinson is a Copy Editor for The Patriot and jcpatriot.com.