Editor's Note: Junior defender James Dunn will provide blog updates about the 2015 High Point University lacrosse team throughout the season. In this first entry, the Arnold, Md., native talks about the team's fall season and some of the adjustments freshmen student-athletes have to make to successfully transition from high school to Division I lacrosse.

This is my third year as a member of the High Point University men's lacrosse team and there are a countless amount of things you learn year after year of playing Division I lacrosse.
 
Freshmen year, you come in knowing only the stories that you might have heard from other people but the transition is always harder then it seems. Not many people outside of the program realize how much time is put into the sport of lacrosse. It's funny when we always hear people say "Isn't your sport a spring sport?" Then following that they usually say something like, "Oh well if your season is in the spring the fall must be easy right?"
 
The answer to that usually surprises people. Here at High Point we start out our day waking up around 5:30 a.m. with a 6 a.m. practice lasting for about three hours, followed by a conditioning session three days of the week. Then we have team lifting four days a week, community service every weekend and meet with our "little brothers" on the team who we help mentor. After that, we attend study hall, do homework, go to class, have meetings with coaches, handle some extra work on our own, and then try to fit a couple meals in there somewhere. It's not easy - it's actually the furthest thing from easy there is. As a result, not many freshmen come in being successful right away because it is such an overwhelming task.
 
The really cool thing that I have been able to watch twice now is watching the freshmen grow and adjust to the harsh schedule. The one thing no one tells you as a freshman is that you are going to go through some sort of adversity, whether that be an injury, struggling a class, getting homesick, battling for playing time, etc. It's not easy, but so far this year our freshmen have done an amazing job of adjusting to our team's high demands.
 
This year's fall ball, our team took a different direction than previous years. Our coaching staff decided that we would not scrimmage any outside teams. This meant that for the entire fall we only focused on us. We didn't have to spend any time worrying about a game plan for an opponent, it was just working on our skills day in and day out.
 
We worked harder then any previous fall ball. Guys got after it everyday on the field, off the field, and in the weight room. It is incredible to see how much better our guys got by the end of fall ball, especially the freshmen.  To me, it was to our advantage to not scrimmage anyone. The best part about this fall ball was every Saturday we would have an inter squad scrimmage with referees. Black vs. White and there was always something on the line, either a new piece of gear, or just straight up bragging rights. Every game was a battle and I think this was our most successful fall ball as a program.
 
Thanks for listening,
James Dunn       

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