By: Di Miller, Beat Writer Denver Outlaws
Lacrosse is Awesome
Lacrosse is Awesome went one-on-one with Ryan LaPlante, goalie for the Denver Outlaws about what got him started in lacrosse; the NCAA DI Championship; and the Denver Outlaws. Here’s what he said:
Ryan, what made you decide to start playing lacrosse?
“It started in 3rd grade. One of my really close family friends taught field up in Fort Collins. He told my Mom ‘Hey, we have lacrosse that we’re starting up and want to get some kids involved’, so I started playing and instantly fell in love with the game.
I was a major hockey player at the time so that’s why it translated over so well for me. It was something different and eventually I quit playing hockey because lacrosse was so much more of my passion. I still love hockey, but lacrosse just took over and became my true passion especially when I switched over to playing goalie in the 4th grade.”
You commented that you switched over to goalie. What position did you actually start at?
“I started playing as an attackmen, but I thought it would be fun and I just hopped in there and ended up actually really liking it. I played on a box lacrosse goal on with a field lacrosse net to start. But we were just a bunch of 4th graders in there and I didn’t know anything different and instantly became hooked. I thought it was really fun and stopping the ball was a little different. I was in love with it from there on out. Up until about 6th grade I played attack while the rest of the game at goalie. Then after that I was playing goalie full-time.”
Tell us about the NCAA DI Championship in 2015. DU defeated Brown to get to the Quarterfinals; then Ohio State in the Quarterfinals to make it to the Final Four. DU had made it to the championship series in previous years, but couldn’t get over the hump. What was different this time around?
“It comes a lot from our senior class, and the chemistry that we had on our team. This was the third Final Four that our senior class had participated in so it wasn’t necessarily a different situation, we had been there before, had dealt with all the media, we knew how to talk to the younger guys and I give a lot of credit to our Team Captains, Wes Berg; Carson Cannon; and Sean Cannizzaro for really leading that team into the Final Four and winning the championship. I think that just having that confidence and treating it like a normal game like we had done in every other game all season and not letting all of the distractions that come with a championship weekend distract us is what really kept us calm. We were a happy-go-lucky bunch. I have to say that Coach T really guided us on the right path in order to win the championship, so it was a really good time.”
When the 2015 Collegiate Draft occurred, was there a particular team you were hoping would sign you or did you really have no preference?
“I actually didn’t get picked up in the original Collegiate Draft. I got picked up by the Outlaws in the Supplemental Draft. I grew up in Colorado though and I’m a Colorado kid. I decided to go to DU so obviously my first choice was going to be Denver.
I grew up as a little kid going to the games watching Trevor Tierney who’s like a brother to me. He was my idol and still is. So it was a goal of mine to play for the Denver Outlaws since I was a kid. Now having the opportunity to get to play them, I’m just through the roof. It’s such an exciting experience for me.”
With Dillon Ward currently playing for the Colorado Mammoth, it was exciting to see that you made the cut and are on the 25-man roster. Are you anticipating a possible start in net this weekend for the home-opener against the Ohio Machine?
“I haven’t been told yet, but hope that I will. The decision will be made shortly before the game.”
When you’re in net, how do you get your mind prepared knowing the types of shots and strength the pros have versus when you were younger and also when you were playing college lacrosse?
“That’s something that Trevor and I worked on together for a really long time. It was a lengthy learning process for me as it is with any goalie adjusting to a new team. It was lucky that we had a few weeks of training camp so I was able to get used to the pro game and get relaxed. For me the most important thing is being relaxed before a game; not thinking about your opponent or anything; just focusing on what you know how to do and being still. So many of the goalies out there haven’t been taught to stay still and that’s really what Trevor focused on with me. Just staying still within the goal, waiting and reacting to the ball instead of reacting before the shot is taken.”
So when a guy is coming around the net and you know that he’s going to be shooting on you, what do you do to get set up and be ready for the shot? Do you watch their eyes, how do you anticipate a shot?
“Basically you’re just in your ready position, in your goalie stance and just waiting for the ball. The way I’ve been trained is to not watch the stick or the eyes. I just wait to see the ball coming towards me and that’s when I react. So being still until I see the ball coming directly at me, you really focus on the shooter but as soon as they shoot, you relax your eyes and focus on seeing the ball in the ‘window’ is what we call it, the glass window. That’s when I really focus on seeing the ball and staying still. That’s how I anticipate it, but not really anticipating it. I personally just wait until I see the ball coming at me.”
Besides the win at the NCAA Championship game in 2015, is there a game in your college career that you remember as a special victory?
“I would have to say that the Duke win we had my freshmen year. That one kind of stuck out because that was the first big victory I had actually been a part of. Since I was red-shirting originally, they pulled my red-shirt once Jamie had torn his Achilles. It was a must win situation to get us into the play-offs. That was one of the first really big games that I had ever played in my college career. We ended up winning the game which allowed us the opportunity to get into the play-offs.
It was at Sports Authority Field. This was the first time I had ever gotten to play a college game there with DU, and it was an amazing experience. So that game really sticks out for me in my college career other than the great victory to win the NCAA DI Championship in 2015.”
This will be the first game that Ryan will play as a pro although he was signed to the Denver Outlaws in 2015. I’ve watched Ryan in net while he attended DU and he’s fun to watch. Who will the Denver Outlaws choose to start in net against the Ohio Machine (1-0) in their home-opener Sunday May 1? Will it be Ryan LaPlante hometown boy from Colorado, or Austin Geisler who played in one game during the 2015 season for Ohio? We shall soon find out.
I’d like to thank Ryan for letting us get to know more about him as a player, his love of the game, and look forward to seeing him in Major League Lacrosse for many years to come.
Di Miller, Beat Writer Denver Outlaws
Lacrosse is Awesome