Sorry, Fairport friends – this one is not for you.
Instead, let’s talk about the “red-headed stepchild” of every college team’s roster – the defensive short stick midfielder – sometimes referred to as a defensive short stick specialist (please forgive me if I’ve offended anyone with RHSC reference, but really – can you give me a better description of these poor guys?).
Maybe they get to play wings on face-offs, but otherwise the only time they get on the field is when the other team has the ball. They do the dirty work; they either stay on the field till the bad guys score, or if their defensive corps is up to the task, they get pulled off the field as they transition from defense to offense.
If they try to do too much and force the ball into a turnover, they get screamed at. If they lead a fast break and make a bad pass, they might get buried on the sideline in favor of the next guy.
Typically, it’s a huge deal if they do get in the scoring column. They aren’t necessarily expected to score or even get an assist; their job is to see to it that their attack teammates get the ball.
Limited with a short stick, they won’t usually rack up the caused turnovers like their big brother, the LSM. The only individual statistic they can look forward to when the game is over is ground balls, and even those are hard to come by.
Even without any scouting report, opposing teams will target the short stick d-mids – sight unseen. They are judged to be inferior, less effective defenders based solely on the length of their stick. That’s a lot to accept.
Contrary to popular belief, the SSDM is not a position for the midfielder who cannot produce goals and/or assists. I mean, just because you cannot help on offense, that does not mean that you can play better defense than those offensive middies… and if you can’t play better defense than them, then why would a coach put you out on the field as defensive short stick specialist?
Similar old-school thinking has big guys with weak stick skills playing defense, and big heavy slow guys playing goalie – it’s a flawed way of thinking.
No, the truth is that the SSDM needs to be able to play better defense than any other short stick on the squad (maybe the word specialist needs more emphasis). Flipping the logic, would a coach put a weak defensive player out on offense if he needs some scoring? That criteria alone won’t cut it.
Let me digress for a moment to talk about the SSDM label. I know of no box coach who calls out, “I need an S.S.D.M!” They call them by other names.
S-S-D-M just doesn’t roll off the tongue. That’s four syllables.
But “short stick defensive midfielder” is eight. Just not practical. “Short stick d-middie” is five, so that’s not the answer, either. “Defensive short stick” is also five syllables.
Decades ago, I listened to master clinician Matt Hogan, then the longtime assistant coach at the US Naval Academy, refer to defensive short stick middies as “Raiders.” I liked that term. Two syllables, like what dog trainers recommend. He said that’s what they called their guys at Navy.
That was good enough for me. I’ve used that term ever since. Sure beats “SSDM” or “defensive short stick.” And besides, “Raider” just sounds cool.
But out of curiosity, I emailed some other coaches last week to see what they call their Raiders (but unfortunately, this past weekend was the IMLCA meetings in Florida, and apparently most coaches weren’t replying to emails)…
Still, Rob Randall said they simply call them Shorties at Nazareth.
Jake Coon said RIT refers to them as transition middies, with a nod to the box lacrosse role.
Mike Mahoney at St. Lawrence had the best answer of those who replied. “We call them D-Dogs.”
I’m tempted to steal that…
Remember, when I started coaching in the ‘80s, you could sub anyone and everyone on every stoppage of play – loose ball push, crease violation, out of bounds – and you could put nine long sticks on the field if you wanted to, so there was no need for SSDMs. After all, your ninth defenseman was probably a better defender – or at least more intimidating – than any of your middies.
NOTE: I still consider this the heyday of college lacrosse. Yes, games took two hours and ten minutes instead of one hour and forty, but they were fun! Those reserve defenders were just salivating on the sidelines, waiting for their opportunity to go out and create chaos on the field – and maybe even score! Ask any eighth or ninth defenseman today if he’d like that role this spring, and you’d have to restrain him.
But sometime in the later ‘80s, the NCAA restricted the number of long sticks on the field – I think it may have been six, at first – then five, and then four in short succession – but I could be mistaken. Bottom line: I’m thinking that it was around this time that the SSDM was created to complement the LSM and specialize in individual and team defense.
Looking back through the old Oswego State scorebooks, I tried to trace the origins of the Raider in the annals of Laker lacrosse and find some of our first SSDMs.
The first year I found players listed as R – for Raider – in the old scorebooks was 1995. Prior to that, the earliest I found middies listed as DM – for defensive middie – was 1993. Before that, I listed our long stick middies as DMs (not sure when I first started using LSM).
Regardless of how I labelled them in the scorebook, one of the first Lakers I remember as a “Raider” was Drew Hanchett ‘91, who came to Oswego from Shaker HS in Albany as a long stick defenseman. He found himself sitting behind a bunch of talented and bigger defenders, but his stick skills and athleticism were very good, so we tried him out as a Raider. He was very solid defensively and proved to be an excellent SSDM.
Drew was followed closely by guys like Jeff Capellini ‘93 and Eric Ellison ’95. Coincidentally, they were both Yorktown guys who had excellent stick skills and a strong lacrosse IQ. Like Drew, they were happy with their specialist role, and seldom got themselves in trouble by trying to do too much.
Capper and E begat Todd Zahurak ’96 (they’re going to love reading that!). Z came to Oswego from Guilderland HS as a raw athletic midfielder who was miles behind the offensive group we had at that time. However, no one was faster (with or without the ball), no one scrapped for GBs like he did, and no one was more accountable for his own actions than Todd. And if you were on the field with him, you had to be accountable, too. He played Raider and maybe some man-down his freshman year, but then he went through the progression many good Raiders experience – he got better every year and, as a result, his role evolved into something bigger and better each year.
Z went from Raider his freshman year to Raider, face-off wing, and man-down short stick his sophomore year. His junior year he was complementing the first midfield, and by his senior year he was on the man-up unit as well. We used to joke that the only time he came off the field was at halftime. Oh yeah, he also was named the 1996 Empire Lacrosse League Player of the Year and earned a trip to the USILA North/South Game at Hofstra that year.
A teammate of Todd’s was Keith Hochdanner ‘95, a Raider who remained a Raider throughout his Laker days. Keith was a career Raider from start to finish, but he relished the role and endeared himself to his teammates.
As Z was finishing up his Laker career, we got a transfer from Nassau Community College who fit in as a Raider immediately. Brian Marasco ‘97 hailed from Lynbrook HS (my alma mater, for those who might have forgotten) and won his teammates over with his heavy “LonGuyland” accent and his penchant for cut off t-shirts; no matter how cold it was out, Brian’s arms were always exposed. He was a tough, quick, and physical d-middie, perfectly happy to fill that role for his teammates.
Steve Crowe ’99 came to us from Central Square as a long stick in the mid/late 90s, and also found himself sitting behind veteran defenders, so he accepted the “Raider Challenge” and adjusted to a shorter handle. He and Ben Vetter ‘00, a middie from Corning West, were our primary Raiders as we closed out the ‘90s decade.
A few years later, we paired Rush-Henrietta teammates and best friends John Stafford ’02 and Tim Smith ’03 as our top Raiders – John made the switch from long stick to short, and Tim went from offensive middie to d-mid.
Soon after that, we took some larger, athletic, and coachable attackmen and asked them to play Raider. Tim McNulty ’03 was from Shenendehowa and Jeff Cottet ’03 was from ES-M, and both agreed to give the Raider thing a try – they were willing to do whatever it took to get on the field. As I remember, they did a good job, but the experiment only lasted a year or so because we brought in some new Raider blood.
Pat McDevitt ’04 was another Nassau CC transfer who stepped right into the Raider role for us, and he played alongside John Spuhler ‘05, a Laker soccer goalie from Fulton who was looking for something to do in the spring.
Well, Spuhler begat Paul Palucci, I guess. Paul ’07 was an Oswego State soccer player from Liverpool who also wanted to play lacrosse in the spring. His defensive instincts were excellent, his stick skills and GB talents were solid, and he never wanted to do anything more than play defense.
Paul’s SSDM partner was Dan Rogers ‘09, a middie from Frontier HS outside of Buffalo, who was athletic, tough, and a coach on the field. Together they formed a strong Raider pairing.
They were a veteran sophomore duo when freshman Mike Brewster ’09 came to campus. Brew didn’t crack the offensive top six at first, so I told Palucci and Rogers to use Brewster as a third; “Let him rotate in,” I told them. A few games into the season, I wondered why Brew wasn’t getting on the field – Rog and Paul simply weren’t giving him any opportunities.
That worked out, though, as Brewster soon found his offensive skills. He had a couple of 40+ point seasons, earned All-SUNYAC honors, and went to the North/South Game in 2009.
In my final year coaching at Oswego, we had Ryan White ’10 and Nick Zoyhofski ’10 as our Raiders. Ryan was from Southside HS on Long Island and had played offense, but he was willing to give the Raider role a chance, and Zoy was a big solid middie – also from Frontier – who also accepted the SSDM designation.
Looking back at almost 20 years of Laker Raiders, I come to several conclusions:
1. Some of the best Raiders come from players who played other positions first – some long stick defenders, some offensive middies, and even some attackmen.
2. Some of the best Raiders came from players who played another sport as their primary choice. Hockey, soccer, football, and wrestling head the list.
3. Probably the smallest group of good Raiders were the ones who came to college lacrosse as SSDMs.
At Oswego, Raiders frequently win team awards like the Coaches’ Award and the Block O Award, testament to their dedication, selflessness, commitment, and team-first mindset. Many have been named team captains, but few have earned All-League distinction, and none have ever earned All-American honors.
And that’s why it takes a special kind of player to be a Raider.
Thanks for reading. Please consider subscribing at roadtripdad.com to receive weekly RTD newsletters via email. It’s free – really! No fine print; no catches.
In the meantime, please drive carefully, everyone. Put down those cell phones. Volunteer. Donate blood. Get your shots; get your boosters. Love your neighbor. Help someone in need, and always take care of your crew!
But most importantly, stay safe, stay smart, and stay kind.
- Dan Witmer
Dan is currently the author of four books. The Best of Road Trip Dad – The Laker Lacrosse Collection is an accumulation of 45 articles written for www.JustLacrosseUpstate between the years 2012 and 2018, about the history and traditions, the people, and the stories of the Oswego State men’s lacrosse program. … and piles to go before I sleep – The Book of Wit is his memoir describing his 33-year career teaching HS English and coaching at Hannibal Central School. His third book, The Best of RTD – A Lacrosse Coach’s Handbook contains more than 55 weekly Road Trip Dad blogs spanning 2012-2020, featuring Xs and Os, highs and lows, and even some Dos and Don'ts, and plenty of advice for coaches of all levels. His latest book, The Best of Road Trip Dad – On the Shoulders of Giants: Upstate’s Lacrosse Founders and Legends, profiles more than 50 icons who helped grow the game in Upstate NY. All four books are available at www.amazon.com.
Dan grew up in Lynbrook, NY before coming to Oswego State to earn his teaching and coaching certifications. He then taught English at Hannibal High School for 33 years before retiring in 2015.
In addition to coaching the Oswego State Laker men’s lacrosse team part-time from 1982-2010, Dan also coached JV and varsity girls’ soccer at Hannibal for 16 years, girls’ ice hockey at Oswego HS for 8 years, and boys’ JV and varsity lacrosse at Oswego HS for 12 years.
Dan is now in his 18th year assisting Summit Lacrosse Ventures with their various tournaments, especially the annual Lake Placid Summit Classic, and he worked for 3d Lacrosse for three years as well. He has served on the staffs of the 2014 FIL World Games in Denver, the 2015 FIL Indoor Championships in Syracuse, the 2018 FIL World Games in Netanya, Israel, the 2022 U21 World Championship in Limerick, Ireland, and the World Lacrosse Championships in San Diego in 2023. He was the game ops staff director for the World Lacrosse Men’s and Women’s Box Championships in Utica in September of 2024. This year he created Witmer Solutions LLC, a lacrosse event staffing and internship offering service that he hopes will get his foot – and others’ – in the door at lacrosse events worldwide.
Dan served as the Community Service Coordinator for the Oswego State athletic department from 2010-2023 and has been a certified lacrosse referee for the past seven years. He has also been the Volunteer Event Organizer for the annual St. Baldrick’s fundraiser in Oswego for the past 18 years, raising more than one million dollars for childhood cancer research.
In 2023, he returned to the Oswego State coaching staff as an assistant coach, where he currently serves as defensive coordinator and alumni liaison.
Dan and Sue Witmer live in Oswego, while their sons Brian and Eric are currently living in Prague and Denver.
The hope is for many more road trips to come.