It's hard to go five minutes talking to a Hopkins men's lacrosse player without hearing the word "family."
From the first day a freshman lacrosse player moves onto campus and is met by the entire team to help him move into Wolman, he begins to understand what Coach Dave Pietramala was talking about when he told the high school recruit a year earlier about this Jay family.
It's no wonder not one member of the 49-person team is in a fraternity; they can spend up to 40 hours a week practicing together.
However, according to captain Michael Evans, closeness is not guaranteed, even at 40 hours a week. Jay teams in the past have had trouble creating a family environment.
"A lot of times in the past people would almost be fighting with the coaches and that's not really going on this year," Evans said. Evans, who has played in two championship games, believes that in a league where everyone has talent, acting like a unified team is what separates winners from losers.
As a senior, Evans is now in the position to personally make sure the team feels "like a team."
"We are trying to be as much like a family as we can. Part of that is [thanks to] guys like Mike [Evans], who, when I was a freshman, went out of his way [to] try to make sure I knew that they cared about me," sophomore Matt Dolente said. "A couple of weeks in, you feel like you've been here for years."
At practices, which are held six days a week for at least three hours, players are constantly hollering, cheering each other on, lauding individual play and the entire team, and when the situation warrants it, holding each other accountable.
Because Hopkins puts such an emphasis on lacrosse, for example, they organized a Jan. 29 lacrosse info session, where they gave out lacrosse tickets and pizza to the student body, the team is a rallying device for alumni, particularly former Jays.
"[The alumni] are like your older siblings. They always come back to check on you," Evans said of the former players.
At games, like last Saturday's scrimmage against Cornell, alumni of all ages filled the stands.
"Coach always talks about how it's an interesting dynamic as a lacrosse player at a school where you're the major sport. It's a big deal here to be a part of the lacrosse team," Dolente said.
Because of this emphasis and attention on the team, Coach Pietramala and the players are conscious about their image on campus.
"We're not just lax players. We're students too, we're students first - student athletes. We try to make it to as many different things as we can and show our support," Evans said.
"So I hope when we get recognized off the field it's in a good way, in a positive way."
Evans acknowledged that despite these efforts he and his teammates still need to branch out from the lacrosse team into different social groups.
"When I was in Wolman, we had a bunch of great friends who don't play any sports, just great guys. Obviously we're going to be together off the field, but we're not going to be exclusive; we spread it out and that's one thing we really have got to try and do better, with people from different sports and regular students," he said.
The team has certain self-imposed rules off the field that ensure that players act appropriately off the field.
Players are not allowed to wear hats inside buildings, must hold doors open for others and sit in the front row of all their classes.
Aside from extra attention off the field, the lacrosse team is subject to intense scrutiny on the field.
Nine of their 13 regular season games will be televised nationally.
This year the pressure is particularly strong.
Many of the team's stars graduated last year, including Paul Rabil '08, "arguably the best midi [midfielder] ever to come through Hopkins," according to senior Matt Drenan.
When Pietramala took the helm at Hopkins as head coach in 2000, the Jays were in the middle of a 13-year draught without an NCAA championship.
1987 was Pietramala's only championship season as a player.
Since he arrived, they have played in four title games with victories in 2005 and 2007.
This success has put the Hopkins lacrosse team back to the forefront of the lacrosse world.
"The more success you have, the more expectations grow. People expect you to win the championship every ear, but that's unrealistic," Pietramala said.
"It is realistic to compete for the championship every year. We try to meet that. No team wins four years in a row. The greatest pressure these guys face is from me and my staff," Pietramala said.
"I don't think there should be any thing such as external pressure."
Drenan echoed this sentiment, saying the only pressure is internal.
Even if the players don't feel "external" pressure from the University, their fans around the world or the press, the pressure from Pietramala is intense, according to players.
"Paul Rabil played big and strong, how about you?" Pietramala repeatedly asked the team as they ran drills during a practice last week, often substituting Rabil's name with other Jay greats.
In the weight room, following one practice that came after a scrimmage loss to Penn State, Pietramala notified the team they would not be served Friday night dinner with him, as is custom.
"No dinner until you play like a Hopkins lacrosse team is supposed to," he said.
Pietramala also does not hesitate to throw a player out of practice if he feels he's not playing up to standard, and he has no qualms whatsoever about using whatever language necessary to convey his point.
Playing for Pietramala at Homewood Field, where nine championship banners hang, players embrace the challenge before them, according to Evans.
"It's a really special thing to be a part of a tradition like that. All those All-Americans and championships that have been won here, you get to be a part of that and try to leave your stamp on that legacy, too," Dolente said.
While they look up to the former Jays, the current players do not worry too much about filling their shoes.
"You can't replace guys like [last year's seniors]: You can't replace anybody. You just try and reach your potential," Evans said.
"One thing we learned from the senior class is how hard they worked."
On a team where many of the upperclassmen have played in two national championship games and know what it's like to play in the biggest game, what many may view as pressure, the Jays say they view as a challenge and an opportunity.
The Jays will face Sienna for the season opener tomorrow at 6 p.m. on Homewood Field.
