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Watchung Hills hopes no stick is long enough
to slow Gillen
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by Geoff Mosher, Staff Writer
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Published in Courier-News - March 29, 2004
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Watchung Hills High School junior attackman Mark Gillen is growing
accustomed to being the center of attention.
Once, during a lacrosse game, an opposing coach was heard hollering at his team, wondering who had been
assigned to cover Gillen.
Gillen had to wonder, too, since he was out of the game.
Against Ridge last year, the Red Devils smothered Gillen with more longstick defenders after halftime.
Gillen merely finished with seven goals.
Governor Livingston employed a similar technique, shadowing Gillen with longstick defenders to protect
a one-goal lead. Gillen still scored the game-tying and game-winning goals in the final 90 seconds.
"That's just the kind of kid he is," Warriors coach Andrew Apel remarked. "A lot of teams
will do the same thing this year. We just hope Mark develops a little more and gets a little more savvy from the
game and when he makes those passes, we finish them."
Though Gillen has cultivated a reputation for scoring in bunches, passing could be his weapon that takes
a fledgling Watchung Hills program up one step.
Two years ago, Gillen's first year at Watchung Hills and the school's first year fielding a boys lacrosse
team, Gillen led the Warriors in scoring, but for a 4-12 team.
Last year, Gillen again led the team in scoring, totaling 49 goals, but Apel credits his 30 assists for
the team's jump to 11-8.
"I think what's funny is that he scored only four more goals as a sophomore than his freshman year,
but he had 25 more assists," Apel said. "What that tells me is his development came as a guy who can
move and pass the ball, and he became more comfortable doing it."
"I think I started to see the field more," Gillen said. "Coach and I talked about it after
my freshman year, that I should look more to passing because of that (being marked heavily), and other people stepped
up. I was able to get more assists and with that came more opportunities for goals, too."
But the adjustment didn't come easily. A natural scorer doesn't become generous overnight.
Gillen said his teammates had worked harder during the off-season on strength training and lacrosse skills,
trends he again noticed this past summer. Many of the Warriors played together in a Tuesday night recreational
league.
He also learned passing wasn't just a finer element to his game; it was a must.
In practice, Apel wore Gillen down by smothering him with longsticks at every opportunity. Gillen's only
choices were to find open teammates or absorb punishment from sticks incessantly jabbing at his arms and torso.
"Sometimes, it got annoying," Gillen recalled. "But I knew that it would hopefully pay
off in the season."
Now that Watchung Hills is more balanced offensively, Gillen expects the Warriors to improve upon last
year's turnaround season. They advanced to the second round of the state tournament, and Gillen envisions steady
improvement again.
But just because his teammates have picked up their games doesn't mean Gillen is any less of a threat.
During a summer lacrosse camp, a coach from Glen Ridge, one of Watchung Hills' opponents this year, warned
Gillen to be prepared for heavy marking.
"He said this year, when we play them, they'll just leave someone on me the entire game and hope
I don't get the ball," Gillen recalled.
As usual, he's still the center of attention. |
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