LACROSSE

Boys lacrosse: John Jay gets Mike Bocklet a comeback win in his Wolves debut

Mike Dougherty
Rockland/Westchester Journal News

PELHAM MANOR - Mike Bocklet was three steps onto the field correcting a breakdown in an offensive set Tuesday while John Jay celebrated its first goal of the season.

A number of impromptu lessons were taught between whistles.

Bocklet spent a fair amount of time redirecting traffic during a 10-9 comeback win over Pelham. It was the 37-year-old Katonah native's first as head coach at his alma mater. He took over in December when former Wolves coach Tim Schurr went home to run the program at Yorktown, but no introduction was needed.

"He’s like a celebrity around here," senior long stick midfielder Finn O'Callaghan said. "He’s bringing a totally new culture to John Jay and we’re excited for the season. I think we’re going to kill it."

First year John Jay (CR) coach Mike Bocklet working the sidelines during the Wolves season opener against Pelham at Glover Field in Mount Vernon March 29, 2022. John Jay (CR) won the game 10-9.

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Bocklet is part of a family that has long been synonymous with John Jay lacrosse. Mike, Matt, Chris and Casey were all stars in high school and beyond.

All four have played the game professionally.

"It’s funny because when my dad was the coach here I got to watch the Bocklets play, so I know for sure coach knows what he's doing and he's got my complete trust in everything we do," said Nick Savastano, a senior attackman who leaned into a double team with 6:19 to play and scored the game-winner.

Bocklet earned All-American honors at John Jay in 2003 after leading led Section 1 in scoring. He played at Fairfield University, finishing top 10 in program history with 147 points, 95 goals and 52 assists. Bocklet was taken in the fifth round of the MLL draft in 2008 by the Long Island Lizards, but put a professional career on hold.

He eventually got around to it and was the MLL Break-out Player of the Year in 2015. He won an MLL championship for the Denver Outlaws with his brothers in 2016 and played in the MLL All-Star game in 2017. Bocklet also spent a season in the PLL.

Bocklet was a John Jay assistant for one season, helping the program go 18-2 and win a Section 1 title in 2010. He was on staff at Cortland and Dartmouth before coming home in 2015 to start the program at Purchase College. Bocklet is also co-founder and director of co-founder of the X10 Mountain Lacrosse Academy.

From left, John Jay's Andrew Kiefer (11) and Chris DiChiara (12) celebrate a first half goal by DiChiara against Pelham during boys lacrosse action at Glover Field in Mount Vernon March 29, 2022. John Jay won the game 10-9.

"I think an opportunity at an alma mater is always special," he said. "I’ve been living back in the area for the past few years, I’ve been on the college side and when the job opened up I thought it would be a nice change of pace. It’s just fun."

There was plenty of stress, too, when the Wolves got momentarily carless and gave up a fourth-quarter lead.

"We’re going to be relentless," Savastano said. "We are not going to stop and we’ll try anything we can to help us win, whether that’s applying constant pressure or attacking the goal as much as we can. We need to keep firing and keep going and going and going and going."

Mike Bocklet was traded to the Long Island Lizards in 2018 after spending three seasons with the Denver Outlaws. The former John Jay-Cross River standout also played in the 2017 MLL All-Star Game.

Everyone has been together for three months, but the new schemes are not yet second-nature. There more thinking right now than reacting.

"We started once a week in the winter and that was a good way for the players and the coaches to get to know each other," said Bocklet, whose staff includes Chris Spillane and Ryan Gibbons. "Even as an alum, I’ve been away from the high school side for a long time and this is a different generation of kids, so there wasn’t much of a connection there. It allowed us to get a feel for each other, understand how to talk to each other and set expectations early on."

The Wolves finished last season 5-11 and lost a Section 1 Class B quarterfinal to Rye.

Regaining traction is a priority.

"I guess this is the start, 1-0, and we scratched it out," Bocklet said. "These guys have had a lot of success over the years, but we’re just going to focus on getting better. At the beginning of season we’re going to win some and lose some. We’d like to end the season on a high note and roll into the playoffs in the best position possible."

Schurr left on good terms, but his presence on the opposing sideline will add something when John Jay and Yorktown cross paths April 26. 

That game is circled, in red.

"We’re determined to get things turned around," O'Callaghan said. "We got a little sloppy today, but each game we’re going to learn. I know we’re going to turn things around. We’re looking forward to sectional playoffs and of course, Yorktown, that’s our favorite matchup of the year."

Mike Dougherty covers boys soccer, boys lacrosse, girls basketball and golf for The Journal News/lohud.com. He can be reached at mdougher@lohud.com, or on Twitter @hoopsmbd, @lohudlacrosse, @lohudhoopsmbd and @lohudgolf.