Seawolves' Rand: In Lacrosse, Face Offs are Like Chess

Every lacrosse game starts with a faceoff, and there's about another 14 or so during the course of the contest. That's fifteen extra possessions to be fought for and Adam Rand is one of the best at winning those possessions. Rand currently has a .673 winning percentage, third best in the NCAA, and stands at No. 5 in NCAA history in faceoffs won. He shared with Patch some keys to winning the duel and why it's so important.

Patch: How big of an advantage is it to win the face off?
Adam Rand: It gives you so much of an advantage. If you have the ball you can score. If you have the ball, you're on offense. It gives you the opportunity. If you're losing the face offs, the other team is getting the ball. They're getting more opportunities to score and it's a big momentum shifter. Even if you're down in a game by a couple of goals, you win a few face offs in a row, get a few breaks and goals, you can keep the momentum. It's helping get possessions, and it's very important to get possession, so winning face offs is very important.

Patch: What does it take to win a face off?
AR: It takes a lot of focus. The biggest thing I notice is the number one way to lose a face off is to think about it too much. When you're out there if you're thinking about everything and your mind is clogged and cloudy you're not going to be able to react. To win a face off you have to be the quicker guy. So you have to go out there with a clear mind. You can time the whistle up, time the ref, time your opponent and be quicker then him, if you can just pull that ball back real quick you can beat any guy. It's all about quickness.

Patch: Do you play any mind games with the opponent before you step into the circle?
AR: There's one thing I really like to do, I actually like to go up to the guys right before we face off, shake their hand, try to be their best friend so they get comfortable with me. Over the course of the game they tend to like me so they're focusing more on me. They get out there, you make them appreciate you, then you get them off their game. They're thinking about you, they're thinking about you as a person, they're not thinking of playing. So anything you can get in their mind and make them think about something beforehand, like me coming to my opponent, shaking their hand saying 'Hey, good luck today,' they're going to think about that real quick before they go to face off. You always want to be thinking about getting that ball and timing it, so if it clouds their mind you have the advantage.

Patch: You may be the first lacrosse player I've ever heard say that they like to be friends with their opponent.
AR: It's something that takes an advantage. The good thing is there's a respect for face off guys out there. I know after games I always walk up to the guy, and the guy will talk to me, say 'Great job, good work.' The real advantage is if you get a guy who's real hotheaded out there and to try to play games, see if you can really knock him down. If you can get in his head, even if he's trying to talk trash and you're acting like the nice guy, then you have him beat. ... I think it's important to have the respect, because we're the face off guy. It's a little position we have out there. I like to go up and make friends with the guy beforehand, it's kind of like a relationship you build up there.

Patch: You win three out of four face offs, do you ever get upset about losing that fourth?
AR: It depends on the game, to tell you the truth. In the first quarter I like to think, if there's three face offs and you lose all three of them, it stinks to lose all three, but if I can gain the timing down, if I can go I know this is how he won the first one, this is how he won the second, I lost it but I know what the ref is doing, I know by the third one I have the ref and the player down so that's ok. Then I think if I lose the first two face offs but can win the next ten face offs, I'm 70 percent winning right there. I can get the timing down. In the beginning of the game its ok. The first three face offs are very important whether you win them or lose them, you have to get something out of them. When it comes down to the third or fouth quarter, when the game's on the line and its real important winning  three out four, if I lose that one its aggravating. You have to think, 'How do I win the next one?' It's all a big chess game. You have three main moves: your clamp, your cock, and your slice and he has the same three moves. So you have to think what's he going to do, how do you counter him? If you can beat him in chess out there then you can win the game.

Patch: Can you think of any time where winning the face off led to the game being won?
AR: Especially when we play Delaware, the last four years. My sophomore year, two years ago, we play Delaware and we're down by three or four goals in the third quarter. In that quarter I think I went four for five and we wound up scoring three quick goals. Then the fourth quarter came around and it was a battle, I think I went even with the guy. We go into overtime, so I was able to get him back in overtime by winning quick face offs. In the overtime scenario I won the face off, it led to a fast break, passed it out to Jordan Bradley? He scored, we won. It also happened in Binghamton my freshman year. We went into overtime again. Being able to win that face off in overtime gives you so much momentum, so when the game's on the line, whoever wins that face off is a huge momentum booster. We've had plenty of games like that.

Patch: How do you like being known as the face off king?
AR: I like it. It's something I've always strived for. I come from a small town in Connecticut, not really known for lacrosse. When I was younger I thought I really wanted to be good at lacrosse. I knew I'd be a good field player, but I was really good at face offs. That gave me the motivation. I want to be a good face off player anyway. As soon as I got to college I thought, 'I can do that.' It's hard work every day. I'm dedicating myself, used to working out, getting the reps in. During the season watching film, just saying, 'I don't want to be second, I don't want to be third, I want to be the number one guy out there.'

You can catch Rand and his fellow Seawolves tonight at 7 p.m. against UMBC at LaValle Stadium. For tickets, visit goseawolves.org.