KENNEBUNK — Ever have a hair-parting lacrosse laser come whizzing straight at you?
Ever want to?
If so, you’d probably be a kindred spirit of Kennebunk netminder Ben Bath.
Last year, as a freshman, with no incumbent to guard the Rams’ cage, Bath stepped into the void and established ownership of the crease.
Bath, who stopped 67 percent of the shots that came his way, said keeping his wits about him was the key to surviving that first year.
“I stayed calm and worked in practice every day,” he said. “I just tried to get better every day and get close with my defense. Get to know everybody on the team. I was the only goalie, so I had to step in and do the best I could.”
Still, there were those who told Bath that he must have taken leave of his senses when he volunteered to step into the cave.
Not so, said he.
“That’s what everyone says,” he said. “I don’t think I’m that crazy.”
Bath said that the tone for his freshman season was set right away ”“ in the season opener against powerful Portland.
Talk about a baptism under fire.
“We played well, and lost by one,” he said. “I made a couple saves, and it was a good game. It got me in the groove. Got me going.”
Of course, there’s getting going, and then there is keeping going.
Bath said his approach to his sophomore season hasn’t changed much from before.
“(I need to) do the same things,” he said. “Keep getting better every day. Basically keep working hard.”
That effort extended beyond last season and into a summer league in Massachusetts. It was there that Bath received a strong dose of instruction and competition.
“I just learned from everybody who knows the position,” he said. “Learned from every coach. I know a lot more, now.”
What he learned about goalkeeping is relatively simple.
The key, he said, is “positioning and seeing the ball. Seeing it come out of the attack’s stick. It’s probably about 80 percent mental and 20 percent physical. And when you get scored on, you have to forget all about it. Short-term memory.”
Maybe that’s not so crazy, after all.
— Contact Dan Hickling at 282-1535.
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