Coach Gregory Eisenhauer is back. His return to the boys junior varsity lacrosse team comes after a season-ending suspension last spring, which resulted from an incident involving several emails to his players deemed inappropriate by the school administration.
To his players, Eisenhauer – known affectionately as Ike – is a welcoming and unifying force following a somewhat disjointed season in his absence, which came about following a series of leaked emails that called out teammates who had not come to practice over April vacation. The emails ended up upsetting some members of the lacrosse and school community due to profane and violent language, leading to Eisenhauer’s suspension.
“It’s been good. He almost seems like a more cheerful guy than last year. I guess he appreciates being back,” said junior Taylor Weston, a returning player to the JV team.
Weston said that Eisenhauer’s return was made more exciting by the legendary status he took on during last year’s “Free Ike” campaign.
He believes Eisenhauer will likely discipline the team with a greater degree of care.
“I certainly think he’ll be more careful about what he puts in writing,” Weston said. “But I don’t think there’s really going to be any change in him because there’s nothing that really needs to be changed in the first place.”
The suspension does not seem to have made much of a mark on the program, though it did negatively affect last year’s junior varsity season, which Weston recalls as messy.
“We didn’t really have any continuity or structure,” said Weston.
Eisenhauer agreed that the program may have felt a negative impact from his absence, though in the long run, it may have actually reinforced the team’s togetherness.
“Although there was some disappointment, my players showed great maturity and resilience for the remainder of the season,” said Eisenhauer. “Many of them stepped up and took on newfound leadership roles, and in a way I believe the experience helped forge a closer bond between them.”
“I can understand how people could see what Ike said as inappropriate out of context,” said junior Ian Crowley, who played under Eisenhauer last season. “I can see why there was a reaction like there was, but I think if you were on the team, you knew that he didn’t mean any harm by what he said, and he always had the good of the team and the players in mind.”
Reflecting on his suspension, Eisenhauer says that his actions were not appropriate and indeed deserving of the given punishment.
“Looking back on the situation, I do feel that the administration responded appropriately in suspending me,” said Eisenhauer. “There really is no place on the lacrosse field or in life in general for the type of language I resorted to in my frustration. That type of behavior is indicative of a lack of self-control and discipline, and that is not the type of image I ever want to portray of myself or for my players to emulate.”
Eisenhauer continued, “I was embarrassed by my own actions and disappointed in myself for letting my team and community down. Part of being human is making mistakes. Part of being a good person is having the ability to take an honest look at yourself and realize your faults, and then being able to correct and improve yourself.”
Varsity head coach Steve Zella said he is glad that Eisenhauer is back.
According to Crowley, the program is reinvigorated by Eisenhauer’s return.
“Everyone is super excited that he’s coming back,” said Crowley. “A bunch of us led the ‘Free Ike’ campaign in an attempt to get him back, and whether or not it actually had an effect, he’s back now, and we’re ready to rumble.”
Clara Dorfman and Jamie Francona can be contacted at [email protected].
