A LITTLE BROTHERLY ADVICE

[Gregg Pathiakis]

http://www.bostoncannons.com/0,5913,1_841_0_68804,00.html

A LITTLE BROTHERLY ADVICE

By: Greg Gonzales
When you play Division I lacrosse, there are a lot of people following your every move. There is pressure from coaches, the media and fans to produce at a high level each and every game.

But when the name on the back of your jersey reads Gill, that pressure is amplified. No longer are you just another lacrosse player, your brother is the Most Valuable Player of Major League Lacrosse, and not to mention, your coach.

Imagine that you’re off to Syracuse University, one of the biggest national powers in college lacrosse, and defending national champions. But you’re not just any freshman; you have been ranked a Top Ten Recruit by Inside Lacrosse Magazine, and your team has just lost its all time leading scorer. And by the way, you are expected to start right away.

If that wasn’t enough, your last name is Leveille, and your brother Kevin is a two time All-American at UMass, and is one of the best players in Major League Lacrosse, last season’s winner of the Major League Lacrosse Most Improved Player Award.

For Brendan and Gavin Gill, and Mike Leveille this is reality. But luckily for them, their brothers have no trouble helping them adapt and succeed in the high-octane world that is NCAA Division I lacrosse.

Their older brothers are Conor Gill and Kevin Leveille, members of the Boston Cannons and two of the most dynamic players in the sport of lacrosse.

Conor Gill is in the unique position of being an assistant coach for the Virginia Cavaliers, and that means coaching his brothers, Brendan this year and Gavin next.

“Gavin asks how I would handle certain situations, and I try and help him out, but I think a lot of fathers, mothers, and family members in general over compensate,” says Conor. “I encourage them to be their own player, and their own person. I am also a believer in the fact you have to fail a little bit in life in order to succeed.”

When you watch the Gills, you find their playing styles to be very similar. Conor is known for his deft passing ability, his complete unselfishness and his high assist marks (he has posted an MLL record 40 assists each of the last two seasons). Gavin’s numbers last year for his high school team, St. Paul’s, were very “Conor-esque.” He scored 36 goals and dished out 52 assists. It is easy to see that Gavin is following in his brother’s footsteps, but to Conor, that is just the natural way people play sports.

“They might model their games a little bit around me, but I model my game after other guys too. Everybody takes bits and pieces from the the games’ of the players they watch and admire the most. Kobe looks like Michael Jordan.”

Being the MLL MVP, and Cannons Team MVP, Conor Gill would be one of the top players to model you’re game around and it sure is nice when extra help is just a phone call away or right on the practice field as it is for the Gills.

Just like Conor, fellow Cannon Kevin Leveille is quick to give advice to his little brother. Kevin has already been to two of Mike’s games, even flying out to California for the Orange’s March 12 match up with Georgetown.

“I’ve been through the college system and I know how tough it is. I help him with his confidence, and it is easy to help him because he is such a quick learner,” says Kevin. “I enjoy helping him out, pointing things out, talking to him after games.”

The older brother must have said something right. On March 18th, against the No. 1 ranked Johns Hopkins Blue Jays, Mike scored five goals. He has eight goals on the season, and as a freshman, is the team’s fourth leading scorer.

It is not easy to play for a high profile team such as Syracuse. Regardless, Kevin is quick to point out his brother is more than prepared to handle it.

“I told him to be assertive, people there have won championships, but he’s easily one of the top players in the country, I am just helping him come out of his shell, there is a lot more in him.”

It is easy to tell that Kevin and Mike are not the same player, for one, Mike stands at 6’2 and Kevin is 5’10. But even though they may not have the same style, the number 19 is not the only thing the two brothers share when it comes to lacrosse.

“He is more fundamentally sound, I am bouncing all over the place, but he’s more precise, technical, he understands what’s going on,” says Kevin. “He’s got a lot of power in his passes, but he can improvise (a trait Kevin is famous for) because he grew up playing hockey and he’s used to making a million decisions in a split second.”

For Kevin, it is easy to relate Mike’s freshman expierence with that of his own rookie expierence with the Cannons.

“I felt like the little guy playing for the Cannons, but I just remembered that all these guys accomplished the same thing I had, in Mike’s case it is especially true in college, and they have all been through the same thing.”

One of the easiest ways both Kevin and Conor help their brothers is by leading by example on the field and to keep putting up big numbers. There are no cheat sheets in lacrosse, but for these young players, Brendan, Gavin and Mike, they definitely have their hands on some great extra help. [/url]