Mike Hasen has been there and done that. The Rochester Knighthawks bench boss of 100 wins has seen it all in his near three-decade association with the National Lacrosse League, dating back to when he first played for Buffalo in 1996.
As a player and a coach, he’s experienced wins and losses. Lacrosse is a game of runs, which often extends to runs in schedules. Sometimes it’s trying to build and keep the run going. In other cases, it’s to stop the bleeding and turn the page. Consider the present-day Knighthawks one of those other cases.
After a 3-0 start, one which culminated with Hasen’s 100th win as head coach on Dec. 23, Rochester has stumbled into a six-game losing streak as its fall from grace continues to push them further down the now unified standings of the 15-team league.
“I think this year is a different animal,” said Hasen when asked about this losing skid versus those in previous seasons. “We’ve got 15 teams in one set of standings compared to before when it was split into two conferences. We’re chasing more teams now and I think we have to climb a bit of a taller ladder. In past seasons, you knew you were going to face Toronto and Buffalo and Albany so frequent, so we were able to focus on those teams more, but this year it’s a new team every single week it seems. We need to be better.”
The ’Hawks have had better days, but they’ve also had identical moments, or at least the head coach of this team has in previous years. In 2017-18, the original Knighthawks franchise was led by Hasen, who, after a 2-0 start to the year, witnessed his team drop six straight. Sound familiar?
So, what happened after that?
Rochester went on to win eight of its final 10 regular season games to force themselves into the playoffs and eventually into the NLL Finals. How was a 2-6 team able to find itself on the league’s ultimate stage just a few months later?
“It was because we had a belief in our group,” said Hasen when recalling that season’s team. “The players believed that as long as they continued doing what they were doing, we were going to be okay. We didn’t stray away from that. We kept plugging away at it, and then one win turned into two and two turned into three and away we went. We built off that feeling and that confidence. We were proof of what we did as a team would make us successful. We just had to believe in it.”
Hasen’s seen this before and has come out the other side just fine with his teams. Still, as a player who spent 12 seasons patrolling the floor, the Toronto, Ontario, native admits he wears losses more now as a coach.
“As a player, you have that ability to step on the floor and change things with your next shift. You can affect the outcome a little bit. It’s in your control. For me now, you’re back there behind the bench and you can only use your words to get guys motivated and keep guys focused. It’s a totally different role. We look at things differently than a player would.”
One of the different ways coach Hasen looks at things compared to player Hasen would is to understand there is always a lesson to be learned, and in many cases, it is often easier to learn from a loss than a win.
“I honestly believe you can learn a little more from a loss than a win because when you get a win, it cements that you feel like you did everything right today. With a loss, you have a little more introspect. You highlight the things you need to continue to work on. A loss also shows the character of our players. That shows you the intangibles. It can be easy to look around and start pointing fingers after a loss. I think as a group of late, we’ve had the ability to take a breath and say, ‘we’re going to be alright’ and we’ve stuck together.”
Those characteristics were present seven years ago when the ‘Hawks went from a team with two wins to one of the final two teams left standing in the league. The modern era Knighthawks continue their season this Sunday when they visit Panther City to try and begin turning their 3-6 record around. It’s an adverse situation, but one Hasen believes can be overcome because he believes in his team.
“Offensively, our output is third-best in the league. We’re not there defensively just yet, but we have a belief that we’re going to get the stops we need to get and we’re going to turn it around. I think it’s the belief in our group and their belief in themselves. Our real focus is just learning in the moment and living in the moment. We’re going to be okay.
