Frederick Douglass Boys Lacrosse Celebrating 20 Year Anniversary with Winning Start

It's been 20 years since lacrosse was introduced at Frederick Douglass High School in Baltimore City. The school's program began in 1996 when Raymond Harcum started the team.

Now one of Harcum's best players, John Robinson, is back at his alma mater to coach. Robinson played for the Ducks from 1996-97, and was one of the first players from the school to be selected to play in the state all-star game.

This year, Robinson has the Ducks flying high, starting the season with a 3-0 record.

"It's always good to start the season off winning because that builds team confidence and shows how hard we work in practice," Robinson said. "I always tell my student athletes that it's not how you start, it's how you finish. That's been one of my motto's from day one."

If the Ducks' start is any indication, they could be in story for an exciting end of the season.

The team's offense has been explosive in 2016, scoring 14 goals against Patterson, and 12 against Digital Harbor. Robinson's message of keeping it simple and incorporating everyone at that end of the field has been paying dividends.

"I always preach to my student athletes on offense to not be selfish, and make smart decisions while running the offense- passing the ball to the open man, and not trying to do too much," Robinson said.

Along with the offense, Robinson has been very pleased with the way his long sticks midfielders have been playing. The unit has been communicating excellently, which has resulted in four long pole midfielders having over 15 ground balls for the Ducks already this season. Three other midfielders have also added over 10 ground balls.

"One of our strengths will be the long poles, as they can keep communicating with each other. They have the skills and mechanics to be able to make opponents turn the ball over, and get the ball up the field to start the offense," Robinson said. "Secondly, my middies are fast, strong and ready to play both sides of the ball."

Looking ahead, Robinson has big goals for the Ducks this season, which if all goes to plan, will include a lot of championships. He hopes to see his team win the Class A Division, then claim the Westside Championship after that. A win there would put Frederick Douglass in the Baltimore City Championship, which Robinson believes his team has the capability of winning.

Robinson knows the Ducks have a lot of work to do to get to the point where they can accomplish those goals, but he's confident the team is up to the task.

"I have a good group of student athletes that work hard both at practice and after practice. They're just willing to listen, learn and get better at the game of lacrosse, whether if it's at practice or on their own time," Robinson said. "My student athletes really go above and beyond the call of duty for the team to be successful both on and off the field."