Travel woes take toll on Shamrox
A drive from his home in Lake Forest to the Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates takes about 35-40 minutes. Slightly longer if there's an accident or other traffic jam.
If only that were the worst travel delay Chris Panos and his Chicago Shamrox teammates have had to contend with this season.
After Sunday's 13-8 home loss to the Buffalo Bandits, the Shamrox are searching for more than just ways to ignite their 10.8-goals-per-game offense. With Callum Crawford and Bobby McBride flying out of Ottawa, Tom Montour from Toronto or Buffalo, Bill McGlone from Philadelphia, Panos driving from the North Shore, and the rest from Toronto, the Shamrox would just like to find a way to get everyone on the practice field at the same time.
"Our flights are late, our stuff doesn't arrive," said Shamrox coach Jamie Batley. "I'm not trying to make excuses, but those are some of the things that happen."
Call it Batley's Law, because if something could have gone wrong with the Shamrox' travel plans this season, it probably has. While preparing for their next game against Edmonton, Batley and Shamrox president Connie Kowal were monitoring the players' flights, staying in contact with the bus company at the airport and keeping the practice facility in Hoffman Estates updated on a possible arrival time -- all for naught as the players arrived too late.
"They didn't have a practice, then we go out and play our best game of the season, so go figure," Kowal said of the Shamrox' 17-11 win.
But that's been more the exception than the rule in this 1-5 campaign.
Two weeks earlier, weather delayed the Shamrox' arrival in Philadelphia until almost 11:30 p.m. The next day the Shamrox lost 19-11 to the Philadelphia Wings.
On Friday, seven equipment bags were lost en route to Chicago and didn't arrive until six hours before the ball dropped in Saturday's 14-9 loss to the New York Titans.
"I think it's killing us, to be honest," Shamrox captain Mat Giles said of the lack of practice time. "Having the sticks in your hands once more during the week makes a huge difference."
To remedy that, instead of the usual day-before-practice, the Shamrox met Wednesday at the Iroquois Lacrosse Arena in Hagersville, Ontario, 70 miles southwest of Toronto. But even that can be a logistical nightmare. Just ask Panos.
For a 9 p.m. practice in Buffalo, for example, Panos typically leaves for Midway Airport at 10 a.m. If there's only a minimal delay (a lofty request considering the team's travel travails this season), he'll reach his destination between 4 and 6 p.m.. If McGlone's flight arrives without delay, they rent a car, make the two-hour (or longer) drive to a practice facility. Arriving by 8:30 p.m. or so, they would pracitce and then drive back to Buffalo that night. Home the next day.
"It's such a tight window, there can't be any mistakes," Panos said.
No, he wasn't talking about a possible Shamrox playoff run, although he could have been.