Saturday's opener against UMBC will mark the earliest Johns Hopkins has begun a season. But the game just may be what the players need in the aftermath of the death of freshman Jeremy Huber.
The 18-year-old defenseman was found dead on Jan. 26 in his dorm, and the investigation into the cause is still ongoing. Players and coaches participated in a candlelight vigil on Jan. 29, and coach Dave Pietramala said returning to a familiar routine of practices and games can only help a program still in mourning.
"I think one of the keys for us is to try to return to normalcy," he said Thursday morning. "The bottom line is, nothing will ever be the same with what happened. But the sooner our guys can get back to their routine, the sooner they can get back to the normalcy of the day-to-day – whether it's practice, school, family, friends, lacrosse. That is going to do nothing but help these guys. The challenge sometimes is, I think young people don't think it's OK to do that. I think sometimes they feel like it's not OK to smile, that it's not OK to enjoy and do something because there was a tragedy suffered.
"For everybody, it's very different, and quite frankly, it is OK for them to do that. I caught myself the other night when something happened and I didn't smile and I walked away. But I was like, 'I should be pleased about that.' At that moment, I realized that it is OK to do that. I think that's the challenge for these young folks. Obviously, they suffered a tragedy, and for each of them, they have to figure out that it is OK to move forward. It doesn't mean that they will forget, but it is OK to move forward and take steps to getting back to normalcy."
Pietramala said the players elected to dedicate the upcoming season to Huber. They will wear patches with his No. 19 on their jerseys and have moved a 19 painted behind the endline between Homewood Field and the Cordish Lacrosse Center to the Blue Jays' sideline.
"Right on our sideline, there is a 19 that has been painted about two yards wide and two yards in front of the coaches' box," Pietramala said. "One of the things the Hubers had said at the vigil was how much it meant to Jeremy to have the chance to be on that sideline. So we decided to move the 19 right next to our bench so that he can be on the sideline with us."