How routines and razor picks helped Jared Bernhardt’s return to lacrosse

Pregame shootarounds are usually unscripted, often barefoot and occasionally filled with shots you’d never see attempted when the whistle blows. Jared Bernhardt’s shootaround is none of the above.

While some players are pushing the upper boundary of their creativity, Bernhardt takes the field with his gloves on, chinstrap buckled and his brother, Jesse, by his side. The two go through the same routine every gameday. It’s intentional, soft-spoken and business-like. That’s the way Jared Bernhardt carries himself both on and off the field.

The routine starts with partner passing. Right- and left-handed reps from close range to long range and then back in tight for quick sticks. Then, the two break away for position-specific drills. Jesse scoops ground balls. Jared reps shots — the same amount from the same locations, every game.

Jared Bernhardt could have been buckling any one of the league’s eight helmets prior to taking the field on gameday. When the 2021 Tewaaraton Award winner announced his plans to return to lacrosse in May, the biggest free agency frenzy in league history ensued.

“We’d be [expletive] stupid not to reach out to him,” Bernhardt’s college roommate, Logan Wisnauskas, told the Denver Outlaws coaching staff. “If it means we get him, I’ll play midfield. I’ll do whatever.”

Remember: Bernhardt was a potential No. 1 overall pick in a draft class that featured 2024 MVP Jeff Teat and 2022 Championship MVP Michael Sowers. After a few years pursuing football from Ferris State to the Atlanta Falcons to the CFL, he remained a blue-chip prospect, capable of altering any team’s championship timeline. Every team expressed interest, and Bernhardt spoke to all of them, according to ESPN’s Field Yates.

Why did Bernhardt choose the Outlaws?

It might have been to reunite with Maryland teammates. Wisnauskas, Luke Wierman, Alex Smith, Logan McNaney and Nick Grill all played with Bernhardt in College Park. It might have been to play alongside Jesse, although Jesse doesn’t believe that it was a dealbreaker for Jared to suit up with him or their brother, Jake, on the Maryland Whipsnakes. It might have been to play for head coach and general manager Tim Soudan. Soudan’s players view him as a “salt of the earth” guy; his pitch and personality appealed to Bernhardt’s all-business approach.

His motivation is easiest to understand when you consider what didn’t drive his decision.

“It obviously wasn’t about finding the team that was just going to make him the show,” Jesse said. “If that was the case, then you probably don’t pick the team that has the most Tewaaraton winners on it.”

Jared signed with Denver ready to accept any role asked of him.

Like he’d done on the gridiron – from quarterback to wide receiver – he was willing to move from attack to midfield.

Like he’d done in college for John Tillman and Bobby Benson, he was prepared to play in a motion offense – an offense with no beginning, no end and, if one piece is out of position, no success. He made an effort to learn his new teammates’ tendencies.

“I asked him how he wants me to set picks. He asked what I want to do, and he’ll play off me,” Jonathan Donville said. “And I said, ‘Uh, no … you’re one of the best players on the field. You tell me what you need.’ But I think that’s just kind of an example of [how] he wants to fit in.”

Bernhardt’s vision transcends time and space. He sees actions before they develop. Where to cut, where his teammates want to dodge to, where the skip lanes will be — it’s all obvious to him moments before the rest of us see it.

“His processor between the ears is super fast,” offensive coordinator Jeremy Boltus said.

Sprinting out of the box, Bernhardt notices Wierman has the opposing faceoff specialist trapped. He recognizes an opportunity to create a mismatch on Brennan O’Neill. Knowing that Wierman wants to set an up pick to put his defender in a pickle (either help or sub), Bernhardt quickly clears out of the area that O’Neill plans to dodge into. It unfolds quickly and causes confusion, ultimately leaving Bernhardt open on the backside pipe for the finish.

Many of his goals are a direct product of his pregame and practice routines. He spends a ton of time in the left-handed lines during shooting drills.

“You couldn’t pay me to take a shot left-handed,” Boltus, who scored 119 (mostly right-handed) goals as a player, joked. “And he’s working on it all day, every day in practice.”

“Whatever room he walks in, by far, he’s going to be the hardest worker,” Wisnauskas said.

His hard work has paid off. Bernhardt shot 7-for-15 (46.7%) with his left hand in the regular season, including burying the game-winning goal in overtime against New York. The exact, up-the-hash rep that he’d started his warmup with was the same shot that ended the game.

Bernhardt could have been “the show” on almost any team in the league; on the team he chose to play for, he finished fourth in touches behind Pat Kavanagh, O’Neill and Wisnauskas.

But when he does touch the ball, his speed is on full display.

It doesn’t matter whether he draws the pole or a short-stick defender out of the box. He shoots 34.6% one-on-one against poles  – not only way higher than the league average unassisted shooting percentage (22.6%), but higher than the average player shoots on assisted attempts (33.6%). Think about that: Jared Bernhardt dodging against a pole is a higher-percentage look than the league-average stepdown shot.

In space, there’s no defense for Bernhardt. His pickers — usually Donville or Dalton Young — put themselves in his defender’s blind spot. Together, they force a defender to move their feet, hips and neck faster than humanly possible.

ESPN analyst Paul Carcaterra compares Bernhardt’s speed to a Ferrari. Young likens it to “2x speed.”

Soudan and Boltus have seen this type of speed on the lacrosse field before. When they watch Bernhardt blow by his defender behind the cage, they can’t help but think of Jordan Wolf.

The No. 2 overall pick in the 2014 MLL Draft, Wolf began his career for Soudan’s Rochester Rattlers. Wolf was the 2015 Offensive Player of the Year, scoring 61 points (37G, 24A) while playing alongside Boltus. His most dangerous action was the razor pick. If it looks similar to the set that Bernhardt scored on during the semifinal victory against California, that’s because it is. The Outlaws have named their razor pick “The Wolf,” trusting Bernhardt to run the play that haunted MLL defenses in the 2010s.

Bernhardt’s speed is a game-changer, but it might not be his defining trait. His quiet confidence is what teammates admire most. Both his speed and his confidence have helped take pressure off Denver’s young stars.

O’Neill and Kavanagh are MVP finalists in only their second pro seasons. In the past, they’ve been unreasonably measured by their ceilings. Since it’s been done before, some fans expect a nine-point outburst from O’Neill every time he steps on the field. It’s unfair, like many critiques of superstars.

“It’s really nice to have guys that you know they’re all ballers. They’ll have your back if you do have an off day,” O’Neill said on The Mitchell Pehlke Lacrosse Show. “Not that you ever want to have an off day, but you know when you have the talent around you like that, you can afford an off day, and someone will step up.”

Maybe that’s why Bernhardt chose Denver. Not to be the show, but to be the teammate who can step up on someone’s off day. To play with teammates who have each other’s backs. To be part of a team that can be greater than the sum of its parts. And to have a chance to do it on the biggest stage.

The next time Jared and Jesse go through their pregame routine, it’ll be on Sunday morning on the grass at Sports Illustrated Stadium preparing for the 2025 U.S. Bank Championship against the New York Atlas.