Studying the stripe: What makes Trevor Baptiste so dominant?

It was an early morning practice at Peter Barton Stadium as the University of Denver men’s lacrosse team was preparing to start its 2015 campaign. Head coach Bill Tierney noticed his freshman faceoff specialist had brought his phone to the practice field.

Five minutes after the team had stretched, Tierney then saw his specialist go into the corner of the field and pull out a speaker. The player then put on a cadence that mimicked a referee’s faceoff whistle and repeatedly took faceoff reps as if he were simulating game scenarios.

In his 40 years of coaching experience, Tierney had never seen such a drill done by a faceoff specialist. From that point on, he knew that he had recruited the diamond in the rough in Trevor Baptiste.

“To me, that just told me this guy was the master of his craft,” Tierney said. “He’s the Michelangelo of artists, he’s the Tom Brady of football players, he’s the Michael Jordan of basketball players when it comes to his passion for this part of the game.”

Since his freshman year at Denver, there is one word that describes Baptiste’s style of play on the lacrosse field: dominant. In college, he was a four-time first-team All-American — one of three players, along with Mikey Powell and Connor Shellenberger, to do so in the NCAA era. In the PLL, he has made five All-Pro first teams and won the 2022 Jim Brown MVP Award. These accolades are the tip of the iceberg when trying to break down Baptiste’s dominance in the sport.

When talking about Baptiste, it is easy to say how dominant he is. But the real question that needs to be answered is: Why is Trevor Baptiste so dominant?

How to simplify Baptiste’s dominance

To understand how a faceoff specialist, like Baptiste, can be so dominant at his position, there are a number of variables to evaluate. For reference, let’s compare Baptiste’s play style to the game of Monopoly.

The way Baptiste controls the faceoff stripe is like owning all four railroads, plus Broadway and New York Avenue, by the second go-around the board. Having a large portion of property in the game of Monopoly doesn’t only mean you collect frequent rent; you also shape how the rest of the game plays out.

Each time Baptiste wins a faceoff, it’s like forcing a player to land on one of his properties consistently. Not only does New York gain possession with each Baptiste win, but it also allows the Atlas to push early transition more times than the opposing team, giving them a heavy advantage on the pace of play during a game.

Each time New York capitalizes on a faceoff win with a goal translates to placing houses, buying more property and creating bigger cashflow until they put the other team into bankruptcy.

Baptiste isn’t just playing the board when it comes to faceoffs; he controls the board. Other teams hope not to land on his spots, or else rent will be due.

Athletic ability 

Standing at 5-foot-9, 225 pounds, Baptiste’s build is comparable to an NFL running back. Saquon Barkley, Christian McCaffrey and Bijan Robinson are athletes who possess both the strength and speed that Baptiste brings to the faceoff stripe.

Compared to all other starting faceoff specialists in the league, who weigh in at an average of 200.5 pounds, Baptiste goes into nearly every matchup with a weight advantage. When two faceoff specialists are tied up on the clamp, the player who can put the most mass onto the ball usually wins. To put it into simpler phrasing: It is the comparison of a running back versus a defensive back in an Oklahoma drill. The running back with more mass is going to win that battle more times than not.

Stick skills

The faceoff position is generally seen as lacrosse players who lack stick-handling ability. However, this is not the case for Baptiste.

Tierney credits Baptiste’s stick skills to his college days, during which he became obsessed with helping create better opportunities on offense for his teammates.

“He won so many faceoffs that he got frustrated with himself that he was not a great shooter and wanted to be a better passer,” Tierney said. “He would make people stay out with him after practice. He would work on his dodging. He would work on his defending. He would always be banging the ball against a bounce-back. … He demands so much of himself to be the best for not himself, but for his teammates.”

Those talents allow Baptiste to stay in the play post-faceoff. Baptiste has 45 career points, placing him seventh all-time among players who have 500 or more faceoff wins.

Last season, New York led the league in 32-second shot clock efficiency, an area of the game that has proven to be crucial for teams. Baptiste has shown that despite the shortened clock, he can still win the faceoff and provide early offense for his team.

Technique 

While anyone can be fast reacting to a whistle, you need to be accurate to clamp over the ball at the right angle. Baptiste has mastered the “first punch” when it comes to the initial move made on a faceoff. While his speed and strength favor his odds to win the clamp, his superb hand-eye coordination helps set him apart at the position.

“It’s like telling a sniper to go and fire at the smallest target you could possibly hit with unmatched skill and accuracy, time and time again,” said Jerry Ragonese, a former PLL faceoff specialist and Baptiste’s former trainer during the latter’s high school career. “He’s the ultimate sniper. His hands move with an efficiency that you have never seen before through the ball every single time.”

While winning the clamp is crucial, it is only half the battle at the faceoff stripe. To win a faceoff, a player must maintain full possession of the ball after the initial whistle. Baptiste uses an array of exits to ensure his team maintains possession. Straight forward, through-the-legs and full 90-degree rotations help keep Baptiste’s opponents guessing as to where he might exit the ball, as he rarely uses the same exit twice in a row to prevent himself from being countered.

Opposing PLL faceoff specialists who decide not to even go for the clamp against Baptiste, as they know their chances of winning are slim, and opt to counter and create a ground ball scrum pay an even heavier fine.

“If you say, ‘I’m gonna bail on technique and attack his hands and shovel counter,’ he’s got such unbelievable field awareness that he puts the ball to free space,” Ragonese said. “Watch his closing speed to the ground ball … that’s where you see his apex predator ability. He is truly the best athlete on the field.”

Baptiste will even use a faceoff strategy called a “reverse clamp” that will put the ball in the top part of his stick, eliminating the need to pick up a ground ball and allowing for a quicker time of possession for New York.

Mentality

Before the first whistle of the game, Baptiste makes sure he does his homework by watching film of his weekly matchup. Baptiste does not just study his individual faceoff matchup, but also watches how an opposing team’s faceoff unit reacts in certain scenarios to see their tendencies and discrepancies.

“You don’t go in blind,” he said. “It’s about understanding the matchup and playing within your game.”

Like in any profession, confidence is key. Baptiste ensures that every time he lines up for a draw, he knows he did everything correctly to put himself in the best possible position to succeed.

“On the sideline, in film, or even just watching the game develop,” he said. “But when I’m down, it’s about trust. Trust your preparation, trust your reps. There’s no time to overthink it — it’s just go time. You want a blank mind. Let your instincts take over.”

As Baptiste continues to cement his legacy in lacrosse history, he still needs to find that extra gear to keep his consistency. Going back to the drawing board week in and week out helps bring new ways that Baptiste can innovate his play style or his mechanics at the stripe.

“I never feel like I’ve ‘arrived.’ There’s always something to improve — some small part of my game I can refine for the sake of the team,” Baptiste said. “I try to find those areas and work on them consistently.”

The stats and awards

Now in his seventh pro season, Baptiste is a seven-time All-Star, five-time first-team All-Pro, five-time Paul Cantabene Faceoff Specialist of the Year and the 2022 Jim Brown League MVP award.

With over 1,200 faceoffs won, 746 ground balls collected and a career 65.5% win percentage, Baptiste’s resume puts him in the category of the greatest to play the sport. With Baptiste honing in on the all-time faceoff wins leaderboard, it will be a matter of when, not if, he becomes the true “King of the Stripe.”