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. He then put on a cadence that mimicked a referee’s faceoff whistle and watched him repeatedly take faceoff reps as if he was simulating game scenarios during practice.

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 Trevor 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 — including 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: Why is Trevor Baptiste so dominant?

How to Simplify Baptiste’s Dominance

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

The way that Baptiste controls the faceoff stripe is like owning all four railroads along with 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, but you shape how the rest of the game plays out.

Each time that Baptiste wins a faceoff during the game is like forcing a player to land on one of your properties consistently. Not only does New York win possession each time Baptiste wins a faceoff, but it allows them 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.

Trevor Baptiste isn’t just playing the board when it comes to faceoffs; he controls the board and 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 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 that lack stick skill ability. However, this is not the same for Baptiste.

Tierney credits Baptiste’s stick skills to his college days as 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.”

Baptiste’s stats only help prove the case of his ability to stay in the play post-faceoff. Baptiste has 45 points to his name in his career, placing him seventh all time in players who have 500 or more faceoff wins.

Last season, New York finished the league in 32-second shot clock efficiency, an area of the game that has proven to be crucial for teams to execute on a shortened clock after a faceoff is won. 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 hand-to-eye coordination is superb to all 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 the former trainer of Baptiste during his 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 possessions. Straight forward, through-the-legs, and full-90 degree rotations help keep Baptiste’s opponents guessing where he might exit the ball as he rarely uses the same exits twice in a row to prevent himself from being countered.

Opposing PLL faceoff specialists who decide to not 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,” said Ragonese. “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 blows, Baptiste makes sures he does his homework by watching film of his weekly matchup. Baptiste does not just study his individual faceoff matchup, but watches how an opposing team’s faceoff unit reacts in certain scenarios to see their tendencies and discrepancies.

“You don’t go in blind,” said Baptiste. “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 prior to the whistle being blown.

“On the sideline, in film, or even just watching the game develop. But when I’m down, it’s about trust. Trust your preparation, trust your reps,” said Baptiste. “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 help bring new ways that Baptiste can innovate his playstyle or his mechanics when 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,” said Baptiste. “I try to find those areas and work on them consistently.”

A look at the stats and awards

In his seven years pro Baptiste has been named 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 puts Baptiste immediately 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.”