Marquette University Athletics
Fleming, McClelland and Woodward in leadership roles for MLAX
2/14/2021 7:19:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse
Fleming, McClelland and Woodward tabbed as men's lacrosse team captains
For many college athletic teams, the squad will only go as far as its leaders. For Marquette men's lacrosse, three of the most prominent leaders this year were voted as captains by their teammates.
For the 2021 season, the captain selections were midfielder Connor McClelland, attackman Griffin Fleming and defenseman Mason Woodward.
Head coach Andrew Stimmel said he has a lot of variety in this captain group, not only as far as position group and school year, but also in personality.
"They're all unique, it's great to have captains where we have an attackman, midfielder and defenseman," Stimmel said. "That really allows them to set the standard not only on their side of the ball but at their position. They all have different personalities, so I think they all can kind of relate to each other, but they also bring out the best in each other."
McClelland, a fifth-year midfielder who the team often calls "Spike", certainly has the respect of his teammates.
"Connor McClelland received every vote outside of maybe one or two," Stimmel said. "In my experience as a coach, that's the highest number of votes I've seen for captain."
The Ontario native was the 12th pick in the NLL Draft in the fall, and will be a crucial element to the MU offense this year. In just three matchups last season, McClelland notched seven goals and two assists.
Despite not being the most vocal on the team, McClelland earned his way to a captainship through his hard work.
"Spike is unbelievable, he works so hard," Woodward said. "Leaders aren't always the guys who talk and say stuff. It's what you do on the field, your effort."
Stimmel said McClelland has the rest of the team ready to go to war for him.
"Every guy on our team is ready to do whatever it takes for Connor McClelland in his fifth year to try to have a great season," Stimmel said. "The unique thing about Connor is he's not a huge rah-rah, vocal guy. He speaks when it's needed, but when he talks, guys listen. He just shows up every single day and he's an awesome guy to coach."
Another veteran who earned his captaincy this year is attackman Griffin Fleming. Fleming missed the entirety of last season after suffering a knee injury, which Stimmel said helped make him an excellent leader.
"Griffin's most redeeming quality is how relatable he is," Stimmel said. "Griffin has gone through a number of injuries, and seeing him attack that rehab and get himself back to the level that he showed up this fall is nothing short of inspirational. Our guys see it too, that regardless of what obstacles are standing in Griffin's way, he continues to show up, and he doesn't just show up to check a box, he shows up to compete and win."
Despite having missed last season, Fleming started 13 games in his first season of eligibility while scoring 10 goals and nine assists. As a leader, Fleming presents a different style than his counterparts.
"Fleming does a really good job of communicating and he's a very vocal leader," Woodward said. "He does a really great job with just talking to the team."
Woodward is the final captain for this Marquette team in just his second year on the roster.
"It's a great honor," Woodward said. "It shows how much my teammates trust me and look up to me and that's all I could ask for, to be accepted by my teammates. It's been a ton of fun so far and I'm super excited about it going into the future."
While Woodward serves as Marquette's top coverman on the defense, his role as a captain was earned by his consistency.
"I really think it comes down to his daily habits," Stimmel said. "He's as consistent as they come, he's the same guy every day. He's the same guy in the weight room, on the field, off the field, he just doesn't change. That consistency is an inspiration to look at and be like, 'Man, I would love to have that daily ability just to show up, get things done at a high level, rinse and repeat.'"
For Woodward, having two veteran leaders by his side makes his job far simpler.
"They make it easier," Woodward said. "I'm constantly asking them questions and seeing how I can get better from a leadership standpoint, especially since they've both been here for fifth years."
In his first year as captain, Woodward aims to build the team's culture.
"One of our goals is just to be super close and get to know guys on a personal level that you normally wouldn't with the freshman," Woodward said. "(We want) to just be super close culture-wise with all the guys because it's a super tough year to do that."
While Fleming may have the vocal component of leadership, he recognizes how much value Woodward and McClelland's approach brings.
"(Connor and Mason) are probably the two guys on the field that lead by example the most," Fleming said. "It's a great thing for the younger guys to look up to. Every rep, they're going as hard as they possibly can, any position that you need them to play."
Fleming and McClelland both acknowledged that just because others aren't captains does not mean they can't be leaders.
"Everybody on this team is seen as a leader," McClelland said. "It's not just on the captains. Everybody is respected the same way and we're all going to lead in our own unique ways."
"It's nice that they look at us as this leadership role," Fleming said. "But we've got probably 25 or 30 upperclassmen on this team that have been through it the past three or four years, so at any point, anyone could step up."
Stimmel said as a unit, this captain group each brings different strengths, which is incredibly helpful with the number of players on the team.
"For as big of a roster as we have, to be able to have three really distinctly different personalities is great," Stimmel said. "For a younger guy being able to approach any one of those guys based off of how relatable they are and how similar they are to you, it just provides an opportunity for us to have a great pulse on our team and to be a really connected group."
As far as goals for the three captains, winning is right at the top, even if it doesn't come right away.
"Obviously we want to win a national championship and be BIG EAST champions," McClelland said. "But it's pretty obvious to our team that those things don't just come and that, to be successful and have opportunities to play for a championship, it starts with the present and focusing on what we're doing today in practice."
"A goal of mine is to peak in May," Fleming said. "I don't expect us to be at our best right now. But if we can get better and better every week, no matter what the results are, if we're peaking at the right time, then anything's possible."
Keep up with the Marquette men's lacrosse program through social media by following on Twitter (@MarquetteMLax) and Instagram (@MarquetteMLax) and 'liking' on Facebook (/MarquetteMLax).
