February 21, 2012
Great rivalries: Champlain Valley vs. Essex Junction
by Phillip Shore/
Vermont's most notable rivalry is marked by the respect and friendship of its coaches - Essex Junction's Dean Corkum (left) and Champlain Valley Union's David Trevithick. (photo: Debbie Seaton)
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You know you have a strong rivalry with someone when they begin to consume your every thought. Your obsession with the other team overcomes daily responsibilities and affects you emotionally. You can’t think straight because you’re so focused on figuring out a way to get past a familiar foe.
That’s what happens to David Trevithick, the head boys’ lacrosse coach at Champlain Valley Union, when he prepares for a game against Essex Junction.
“I get zero done on game day,” Trevithick said. “My teachers I work with ask me if I’ve thrown up yet because they know how nervous I get.”
These instances have become frequent over the seven years Trevithick has coached the Crusaders because they square off against Essex up to three times a season. The teams play home-and-home in the regular season and then, in most years, play a rubber match with the Vermont state championship on the line.
In the past five seasons, the teams have met in the title match four times: Essex won the crown in three of those matchups, but CVU took the battle and the crown in 2011.
“They have bragging rights and we don’t,” Essex head coach Dean Corkum said. “We don’t feel like we’re chasing them. Even when we’ve won, we feel we’re on par and maybe we just had a better day.”
The two coaches have crossed paths numerous times and consider each other friends. Corkum has been at the helm for the Hornets for 21 seasons. Trevithick is a 1994 graduate from Champlain Valley Union and remembers playing against Corkum-led teams.
Both say the Champlain Valley Union-Essex Junction is a unique matchup because the rivalry is not based out of hatred but out of a mutual respect for how the other team plays the game.
“We’ve always treated each other well and the kids see that,” Corkum said.
Champlain Valley Union senior defender Christian Williford notices the respect the two coaches have and agrees that it does trickle down to the players.
“I have played on teams over the summer and in the fall with kids from all over Vermont. I find that everybody is typically nice to each other,” Williford said. “In the end I love lacrosse and I know they do too, so I think everyone has a good time playing competitive lacrosse.”
That doesn’t mean the intensity dies down though.
The two teams and coaches have faced each other so many times they know what to expect from the opposition. All the film has been watched, all the games have been scouted, neither team can hide any secrets from the other. So it takes some creativity to gain the upper hand in this rivalry.
Trevithick can remember one specific time when Corkum put him to shame in this department.
“One example that Dean used against us one year was in a championship game,” Trevithick said. “We went out for announcements and instead of doing every individual they went out as a team. It was a little bit of gamesmanship and I was like, ‘Oh man, that was brilliant.’ And that’s something we do now every year.”
Using that situation as an example, Corkum believes that head games play a part in the rivalry now. But he says it isn’t just about how you get into the other team’s heads but what you think about your own team as well.
“For us, it’s always about maintaining a good attitude,” he said. “The athletes are there, the strategies are there. It really comes down to mental toughness.”
Trevithick added that confidence plays a pivotal role in a matchup where the two teams are equals on the field.
“Now, when we practice, our focus is execution,” he said. “You know Essex knows what you’re doing and we know what they’re doing. We know we need to play our game and execute. I kind of felt (in 2010) we got the monkey off our back in the sense that we beat them at our place. We realized we could beat them.”
Both coaches use the other team as a measuring stick to see how good their squad is. The meetings have been back-and-forth tight contests. Since 2005, the teams have met 19 times, with the Hornets winning 12 of those contests. The margin is thin however: 13 of those games were decided by three goals or less, and six were one-goal contests with four of those games decided in overtime.
Trevithick noted the last time his team truly was blown out by Essex during the season (a 15-7 loss at home in 2009) also was the only time in the past six years his team failed to make the finals.
Even last season, when the Crusaders won two of three meetings including the championship game, Essex still was the only team to put a blemish on their record with a 7-6 victory at the end of May.
Trevithick likes that Essex is there to keep his team honest and hungry.
“If we don’t have them in our way, it would make us struggle more,” he said. “If you have an easy season going into the playoffs, someone can sneak up on you. Knowing Essex is out there, we know we can’t make any mistakes because there’s a team out there that will take advantage of those mistakes.”
The rivalry has become so consuming to both teams that the championship game is no longer enough to keep either team satisfied. The coaches talked about introducing the “Bucket Cup” this year, an extra trophy that would go to the team that comes out on top in their two regular season games.
However, seeing how tight the games have been in past years head-to-head may not settle this one on its own.
“The first tiebreaker is going to be goal differential,” Corkum said. “The second tie-breaker is going to be a rock-paper-scissor tournament. But it’s got to be best out of three. Kind of like how the season always goes, too.”
Are you part of one of New England’s greatest rivalries?
This year, New England Lacrosse Journal is choosing the 10 greatest lacrosse rivalries in New England, looking at what makes the competition distinct, fierce and memorable. If you have been part of a great rivalry that you think should be a part of our series, tell us about it. Email your story to editor@laxjournal.com
This article originally appeared in the January 2012 issue of New England Lacrosse Journal.
Phillip Shore can be reached at feedback@laxjournal.com
