Tuesday was another normal day for Jon Birsner.

Then again, normal is a relative term when writing about a day at the United States Naval Academy.

Birsner is the leading scorer on the Navy men’s lacrosse team with 43 points, but scoring is not his strong point. His ability to pass the ball and put his teammates in position makes him one of the best team players in the game. His 29 assists tie him for third in the nation and make him extremely valuable.

But Birsner’s greatest accomplishment may simply be surviving his extremely difficult schedule. Birsner manages his time well enough to succeed in school and lead Navy to a shared No. 6 ranking with Johns Hopkins in the Inside Lacrosse Media Poll.

When Birsner leaves his room in the morning he does not come back for 13 hours.

On Tuesday, Birsner and his teammates woke up at 6:30 a.m. because all the students needed to be outside, clean shaven and dressed in uniform by 7. He led his squad of underclassmen in formation to breakfast. As a senior, Birsner has a higher rank than the underclassmen, so he is in charge of everyone that sits at his table.

Rank is important at the Naval Academy, because the students are trained to respect the chain of command. Birsner said the upperclassmen like him are ranked higher than the underclassmen, but the rankings are not as important on the lacrosse field.

‘When you’re on the field, a lot of the rankings in the school disappear,’ Birsner said. ‘It’s more about experience on the field than the ranking.’

Birsner left breakfast at 7:45 and immediately went to his first class. Birsner attended four classes in a row and finally had lunch with his teammates at noon. The team hustled to finish their meals so they could watch film at 12:30 with the coaches. When the team meeting ended, Birsner raced off to his last class of the day at 1:30.

Navy head coach Richie Meade has been watching players rush through difficult schedules for 12 years, but he is still amazed by how much work the athletes have to complete.

‘It baffles me,’ Meade said. ‘I honestly don’t know how they do it. They’re put in an environment that is designed to challenge every part of their lives.’

Birsner arrived at the training room at 2:30 to receive treatment for his many aches and bruises and prepared for practice. The senior was out on the field from 3:30 to 6:30 because he needed to work with his team on their man-up offense after practice.

Birsner said the lacrosse team has a special bond at Navy that most teams are unable to achieve. The players spend enormous amounts of time with each other on and off the field and face challenges that many athletes do not have to face.

‘We’re a very tight group because of all the stuff we deal with,’ Birsner said. ‘We all do it together so we help each other out.’

Dinner was only served until 7:15, so Birsner needed to hurry to shower and change to make it to the dining hall on time. He is constantly on the move from the minute he wakes up until 7:45, when he comes back to his room. The hardest part for Birsner at night is being able to stay awake long enough to complete his work.

‘It’s hard, because your energy level is so low,’ Birsner said. ‘It really challenges you, but you kind of get used to it.’

Meade said athletes aren’t the only students at the Naval Academy that face difficulties on a daily basis. The school is designed to challenge every student because once the four years are complete, each student will become an officer in the Navy or Marines.

Meade said the students tend to become accustomed to the lifestyle, because they have to.

‘That’s what they’re expected to do,’ Meade said. ‘The environment here is tough for everyone, so everyone has problems. That’s what normal becomes here.’

Athletes at the Naval Academy have little free time on their hands. Birsner said the players learn how to manage their time very quickly or they run into trouble with school.

Meade agreed with Birsner that time management is one of the most important skills the Navy lacrosse players learn. He said most people don’t realize the players never stop working for the entire day.

‘You never hang out here,’ Meade said. ‘From the minute you wake up to the minute you go to sleep, you’re moving.’

End-of-Season Awards

AttackChris UntersteinHofstra Who knew Hofstra would be No. 2 in the nation at this point in the season? Unterstein was one of the biggest reasons for the Pride’s success this year. The senior captain is No. 2 in the nation in scoring and is the only player in Division I to be in the top 10 in goals and assists per game.

MidfielderGeoff SniderDenverNot many people have heard of Snider because he doesn’t play in a major lacrosse conference. But Denver’s versatile midfielder has put up some amazing numbers this year. Snider leads the nation with 176 ground balls and a .697 faceoff win percentage. And he’s second on his team with 28 points this season.

DefenseJack ReidUMassOrange fans will have a chance to see the two-time All American when Massachusetts comes to the Dome on Saturday. Reid is one of only four Division I defensemen to be nominated for the Tewaarton Award for the nation’s best player. Reid is second on his team with 50 ground balls and leads the Minutemen with an impressive 19 caused turnovers.

GoalieMatt McMonagleCornellThis award could have gone to Princeton’s Alex Hewitt, but the Big Red’s McMonagle took the title by beating Hewitt 4-3 on the Tigers’ home field. McMonagle is second in the nation in goals against average and fifth in save percentage. The junior goalie allowed three or fewer goals in five games this season and only allowed double-digit goals once.

CoachJohn DanowskiHofstra The Pride was No. 18 in the preseason Media Poll and fell out of the rankings entirely on Feb. 27. Danowski inspired his team to win 12 straight games to climb to No. 2 in the Media Poll. Hofstra’s 12-game winning streak ties Virginia for the longest in Division I and makes the Pride a dangerous team to face in the NCAA tournament.

Power Five1. Virginia – Capped off the undefeated regular season with a win over Bellarmine on Saturday. There is no way the Cavaliers will be left out of the Final Four next month.

2. Hofstra – The Pride has almost looked as unstoppable as Virginia in the past two months. Hofstra is second in the nation with a 6.08 average margin of victory.

3. Maryland – The Terrapins looked sharp, winning their last two games by large margins. But Maryland hasn’t played since April 18, and the rust may show when it plays in the ACC semifinals on Friday.

4. Georgetown – The Hoyas proved they were the best team in the ECAC when they beat Massachusetts on Saturday. Georgetown only has two losses this season, and both were to ranked teams.

5. Cornell – The Big Red won a defensive battle against Princeton on Saturday. The 4-3 victory proved McMonagle is the best goalie in the country. Watch out for Cornell in the tournament, because it’s tough to beat a hot goalie.

Published on April 26, 2006 at 12:00 pm