Rookie Larson Collects First Win of The Season

10/17/2024 20:51 - It was the cool October weather that set the perfect stage for this young players breakout. As the youngest player in the LSL Erik Larson has been under a lot of pressure. Coming in with limited experience and on short notice, he has been asked of lot. However, today the kid showed that he has what it takes to swim in the deep end.

Larson's Entrance to the League

Larson's entrance to the league came as a shock to many. The usual cast of Rosner, Mitchell, Salomone, and Kvalsvik had become the everyday staple that fans of the LSL came to expect. However tragedy struck for Kvalsvik when, in the offseason, he suffered a MCL and ACL tear while playing soccer. While fans were chastising Kvalsvik for his reckless behavior, the league was in rapid search of a new player to fill this void. Their salvation came in an unlikely place. Larson was brought in by Rosner for tryouts during the preseason. His performance, while underwhelming, showed a great deal of promise so the league decided to take a risk on him.

Early Struggles

Larson struggled early on in his time in the LSL. Coming in as a true rookie into one of the most competitive Spikeball leagues in all of Madison was certainly a shock to the former rower. The void left by Kvalsvik's absence meant that Larson had some seriously big shoes to fill. Initially, the rookies performances were underwhelming. Through the first 6 weeks, Erik was unable to find a single victory on the net (much like his fantasy football team.) However, his losses were not in vain and the rookie was quickly picking up on the skills that we would need to be great in the LSL

Breakout Game

The scene was set for an exciting performance as the league welcomed back play after a 4 week absence due to Mitchell's ankle injury. However, things still got off to a slow start. Larson started the day with two straight losses with Rosner and Mitchell as his teammates. It was starting to look as Larson would continue his winless streak. Salvation came for Larson though when he was paired up with his teammate and longtime friend Marco Salomone

The two have been an electric duo in the first few weeks, bringing us some of our most exciting matches when taking on the athletic menaces of Mitchell and Rosner. However, today something special clicked for Salomone and Larson. It seemed as though everything was firing on all cylinders and the two ground their way to hard-fought 21-17 victory.

After the game, Larson had this to say - "It feels great to finally win. I've been out here working week in and week out and its great to finally have something to show for it. Something really clicked for me today, I feel like I was all over Rosner with the dropshot."

Mitchell also commented on the disappointing loss - "I definitely think the time away from the game played a big factor. Things just weren't quite clicking with Rosner like they were before the injury. I'm sure we'll bounce back though."

Looking Forward

Larson hopes to continue this momentum into a potential weekend rematch or next week. The league is planning a tentative Saturday bought with time TBD. Rosner is planning on upping his training regime as he feels his offense has been underperforming. League metrics agree. Rosner has had the lowest average spike speed for the past 3 weeks. While his defense is next level, the return of Kvalsvik could spell the end of Rosner's time in the LSL if he cannot up his game.

UPDATE: A leaked video from Larson's personal trainer reveals he may be suffering from a potential injury. In the audio, Larson can be heard saying "Ow, ow, ow. That's really tight. This is not good." The League has not commented on this.