May 06, 2009 - 01:40 PM

By Shawn Cayley

AJAX -- One word is going to be key to whatever success the Ajax-Pickering Rock has this summer.

Transition.

New Rock coach Jim Veltman and general manager Paul St. John have put emphasis on that term in the early going of the OLA Senior B Lacrosse season, and the message apparently got through in time for the club's season opener last Saturday at Ohsweken, where five of the last six Rock goals came on the run in a 13-11 victory over the Warriors.

"I thought we played well for the first night out," commented St. John. "We know we have lots of room for improvement, but I thought the team ran real well. Our transition game was pretty close to where we want it to be, especially starting the season. It was terrific. Five out of our last six goals were transition goals and we've made that statement that if we're going to be successful this summer, we have to score goals off transition, so that worked out real well."

Sustaining that effort in the transition game and sticking to the game plan will now be the focus for the Rock, as it gets set to host the Norwood Nitro Friday in its home opener at the Ajax Community Centre, 8:30 p.m.

Several players had multi-point efforts Saturday, including defensive players David Brown, Bryan Johnson and Drew Petkoff, who combined for four goals and eight points.

"A lot of times when you play, guys start to forget as the game goes on and they start to do their own thing. Our defence didn't," said St. John, who also lauded the effort of offensive players Mark Craig and Jamie Plunkett, who each had a hat trick. "They stuck to the game plan, played good defence and got out in transition well, which led to a lot of key goals."

It wasn't all good for the Rock though, said St. John. While the team enjoyed success running with the ball, the overall offensive execution wasn't at its best.

However, the GM noted that it's far too early to get concerned about it and that ample practice will be spent getting the players accustomed to each other, allowing for better offensive flow as the season progresses.

"We'll need more out of some of the guys up front, but it's not a concern," St. John said. "Right now it's just getting the guys practising together. Once they know each other the offence is going to get better."

Friday's home opener will provide a stiff test for the Rock, as Norwood's style of play is a stark contrast to that of the Rock.

"They tend to run with you for as long as they can and they slow the pace down to their satisfaction, slowing the game down to a snail's pace because they are real good with the ball," St. John said. "Friday night, we're going to have to keep ball possession ourselves. We can run-and-gun with the best of them, but we've got to make sure we're doing it smart. If the opportunities aren't there we've got to use shot clocks as well."

NOTES: The Rock has added 39-year-old former Mann Cup champion Glenn Clark. Clark, who played with Ajax-Pickering head coach Jim Veltman with the Toronto Rock of the NLL, suited up in Saturday's season opener... GM Paul St. John said he might not be the only addition, as the club plans to keep its options open to improve over the next couple weeks... Also scoring goals Saturday were Travis Bland and Ryan McMichael and Clem D'Orazio.