44
Trask has had a big hand in that turnaround, according to Janus. "He does an incredible amount of
work behind the scenes," he said. "He focuses on a
ton of details besides the coaching."
When the seniors were much younger, Trask admitted to coaching them hard. "I think they grew in
strength knowing I was really tough on them," he
said. "They created a bond amongst themselves."
No one has shown more toughness, Trask suggested, than Janus, the team's point leader. Janus
has four game-winning goals, which is tied for the
most in the Big Ten.
"He's one of the toughest kids I know," Trask
said. "Like a good running back in football, he gets
stronger as the game goes on.
"When it looks like he's got nothing left in his
tank in the 65th minute, his last 25 minutes of the
game are usually his most dominant.
"He seems to be able to reach deep as a person
when the going gets tough. I think that's what resonates with his teammates; it definitely resonates
with us as coaches."
Trask said that Janus has been playing with an
injury, "But he just grits his teeth and doesn't want
to take a minute off from practice. He's just toughing it out, day-in and day-out."
With a 13-deep senior class, Trask is confronted
with a logistical challenge to get them all some
playing time Friday night as a means to showcase
what each of them has meant to the program.
But he does not plan on fixing something that is
not broken. Nor would they want him to.
Trask outlined a typical response, "Coach, if we
don't play a minute because we need to win 1-0 in
the 90th minute and you think you need X, Y and Z
instead of me, we're all bought in."'
That has been true since Trask first showed up
on their doorstep and introduced himself.
//
VARSITY November 7, 2013
DAVID STLUKA
On being a special team, a postseason team, Trask said, "They've got a
chance to do something that for 18
years hasn't been done, which is to
make it to the NCAA tournament."
