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Longstick midfielder Mike Timms has been a dominating player this season and has been a leading force as the Cavaliers have posted a 13-1 record and a No. 1 ranking. He leads the ACC with 30 caused turnovers and is tops among players at his position with 53 ground balls. A stopper who uses his size and athleticism to neutralize his opponent, Timms talks about he performance this season as well as Virginia’s match-up against Duke in the first round of the ACC Championship Friday night in Chapel Hill, N.C.
Question: You are clearly playing at a very high level this year. Do you think it’s the best you’ve ever played in your career?
Timms: Yeah, I definitely think so. I’ve been at it for five years now and I’ve learned a few things and am kind of starting to put it together a little bit out there.
Question: Coach Starsia says you have been the team MVP so far this season. That’s unusual for a defensive player to get such high praise. What are you thoughts on what he had to say about your play?
Timms: I think he’s referring to the way I am out there talking and trying to be the leader of the defense. I don’t think it’s so much the individual things I’ve been doing. I’m just trying to keep the unit together as a group and trying to make sure our guys are in the right places at the right time.
Question: You talk about talking out on the field and coach Starsia has referred to you as a coach on the field. Do you sort of see that as your role this season?
Timms: Yes, I think it kind of has to be at this point; I’ve been here for long enough. If I don’t get it by now how can we expect anyone else to get it? So I’ve got to help guys who haven’t been at it as long as I have.
Question: Do you think that your-coach-on-the-field mentality is a function of having played so long?
Timms: Yes, definitely. I mean it’s just kind of a natural progression after you feel comfortable enough in the defensive set that it comes almost as second nature, and you’re able to take a step back and recognize what other people need to work on.
Question: Your role as a longstick midfielder is probably the least heralded position on the field. What are some of your primary responsibilities?
Timms: I think it starts with the faceoff play and then trying to cause trouble for the other team in the middle of the field as well as get the ball up and out for us. Defensively it can mean anything from guarding the other teams’ best player it if happens to be a midfielder or helping off and focusing more on the team defense if the other team really doesn’t have a midfielder that challenges the pole.
Question: At 6-feet-5, you’re taller than the average player. Is your height something that you try to use to your advantage?
Timms: I try to use my length to my advantage. I kind of try to make my guy make his moves as far away from me as possible, because I am taller. A lot of times it means some of the smaller guys are quicker than me, so I kind of have to use it to my advantage or else I wouldn’t be able to keep up.
Question: You seem to play your best when you’re going up against some of the better midfielders in the country. Is there something about these matchups that gives you extra motivation?
Timms: I think so. I think for me being a longstick midfielder, a lot of the teams we play their best players are attackmen, so every week I’m listening to the matchup of our close defensemen against their best attackmen and it’s always kind of something I kind of get jealous about a little bit. I kind of wish I had that responsibility a little bit more, but every once in a while we play a team whose best player is a midfielder and it’s kind of my opportunity to take on that role. So I like it.
Question: Would there be a game during your career, either this year or past years, that you would cite as one where you played really well and shut your opponent down?
Timms: I mean it’s hard to say you shut anyone down, but for instance, earlier this year we played against Cornell and their best player is a midfielder (Max Seibald) and he’s a really good player and it’s a tough match-up for me. I thought I did pretty well; I wasn’t the only guy guarding him but it was fun for me and I played pretty well against him.
Question: You referenced Max Seibald, who is a big player. Do you prefer going up against a physical guy like him?
Timms: I’m a bigger guy so I kind of think that I might do a little bit better against a bigger guy like Max as opposed to maybe a real fast, shifty guy like (teammate) Shamel (Bratton). It might play my into my strength a little bit but at the same time, a player like (Seibald) is fast and big so it’s kind of hard, but I think so.
Question: Your teammates Shamel Bratton and Brian Carroll are two of the better midfielders in the game offensively. How has going up against them everyday in practice helped to make you better?
Timms: Definitely it has helped. Even going back before then, it was (Kyle) Dixon and (Matt Posky) and guys like that. Playing at Virginia for five years, I’ve had my chance to go up against some good midfielders, so it’s definitely nothing I haven’t seen before when I go against someone good on another team.
Question: This Friday the team faces Duke in the first round of the ACC tournament. The team hasn’t had much success against Duke recently. Has that put a little sharper edge on practice this week?
Timms: I think so. I kind of like to think that the edge has been there for the most part. We didn’t bring it on game day obviously the last time we played them, but we’ve been practicing hard all season and it’s a matter of being sharp. Hopefully the attentiveness (we have in practice) can carry through to Friday and we’ll be ready to go when the whistle blows.
Question: Duke scored 15 goals in the game earlier in the season. Are there some things that you saw that you all kind have been working to mitigate that?
Timms: The game kind of got away from us pretty early on. It’s not that they were doing things we hadn’t anticipated them doing. It’s just we were not executing and they were. We’re not going to change too much because they haven’t changed too much. It’s just going to be a matter of us executing our game plan a little bit better.
Question: Does it make for a more interesting matchup since both teams know each other so well?
Timms: It always does. I mean whenever we get back to the ACC tournament, we’ve always happened to play these teams two or three times a year for the past few years and by the second or third time you play them you kind of know all their guys and what they’re trying to do. It’s just a matter of who can do it better. Actually it kind of makes it more fun because it’s not a matter of scheming and you not being ready for something; it about executing and who’s on top of their game.
Question: What do you think is going to take to beat Duke on Friday night?
Timms: Staying on top of our game is basically it. I think we definitely have the tools we need to. I think we’ve proven throughout the year that we’re a good team and we just need to put together.
Question: You’ve been enrolled in the new master’s degree program in the McIntire School of Commerce. What has that program been like?
Timms: It’s been a change from my four years here as undergrad. It’s a lot more work; it’s a lot different. You’re in class all day, you’re doing a lot of group projects and it’s a lot more interactive. It’s more time consuming and more of a commitment so it’s been harder trying to find a balance between that and playing lacrosse. Sometimes you haven’t slept as much as you would like throughout the year, but you’ve got to get it done and it’s not that big of a deal at the end of the day.
Question: You have already accepted a position following the season. Where will you be and what will you be doing?
Timms: I will be working for Bank of America now. I was an intern at Merrill Lynch last summer and after they got bought, I was lucky enough to keep my offer. I will be starting there in mid-July. I’ll be doing equity sales and trading and I’ll be working with Pike Howard, a graduate from last year. I’ll be at the same desk as him as well as a couple other Virginia guys, not lacrosse players, but it’s a good group of people and I’m excited to start working.
Question: Do you think the commerce school program you have been in this year has helped you prepare in anyway for that?
Timms: Definitely. This year’s been great. I think a lot of things that I have learned will carry over pretty well and help me get a head start once I get in there.