Last chance for LaChance

by Eric Keppeler
Lewiston Porter Sentinel, January 13, 2007

Dave LaChance is a great example of rolling with the punches.

His senior year and fourth and final season as a member of the Lewiston-Porter varsity boys basketball team hasn’t gone exactly the way he envisioned, but he’s making the best of it. He broke his right elbow in the first game of the season and has had to watch his team’s action from the bench. He’s helped any way he could, but now he’s finally back and he couldn’t be happier.

“There’s really nothing that you can do about it,” LaChance said. “I just had to wait until it healed up. At least it healed a lot faster than they thought it would, so I was excited about that. But it’s still not 100 percent.”

As a four-year varsity veteran and a three-year starter, LaChance had figured to play a huge role at guard for first-year coach Pat Krawczyk. Instead, the injury left the Lancers scrambling to fill the void where LaChance’s experience and 12 points per game would be.

“Dave’s a great kid, and it was a big blow to us that we lost him in the first game,” Krawczyk said. “It shouldn’t happen to a kid like that. He works hard and he’s very respectful. You love to have a player like him on your team, and it’s just unfortunate that he got hurt.”

While the team is thrilled to have him back, LaChance is the first to admit that he’s not quite in game shape yet. His conditioning isn’t where it needs to be, and he’s still trying to get his shooting motion back to the way it was.

“It’s disappointing to miss so much of your senior year, especially after playing the other three years,” LaChance said. “And even now when I’m back, it’s not the same. I still can’t shoot the way I used to. I just hope it comes around. We’ve still got half the season left ... I’ve never made it to a playoff game at Buff State, and this is my last chance.”

The team has struggled in his absence, opening the season with five straight losses before winning a pair of games. After the two-week holiday layoff, the Lancers are still trying to get back on track.

LaChance, who’s played two games now, can only help.

“He’s coming back now, but he’s not in the groove yet,” Krawczyk said. “But hopefully our team learned to play without him – more people had to step up. Now he’s back, and that should make us that much better.”

LaChance said it was tough to watch – especially as one of the team’s captains – but he still found ways to help his teammates.

“You can still help a lot,” LaChance said. “When you’re on the bench, you see a lot of things that you might not notice when you’re in the game. You can help guys – almost like another coach. It wasn’t like when I was out there on the court with them, but I felt like I could still help the guys – almost like teaching them.”