This month's featured hardshell is Jake Bernhardt, who played at Maryland from 2009-13 and currently plays for the Whipsnakes of the Premier Lacrosse League. Bernhardt and the rest of the Terps-heavy Whipsnakes will face Chaos on Saturday, September 7 in the opening round of the PLL Playoffs.  

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What has your journey with the Whipsnakes in the first season of the Premier Lacrosse League been like? What's the feeling going into the playoffs as the No. 2 seed?

"I think prior to the season there was a lot of excitement going on and the excitement just stayed for the entire season. Being able to play with guys that I either played with in college at Maryland or guys that I briefly overlapped with or even guys I didn't play with and maybe played with Jared while he was there is something I was always really looking forward to. We've been very lucky with the group of guys we have on our team and I think we look forward to seeing each other every weekend. It's been a great experience, feeling like a true professional out there and everything the PLL has done for us. There's been some ups and downs during the year but overall, pretty good season. Obviously, there are some things we would like to take back and fix, but at this point we're just focused going into the postseason and trying to see if we can come out firing all cylinders after the bye week."

 

What are the Whipsnakes looking for in your first playoff matchup?   

"At this point it's going to be our third time playing the Chaos. We beat them early, I think it was our first game of the year and then they got the better of us in the second meeting in Denver. If anything, that was one of our games where we walked away pretty disappointed with the way we approached [the game] and played. But I think we've made some good strides. They're a good team. It's not going to be an easy game. They have a lot of good players so I think we need to do what we do best and focus on ourselves; making sure we're utilizing this off week to recover but also mentally prepare by watching film and being ready for the opponent. You know, it's the top two teams in the league and we're going to hopefully walk away with the win and go to championship weekend but that's where our mindset is right now."

 

What is something you maybe were not expecting in this first season of the PLL?

"The game itself, with some minor rule changes and modifications, and current rules have been what everyone has had to adjust to. I think maybe some guys haven't had as much success compared to years past, and I don't have any data to back my opinion, but taking 10 yards off the field has definitely created some difficulties for some guys and lack of space to operate with. But overall, it has been really exciting. I really enjoy the game and the fast pace. You know, the new state of the game, it's really exciting to watch after the game, but very exciting to play in. If anything, I wouldn't be surprised if they tried to make it faster somehow."

 

This will be the last season a Bernhardt brother will put on a Maryland jersey. How excited are you to watch Jared in his senior season?  

"Of anybody out there, I'm his biggest fan. I can't wait to watch him after I'm done with what I have to do at the University of Vermont every week or playing the replay. He is a tremendous player and a tremendous person and he is really exciting to watch. Maybe that's me being biased as a brother but I think he's poised for a great season with the team and overall team success. But I definitely think it will be different after this year moving forward, not having something to look forward to after I'm done with my team but maybe that will push earlier with him announcing that he will be seeking his post-grad year to play football so maybe my interest will be diverted to the fall instead of the spring."

 

Speaking of football. Was there a moment watching Jared play football back in high school where you thought, "ok Jared is the real deal".

"I don't have a specific play, but at our high school, we're known to run the triple option, that's our style of play and it has been that for years and years now. So, if anything, Jared has been brought up in that system through pop warner and basically knew the offense through the youth level. By the time he got to high school it was second nature to the guy. In my opinion, he might be one of the best players to come out of our high school, if not the best quarterback to ever play at our high school. Again, it has nothing to do with a specific play, I said this a long time ago when I was teaching at the school and coaching him, but when he was on the field, you couldn't look away. If you did look away there was a good chance you were going to miss something big. That was just the type of player he was but also knowing the system and having great comfortability that he could change a game in the matter of a second, which is incredible. It was really fun to watch. Again, me being biased and his brother, but I think if you asked anybody who watched him play or played against him, he was unbelievable."

-Terps-