• Injuries are a continuing issue for the Terps early on. The midfield has been the unit hit the hardest, but none are very serious. Owen Blye and Warren Hansen returned to practice on Monday, while Dan Burns and Bob Kercher had limited availability. (As always, we will not disclose injuries here. If they become public, then we will address them.) It was good to get Blye and Hansen on the field, because they figure into the Terps' plans prominently. Both looked good, but a bit rusty on Monday. Hansen made a great running bounce shot in six-on-five drills.

• Fundamentals are always important, especially to Coach Cottle -- having your stick in the correct hand when making a pass, turning your body the right direction, sharp overhand passes, etc. These are things, among many others, that are stressed every day. But, if you are going to make a mistake fundamentally then you had better score. ("Finish" is a word heard loud and often at Terp practices.) Grant Catalino doesn't always have great fundamentals and he had a tendency to shoot sidearm a bit too much, but it doesn't matter because he scores goals -- lots of them. Right after one player was chastised for a sloppy sidearm shot that made for an easy save, Catalino ripped a similar sidearm shot from straight in front of the goal and beat the goalie stick-side high. No criticism followed, just a "Good shot Grant." Come to think of it, I don't remember Joe Walters being told not to shoot sidearm.

• One person that really stood out to me as I watched practice on Monday was Jake Bernhardt. No one works harder and wants to do better than he does. He has all of the physical tools to be a great player and is learning more and more about being a lacrosse player. Growing up in Florida, he doesn't have the "Lacrosse IQ" that players from more "lacrosse rich" areas have. In an offense-only drill Bernhardt got turned around a couple of times, but when the offense was run six-on-six her was terrific. Bernhardt is one of those guys that raises his level of play when he's competing. That's another thing that can't be taught, but you love having guys with that quality on your team.

• Switching to the defense, the duo of Max and Brett Schmidt have been solid down low. These guys routinely go one-on-one with Ryan Young, Travis Reed, Grant Catalino or Will Yeatman and show why they are among the best close defenders in the country. Who will lineup alongside Schmidt & Schmidt (which really sounds like a law firm) is still to be determined. Ryder Bohlander and Grant Oliver seem to have a leg up on the competitors, but which of them has a leg up on the other is unknown. Both have had some good and not-so-good moments in the first week.

• The short-stick units are another area that is a bit of a question mark. Bryn Holmes is a given and could be an All-American as a shortie and face-off man. Dean Hart will probably be Holmes' running mate and proved last year to be a dependable defensive midfielder. Burns will be a go-to defensive guy that could also be used as an offensive middie (ala Jeff Reynolds in 2008). If Burns can make that transition with even a fraction of the success that Reynolds did (he was a third team All-American in 2008) then the Terps still need two more shorties. The field of candidates includes junior Jared Gangler, sophomore Justin Blye, redshirt freshman Pat Morrison and freshman Curtis Holmes, who will also figure into the face-off mix with his brother, Burns and Bernhardt. The wild card in the mix could be freshman Landon Carr. The big, athletic middie could be a tremendous asset in the Terps' transition game if he can pick up the defensive schemes.

• Senior Brian Phipps has been tremendous between the pipes. So far, he's shown no signs of any ill effects from the knee injury suffered last May. The one thing that gets overlooked with Phipps is how good of a passer he is. Brian Farrell gets a lot of attention for being a transition threat as a long pole, but what makes him more of a threat is the ability of Phipps to hit him in stride with a long outlet pass.

• Finally ... There appears to be a lack of razors in the Varsity Team House. A number of Terps are sporting some impressive beards (we won't go into the moustaches). Below are seven of the more impressive ones: (left to right) Eric Boyle, Joe Cummings, David Miller, Pat Morrison (sporting a great Abe Lincoln-esque chinstrap), Grant Oliver, Max Schmidt and Adam Sear. If you're inclined, leave a comment on which you think is the best (or worst).