Coming off a career-high 98 points last season with the Vancouver Warriors, forward Adam Charalambides has re-signed with the club.
Charalambides was an integral piece for the Warriors’ offence last season. The Georgetown, Ontario native took a huge step in his third year in the NLL, amassing a career-best 37 goals and 61 assists for 98 points, exceeding last year’s point total by 39 points.
Warriors General Manager and Head Coach Curt Malawsky saw the potential in Charalambides to be an elite left-handed forward in the National Lacrosse League and he was happy to see his player achieve great success.
“Bides had a breakout season last year. He played very well with the ball and without it. He is a great teammate and is willing to do whatever it takes for the team. He plays with great passion, grit and heart. He exemplifies what it takes to be a Warrior,” Malawsky said.
The coaching staff gave him the confidence to reach another level on the floor and the culture the Warriors coaching staff have created was important in his decision to return.
“I’m very excited to be back in Vancouver and it was obviously the highest of my priority to stay here. Curt is best in class and fosters exactly that in terms of culture. I consider myself a LAX rat and I just really love playing the game, being around good people and value playing the game the right way and that’s what Curt preaches,” Charalambides said.
His vision for himself and the team is to continue to get better and push each other to have playoff success and make a run at an NLL championship.
“We’ve got high expectations. Definitely a goal to get a home playoff game so that will require a very solid regular season, and our fans really helped us push last season going on that run at the end of the season and we really want to reward our fans with a nice home game in the playoffs this year,” he said.
Continuing to build on the success they had at the end of last season is something the entire returning class has championed. They found their stride down the stretch, winning six of their last eight games of the season, including a 13-12 win at home against the back-to-back NLL champ Buffalo Bandits.
“We just want to build off those things and we’ve got great people in our locker room and we all just genuinely love being around each other. I’m just really excited to see the guys, hear how their summer went, and pick up right where we left off,” said Charalambides.
He flourished with his lefty running mate Ryan Martel, who also had a breakout season, and they’ve built their chemistry over the last three years, learning how to set each other up for success on the floor.
That connection will continue to get stronger next season.
“We’re always talking and texting. We were chatting last week about how fired up we are to get going and sharing pre-season training plans and good stuff like that. We’ll send each other a film clip every now and then if we see something while watching film or other games because we’re staying in the game all summer,” said Charalambides.
“I’m excited to work with Marty again; he’s a great player, and we complement each other well.”
The season is three months away, but the 28-year-old forward is ready to get back to the grind in practice and games and work the offence like a well-oiled machine.
He elevated his game last season with the help of the coaching staff and his teammates. It ignited a fire and gives him the confidence to take another step next season.
