The Pace Athletics Department has created the documentary The Season, which follows the lacrosse team through its 2014 spring season.

Directed by the Athletics Communications Assistant, Chad Cooper, The Season gives a candid look into the nuts and bolts of the team, such as how they prepare themselves for games and the impact of the hard work of the athletes.

“We had seen a couple videos of bigger Division I schools doing the same thing and we kind of said to ourselves, ‘we can do this too’,” Cooper said.

The documentary began its filming over winter break. Cooper and his crew have been interviewing players and coaching staff to give viewers a third person perspective.

Cooper described that the decision for picking the lacrosse team mainly layed with logistical factors.

“We would have liked to work with another spring sport but [the baseball and basketball] teams take extended trips out of state,” said Cooper. “It’s hard to tell the story of the season when you can’t see the whole season.”

Media communications students Ryan Shields and Arianna Denully have assisted in the video project.

“I am the editor for The Season. I receive all the footage from the past week or two, which includes practice, interviews, and game footage,” Shields said. “I then piece it all together to what you see on YouTube.”

Cooper admits the project would be difficult to complete without the help of Denully.

“I have to give a huge shout out to Arianna, she watches every single clip of video from practice, games, and interviews, then writes down how long that clip is, what’s in that clip and if there’s anything in that clip that we can use and where it starts,” Cooper said. “It isn’t an easy job and we’re all very grateful for her help.”

Each part of the documentary is released every two weeks.

“We can try to plan ahead but it’s live sports and the season is still unfolding,” Cooper said. “I don’t want to sound too artsy, but the season is a living thing in itself and you don’t know what’s going to happen next, so we’re just telling the story of what’s happening.”

Cooper is additionally using his knowledge of social media and connections to gain more attention.

“We use social media and tweet to major lacrosse organizations; we even got a couple of organizations to favorite it,” Cooper said. “Luckily, when working with lacrosse, they’re already proactive within their community; so if you tell three of their alumni they’ll tell another 10 people, who will tell another 20 people.”

If The Season turns out to be as successful as Cooper hopes, he is considering doing a similar documentary for fall sports as well.

“I’d definitely like to do something in the fall if this is successful,” Cooper said. “As of right now, the idea is there, but we haven’t formalized anything yet. There are a lot of logistics that go into planning something like this.”

The Pace Athletics program releases a new part of The Season every two weeks and will release the sixth and final episode May 8. Head over to Youtube.com/user/PaceAthletics to catch up on the latest episode of The Season.