The day before Syracuse’s season opener against Binghamton, David Lipka walked up to Bradley Voigt in the locker room. It was right after practice, and Voigt was slated to be the team’s handshake guy in 2018, a position passed down by the previous position holder after graduation.

“Dude, I think I should do it,” Voigt remembers Lipka saying to him. Voigt was initially “in shock” by Lipka’s suggestion, he said.

Lipka was slated to start the year on the second midfield line and Voigt the fourth attack. Because both were not starters, the opportunity to be the handshake guy presented itself. The job was originally passed down from SU midfielder Joe Gillis to Voigt, who considers himself the best dancer on the team.

But on game days for No. 7 Syracuse (6-3, 3-0 Atlantic Coast), Voigt becomes more serious and focuses on the upcoming game by listening to music, while Lipka says he remains more loose. Because of that, and of the fun the job entails, Lipka asked Voigt to be the team’s handshake guy.

“If he wants it, he can have it,” Voigt said, looking back. “If he was bad or if I thought he couldn’t do it or handle it, I wouldn’t have said yes. But he’s doing a good job and it’s pretty creative to see what they come up with.”

Each starter has a different handshake than the rest. Players normally initiate the conversation with Lipka and propose a handshake before the two ultimately decide on the outcome together. Some of the players did the handshakes with Lipka before he even took over the job.

Sophomore midfielder Jamie Trimboli and Lipka completed their handshake, a fake jump into a subtle hand grab, on the sidelines before each game last year.

But now, the two do it in front of the Carrier Dome crowd. Trimboli’s shake comes fifth in a streak of 10. Right before game time, the bench creates a tunnel on the field with the starters off to the side. The PA announcer begins to list off names, starting with the attack.

First it’s Nate Solomon, the player who has started in head coach John Desko’s lineup the longest of any player. It’s a quick high five with Lipka into a Macarena-like dance between the two before Stephen Rehfuss follows suit. It’s one of Lipka’s favorite handshakes, where he pats down Rehfuss like he’s in an airport security line.

Brendan Bomberry rounds out the usual starting attack with a Euro-step layup, where the two fake dribble a basketball, picking up their “dribble” before taking a step in one direction, and quickly hopping again, faking a shot after the second step.

Bomberry’s is the hardest and always out of sync, Lipka joked. The timing is difficult to measure out and the two often mess it up, Lipka said. But he also said regardless of any mistakes, doing the handshakes allows players to be a little more relaxed entering the opening faceoff.

“A lot of people get hyper focused before games,” Lipka said, “and I’m actually on the more relaxed side before games. I’m not really pounding my head against the locker. I’m pretty relaxed.”

Josh Shub-Seltzer | Staff Photographer

There are times where Desko makes a lineup change entering the game and Lipka has to adjust. Against Johns Hopkins, Solomon was suspended and Voigt stepped in to start. A game later, against Rutgers, Brendan Curry was moved up to the first midfield line in lieu of Peter Dearth, and he’s been there since. It’s on Lipka not to forget or mess up the handshakes, even with the changes that occur. And so far, players agree he’s done just as good of a job as the previous players.

“He’s a great handshake guy,” redshirt sophomore Nick Mellen said. “He hasn’t screwed up one yet.”

Once the announcer runs through the first nine names of the starting lineup, just one remains. The oldest starter and one of the six captains on the team: goalie Dom Madonna.

It’s the one that gets the team the most hyped, calming nerves and cueing that game time is just moments away. As Madonna runs down the lane, the tunnel breaks apart and begin to circle around Madonna and Lipka. The two jump up and bang the inside of their elbows before a huddle ensues around them.

Inside the huddle, the captains take turns giving their pregame speeches before it breaks apart and the team returns to the sideline.

“There’s a lot of hate and aggression and emotion flowing right before the game,” Lipka said. “… It just riles everyone up and gets everyone going on the sideline feeling like they have an edge.”

And that edge starts with Lipka, Syracuse’s handshake guy.

Published on April 9, 2018 at 9:22 pm

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