Latest / In the Crease / The Changing Coaching Landscape of D2 Men's Lacrosse (Part 4)

Transcript

The Changing Coaching Landscape of D2 Men's Lacrosse (Part 4) · In the Crease

• 0:05
  SPEAKER_01: Welcome, welcome, welcome to another episode of In the Crease with Danny and Kevin, a coast-to-coast discussion of D2 Men's Across.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_01: I'm your co-host, Kevin Stenstrom.
• 0:16
  SPEAKER_01: And with me is the man that after these last four episodes, I am starting to call the Coach Whisperer.
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_01: Hey Danny, how you doing tonight?
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_03: The Coach Whisperer, huh?
• 0:31
  SPEAKER_03: Kevin, I don't know where you're going.
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_03: You're writing these.
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_03: You've got you have a cracked team of writers, I think.
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_03: I have a cracked team.
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_03: Kevin Sandstrom, I'm doing great tonight.
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_03: How are you doing tonight?
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_01: I am doing really well.
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_01: Thanks, Danny.
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_01: So let's just get right into it.
• 0:49
  SPEAKER_01: So now we're down to what I'm calling the new teams.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_01: It's actually two new teams and one I'm calling kind of a reboot, and we'll get to that.
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_01: So let's talk about these are programs that really started, you know, got their coaches in 2020, but this is the first year of the 2021-2022 season is when they're going to actually play in D2.
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_01: So the first one is the Deuville Saints in the ECC, and they hired in a new coach, someone who was an assistant before, but has never been a head coach before, and by the name of Cameron Prince.
• 1:25
  SPEAKER_01: He was hired back in July of 2020.
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_01: So he's had a little time to build.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_01: He was the assistant coach at Earlham College, which is a uh D3 school.
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_01: He had been there since uh it was a new D3 school in 2018.
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_03: So he's been there starting new programs.
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_01: How to build a program, has seen, probably has a lot of good lessons learned from doing that.
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_01: Um can jump from there.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_01: The other interesting thing I'd point out is he's recruited about 23 players from what I can see on their roster right now, all freshmen.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_01: Which goes with, I think, as I recall, what Coach Mitchell did at Anderson.
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_03: That's exactly what Coach Mitchell did at Anderson.
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_03: Majority of his players were freshmen, and he said, We're going with this.
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_03: We're not gonna take transfers.
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_03: You know, we're gonna go with this and build the program.
• 2:23
  SPEAKER_03: So now Deouville, Deouville stains, they're up in Buffalo.
• 2:29
  SPEAKER_03: And you know, he's he's in New York, and he it's really close to Canada, you know.
• 2:36
  SPEAKER_03: So if you get those Canadian box players to come down um a little bit south anyway, for me, Buffalo is way up north.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_03: Um, and I'm in New York.
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_03: But I'm on the southernmost part of New York, the actually the southeasternmost part tip of New York, that's where I am.
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_03: So, you know, um the Dewville Saints, which I love about this, it's a new program in Division II.
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_03: It's a new program.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_03: So, what does that tell you?
• 3:06
  SPEAKER_03: Something that we've been alluding to in almost every single podcast is that Division II is growing, folks, and it's not going anywhere.
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_03: It's getting bigger and bigger and better and better.
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_03: And now you're getting another new program up in Buffalo, New York.
• 3:25
  SPEAKER_03: He's got Rochester to recruit.
• 3:29
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_03: You know, the Adirondack area.
• 3:32
  SPEAKER_03: Yes.
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_03: You know, he's got a nice big pool to recruit from, not too far away from where he is.
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_03: So that's a big plus for him.
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_03: And he's right near Canada.
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_03: So I'm sure that he'll be looking at Canadian box players and you know, and shifty attackmen from Canada and stuff like that.
• 3:53
  SPEAKER_03: And let's let's get him on.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, let's bring on Coach Prince and see what he has to say.
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_01: Hey Coach.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_00: Coach Prince, how are you doing?
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_00: Good, how are you going?
• 4:05
  SPEAKER_00: It's going pretty well.
• 4:07
  SPEAKER_00: How's life in Buffalo?
• 4:09
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, it's a it's phenomenal.
• 4:10
  SPEAKER_00: I'm I'm actually absolutely loving it up here.
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_00: This has uh been a great move for me for sure.
• 4:14
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 4:15
  SPEAKER_00: Are you a Bills fan now?
• 4:17
  SPEAKER_00: I I I I don't feel comfortable saying no to that one.
• 4:20
  SPEAKER_00: Um not in the confines of that city, I'll tell you.
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_01: No, no, no, not at all.
• 4:31
  SPEAKER_03: So, coach, congratulations.
• 4:34
  SPEAKER_03: Um, Diouville is entering Division II NCAA.
• 4:40
  SPEAKER_03: What do you what do you say?
• 4:41
  SPEAKER_03: What do you think?
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_00: Hey, it's uh it's a heck of an opportunity.
• 4:44
  SPEAKER_00: I couldn't be more excited to get this program going.
• 4:47
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and the chance for for the whole university making the jump from Division III to Division II is huge.
• 4:53
  SPEAKER_00: Um, to have the uh the support that we have as an athletics department, um, as well as myself specifically starting up a program, I mean it's it's phenomenal.
• 5:01
  SPEAKER_00: Um, this is uh an opportunity that uh I was looking forward to a lot.
• 5:05
  SPEAKER_00: Um, one of my big bucket lists kind of on my career was to be able to start uh a Division II program.
• 5:10
  SPEAKER_00: Um have that opportunity so early in my career.
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, that blows my mind.
• 5:15
  SPEAKER_00: It was not my expectation, the least bit.
• 5:18
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and and getting this chance early means that I really get to put my stamp on the program and and really build this into something great.
• 5:25
  SPEAKER_00: That's phenomenal.
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_00: That's phenomenal.
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_03: Coach, where'd you play?
• 5:30
  SPEAKER_03: Where did you play?
• 5:31
  SPEAKER_00: So I played at uh Pfeiffer University for a couple of years back when it was division two.
• 5:35
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 5:35
  SPEAKER_00: Um and then I transferred in and finished up at UNC Charlotte.
• 5:38
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, okay, great, great, great.
• 5:41
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so and then and then you were your assistant at Earlam, right?
• 5:44
  SPEAKER_01: Or is it Earlham, Earl College?
• 5:47
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, where you were you there when they started the program there and helped build it as well?
• 5:52
  SPEAKER_00: No, I was not.
• 5:52
  SPEAKER_00: I was actually at Missouri Baptist when Earlem had started up.
• 5:55
  SPEAKER_00: So I came in, um, I guess this COVID year, we we came in, we were building things up with uh Coach Keenan over there, um, and then we were kind of getting getting going and getting uh to plan in the spring, and then of course everything kind of shut down again.
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_00: Um it was definitely uh uh a crazy time to have made that move and then a crazier time to have moved away from that area too.
• 6:16
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, but Dan Danny and I were talking about that, that it's you know, it seems like you have some experience of at least a little bit at Erlum of trying to start a program, right?
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_01: And so do you think that helps you out and what you'd what you've been trying to do at the D at Deuvo?
• 6:31
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, absolutely.
• 6:32
  SPEAKER_00: That was a big part, you know, at Erlem was it was just trying to bring in bring in guys to really build that up.
• 6:37
  SPEAKER_00: When we came in, you know, we had a roster of 14 guys.
• 6:40
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so it was all a lot of recruiting and and a lot of hitting the ground and and really just trying to make as many contacts as you possibly could.
• 6:47
  SPEAKER_00: Um that can also, you know, I think a lot of my experience at Missouri Baptist kind of prepared me for that too, where you know, at the NAIA level, you're you're selling the league just as much as you are the school.
• 6:56
  SPEAKER_00: There's uh a lot of guys that have never heard of NAIA.
• 6:59
  SPEAKER_00: So making that pitch, um, it almost turned into two different sales pitches that you had to make.
• 7:04
  SPEAKER_00: Um so so getting that experience was huge for me.
• 7:06
  SPEAKER_00: And then uh, you know, I started off my career actually coaching at the high school level.
• 7:10
  SPEAKER_00: Um so so taking a program there in North Carolina, it was my uh my junior year of college, um, got the head coaching position at a varsity high school, and and that was one of those rebuilds too.
• 7:19
  SPEAKER_00: Um so so getting that experience, I mean, my my resume is stacked at this point with just that experience of trying to turn things around or build things up.
• 7:27
  SPEAKER_00: And and honestly, that's what I love to do.
• 7:29
  SPEAKER_00: Um, as a coach, you know, I I want to make sure whenever I enter into a position that I can really put my stamp on it and and turn around and look and see what I've built.
• 7:38
  SPEAKER_00: Uh that's a big thing for me, is being able to actually see what you've done and being able to put that, you know, all that responsibility on your shoulders is huge for me.
• 7:46
  SPEAKER_00: That's remarkable.
• 7:47
  SPEAKER_00: That's remarkable.
• 7:49
  SPEAKER_03: And you sound so enthusiastic.
• 7:52
  SPEAKER_01: I saw it online.
• 7:53
  SPEAKER_01: That was just great.
• 7:53
  SPEAKER_01: At least I or I missed it because that you can that's like you just have all the building blocks to get to D2, starting a D2 program.
• 8:01
  SPEAKER_01: No wonder they picked you to start this program.
• 8:04
  SPEAKER_03: Coach, coach, your enthusiasm is magnetic.
• 8:07
  SPEAKER_03: It really is.
• 8:07
  SPEAKER_03: It's uh I'm just sitting here listening to you and like I'm lit like a kid, like a recruit.
• 8:13
  SPEAKER_03: Like, wow, and I'm and I'm I'm an old man, but that's pretty cool.
• 8:17
  SPEAKER_03: I I wish you the best of luck there, Dew of Bill.
• 8:20
  SPEAKER_03: Now, let me ask you a question.
• 8:21
  SPEAKER_03: How many how many got in your roster right now?
• 8:24
  SPEAKER_03: Uh so we have 22 guys.
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_03: Okay.
• 8:27
  SPEAKER_01: And I think, did I say they're all freshmen?
• 8:30
  SPEAKER_00: So those are their athletic uh eligibility.
• 8:33
  SPEAKER_00: Um they are mostly freshmen.
• 8:34
  SPEAKER_00: 18 of those 22 are freshmen.
• 8:37
  SPEAKER_00: Um very large freshmen class.
• 8:39
  SPEAKER_00: Um, we have two transfers uh that both have all four years of eligibility left.
• 8:43
  SPEAKER_00: Um, one was a JUCO transfer, and then we had one that was coming uh from D3 over to us and did not play last year.
• 8:50
  SPEAKER_00: So he has all four years of eligibility as well.
• 8:53
  SPEAKER_01: And and do you see that?
• 8:55
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, we've talked to other coaches on the podcast that have kind of built new programs kind of that way, where you're building with freshmen or at least freshmen uh, you know, availability for four years of of eligibility.
• 9:11
  SPEAKER_01: Do you see that?
• 9:12
  SPEAKER_01: Is that kind of what you were wanting to do?
• 9:14
  SPEAKER_01: Do you see that as kind of a benefit to trying to build what you want to do there at with the Saints?
• 9:20
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so originally it was not my plan.
• 9:22
  SPEAKER_00: Uh it kind of fell into my lap just looking at kind of the way our school structures our academic scholarships, um, our transfer scholarships academically aren't the greatest.
• 9:33
  SPEAKER_00: Um so it takes a lot of athletic aid to go into that to make it a viable option.
• 9:38
  SPEAKER_00: Um so for the most part, you know, we we kind of recognize early on that it was gonna have to be freshman heavy.
• 9:42
  SPEAKER_00: Um and you know, uh turning that into a positive, I think, with COVID, where guys are looking at different schools right now and they see five, six years of classes of guys on the roster.
• 9:52
  SPEAKER_00: Um, meanwhile, we're we're new programmed where you know that you can put your name onto it early and you have that chance to make it onto the field.
• 9:58
  SPEAKER_00: So I mean, we're looking, you know, by year four, year three, even uh we've got you know guys that have been starting and playing for three, four years at that point, um, going against teams that hypothetically will have a lot of you know fifth-year seniors that are just now seeing the field for the first time.
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_00: Um I'm really optimistic about the future and kind of what that holds for us, too.
• 10:17
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I think it's gonna be an explosive opportunity for us to get a lot of guys, a lot of playing time early in their careers and give them the chance to really see what they can do on the field.
• 10:25
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and and that's kind of what we're looking to build is really off of competition.
• 10:29
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so these guys that are coming in right now, they're they're gonna get that chance to really make their mark and show us what they can do and set themselves up for the future.
• 10:37
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and then that means the guys that are coming in behind them are gonna be, you know, going up against seasoned vets, even though they might be sophomores juniors, these guys have seen a lot of action by then.
• 10:46
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 10:46
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm super excited for the process for sure.
• 10:49
  SPEAKER_03: Right.
• 10:49
  SPEAKER_03: You know, when my son, when my son went to a D2 school and his freshman year, all the juniors and seniors were banged up.
• 10:56
  SPEAKER_03: So there was like freshmen and sophomores all over the field, and they kicked booty, they kicked butt.
• 11:03
  SPEAKER_03: These kids came out, and guess what?
• 11:05
  SPEAKER_03: They won all those spots.
• 11:07
  SPEAKER_03: Not too many juniors and seniors were seen on the field for the for the next, you know, uh rest of the season and the second season, my son's sophomore season, because they got so much action uh as freshmen that they became seasoned really, you know, really quickly.
• 11:25
  SPEAKER_03: And that that second season they came in, they they were like already in midseason form, and now you got a new bunch of freshmen, and that's where your your program grows right there.
• 11:37
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely, absolutely.
• 11:38
  SPEAKER_00: And that's what I mean, we're having the conversations with our guys right now.
• 11:41
  SPEAKER_00: It's uh, you know, sometimes they'll they'll go out there with 18 freshmen, they're making freshman mistakes, and and as a coaching staff, we've got to take that step back and like hold up now.
• 11:50
  SPEAKER_00: They don't have that experience yet.
• 11:51
  SPEAKER_00: So they're gonna learn quickly.
• 11:53
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but but we're already seeing it from some of them, and and and we'll see it throughout the the spring as well.
• 11:57
  SPEAKER_00: Like we can't count on you to be a freshman this year.
• 12:00
  SPEAKER_00: You're gonna have to step up, you're gonna have to be that sophomore.
• 12:02
  SPEAKER_00: Your first year on campus, which I think a lot of these guys are responding to well.
• 12:06
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so I'm excited to see this spring and kind of how their development plays out for sure.
• 12:10
  SPEAKER_03: Oh, that's fantastic.
• 12:12
  SPEAKER_03: This is awesome.
• 12:13
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it's interesting.
• 12:14
  SPEAKER_03: Coach, go ahead, Danny.
• 12:16
  SPEAKER_03: I just love the fact that you know Division II is just growing and exploding and just more teams coming in and just more players and more kids.
• 12:25
  SPEAKER_03: And I just I love I just love it.
• 12:27
  SPEAKER_03: I I just we're here to help grow the game.
• 12:30
  SPEAKER_03: That's why Kevin and I are doing this.
• 12:33
  SPEAKER_03: Now, a lot of people probably don't know about Deauville, you know, and they probably don't know.
• 12:39
  SPEAKER_03: Hey, I'm near Buffalo.
• 12:41
  SPEAKER_03: I didn't even know Deuville had a squad.
• 12:43
  SPEAKER_03: Now, now they'll know.
• 12:45
  SPEAKER_03: And um I I think what you're doing, I love your enthusiasm.
• 12:51
  SPEAKER_03: I think your enthusiasm is magnetic and infectious to me.
• 12:54
  SPEAKER_03: And I've known you nine minutes now.
• 12:57
  SPEAKER_03: And um and and and I feel that you're you're you you are the right type of person for the job there.
• 13:06
  SPEAKER_00: Well, thank you.
• 13:06
  SPEAKER_00: That means a lot.
• 13:07
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and you know, I I've loved watching the the growth of the division two level of your guys' podcast.
• 13:11
  SPEAKER_00: This is huge kind of for the sport to get a little more exposure.
• 13:15
  SPEAKER_00: I'm a huge fan of it.
• 13:16
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and and just you know, from from my playing experience, uh, division two was at like 40 teams back then.
• 13:22
  SPEAKER_00: Um and to see the explosion now where the the playoffs are expanding and and all of that back when it was four teams.
• 13:29
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, it was absolutely insane trying to trying to get into the playoffs, and now we're seeing expansion and a little more competitiveness.
• 13:35
  SPEAKER_00: I love it across the board.
• 13:37
  SPEAKER_03: And and conferences are getting bigger, and they're starting new conferences like in the beach belt now down south.
• 13:43
  SPEAKER_01: So it's it's well just look at the conference you're in at ECC.
• 13:47
  SPEAKER_01: It's it's it's growing, I think at least uh your team and then uh another team like another year later.
• 13:53
  SPEAKER_01: So that's great for the sport and great for your conference and great for your competition.
• 13:58
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely, absolutely.
• 13:59
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, we're gonna be sitting at uh what we we should be at seven teams here pretty soon.
• 14:04
  SPEAKER_00: So so being able to have that large of a conference and and really get after each other and and create some of those rivalries.
• 14:10
  SPEAKER_00: That's what I'm really looking forward to.
• 14:11
  SPEAKER_00: Being the new kid on the block.
• 14:13
  SPEAKER_00: Well, it sounds like it's only gonna be for a year, but uh, you know, we'll definitely love it uh and kind of feed into that momentum for this first year for sure.
• 14:21
  SPEAKER_01: Well then then you then you then your team will be veterans the second year when the new kid on the block comes in, right?
• 14:26
  SPEAKER_00: Exactly, exactly.
• 14:27
  SPEAKER_00: Get those guys that experience early.
• 14:30
  SPEAKER_03: That's what you want.
• 14:31
  SPEAKER_03: That's what you want when you're starting a program out like that.
• 14:34
  SPEAKER_03: You want those kids to get in there early, get that, get that experience, get the get that seasoning so so they can teach the next group coming in, you know, and help be leaders and and just help you grow that program into the direction you're you want it to take.
• 14:49
  SPEAKER_03: Coach Prince uh at Dewville, the Dewville Saints up in Buffalo.
• 14:54
  SPEAKER_03: Thank you so much for coming on with us.
• 14:56
  SPEAKER_03: Um I hope to uh have you on during the season.
• 15:00
  SPEAKER_03: Maybe we'll touch base again and see where this team's going and and uh just talk more lacrosse.
• 15:07
  SPEAKER_03: What do you say?
• 15:08
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 15:08
  SPEAKER_01: I'd love to anytime.
• 15:10
  SPEAKER_01: Maybe even get some of your players on and see how they're how their season's going.
• 15:14
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, for sure, for sure.
• 15:15
  SPEAKER_00: I'd love to set that up.
• 15:17
  SPEAKER_01: Awesome.
• 15:17
  SPEAKER_01: Well, coach, once again, thanks for coming on, and and we'll be back in touch and and good luck in in for the rest of this uh semester and into the spring season.
• 15:26
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you so much.
• 15:27
  SPEAKER_00: Uh it was a pleasure being on.
• 15:30
  SPEAKER_03: Cameron Prince, Deuville Saints up in Buffalo.
• 15:33
  SPEAKER_03: Thanks again.
• 15:33
  SPEAKER_03: We'll see you soon, Coach.
• 15:34
  SPEAKER_03: Thank you.
• 15:35
  SPEAKER_03: Yep, thank you.
• 15:42
  SPEAKER_01: All right, Danny.
• 15:43
  SPEAKER_01: Now the other new school, another Saints team, the Flagler Saints.
• 15:48
  SPEAKER_01: Flagler down in St.
• 15:50
  SPEAKER_01: Augustine, Florida.
• 15:52
  SPEAKER_03: Talk about from one part of the country to the other, right?
• 15:56
  SPEAKER_03: Buffalo to St.
• 15:57
  SPEAKER_03: Augustine.
• 15:59
  SPEAKER_01: And and from the ECC to the Peach Belt.
• 16:02
  SPEAKER_01: Flagler, interestingly, is not in the Sunshine State Conference.
• 16:05
  SPEAKER_01: They're in the Peach Belt.
• 16:06
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 16:07
  SPEAKER_01: And, you know, so they're starting there this year.
• 16:09
  SPEAKER_01: Their new head coach is Brian Duncan.
• 16:11
  SPEAKER_01: I say the new head coach, but he's been the head coach of the club team there since 2016.
• 16:17
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 16:18
  SPEAKER_01: And, you know, so he's already established at the school.
• 16:22
  SPEAKER_01: Um, the D2 program was announced in 2019.
• 16:26
  SPEAKER_01: So in 20, that's tells me that you have some time to build and kind of build that not only that infrastructure or kind of the framework, you've got a little more time to do that as you're still working building your your club team, right?
• 16:38
  SPEAKER_03: All right, but your foundation is there.
• 16:40
  SPEAKER_03: Your foundation is there.
• 16:42
  SPEAKER_01: And Coach Duncan has a really interesting coaching experience.
• 16:47
  SPEAKER_01: He was the offensive coordinator for the Florida Launch for a year.
• 16:52
  SPEAKER_01: Wow.
• 16:52
  SPEAKER_01: He was he was the assistant coach at Florida Tech.
• 16:55
  SPEAKER_01: So he knows DQ.
• 16:57
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 16:57
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and he was uh the head coach at of the bowl school.
• 17:03
  SPEAKER_01: So he's deep rooted in what they call the first coast down there uh in Florida.
• 17:10
  SPEAKER_01: So it's yeah, and he's recruited over 50 players, mainly freshmen and sophomore, but you can imagine with having a club team, you've kind of got that established.
• 17:20
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, well, the foundation, you know, again, he's got a foundation of coaching and and first of all, let's talk about St.
• 17:27
  SPEAKER_03: Augustine, Florida.
• 17:28
  SPEAKER_03: It might be the most beautiful part of Florida.
• 17:30
  SPEAKER_03: I've been to St.
• 17:31
  SPEAKER_03: Augustine Beach many, many times.
• 17:34
  SPEAKER_03: It's a gorgeous part of Florida.
• 17:36
  SPEAKER_03: I really love it.
• 17:38
  SPEAKER_03: He's not gonna have a difficult time getting kids to come to play there.
• 17:42
  SPEAKER_03: It's it's it's it's a beautiful place, it really is, and it's warm year-round.
• 17:47
  SPEAKER_03: And you'll be in the peach belt, and I'm sure their their out-of-conference squads will be from the Sunshine State, and maybe even a Conference Carolinas team, or maybe even an SAC team.
• 18:00
  SPEAKER_03: So, you know, so it's gonna be interesting to see where Flagler, you know, goes uh as a lacrosse squad moving forward.
• 18:08
  SPEAKER_03: But you know, the uh if I'm a recruit, man, and I gotta think in Florida's nice, you know.
• 18:15
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 18:16
  SPEAKER_03: Florida's nice, and and you gotta get it.
• 18:18
  SPEAKER_01: Flagler College is a beautiful school, a beautiful town.
• 18:22
  SPEAKER_03: Yep.
• 18:23
  SPEAKER_03: It's got all the all the pluses, you know, all the pluses, not far from Jacksonville, you know, where you got the big city kind of life, a little bit going on there.
• 18:32
  SPEAKER_03: Right.
• 18:32
  SPEAKER_03: And um, you know, to to have a a coach come from the club and and and develop his program.
• 18:39
  SPEAKER_03: I think it's gonna be interesting to see.
• 18:41
  SPEAKER_03: And I'd love to talk to him and uh let's bring Coach Duncan on.
• 18:47
  SPEAKER_04: Hey coach, can you hear us?
• 18:49
  SPEAKER_04: I can hear you.
• 18:50
  SPEAKER_04: How are you doing?
• 18:51
  SPEAKER_04: Good, how are you?
• 18:52
  SPEAKER_04: Good coach.
• 18:53
  SPEAKER_04: Excellent, excellent.
• 18:55
  SPEAKER_03: Hey coach, that's that's pretty exciting, you know, bringing a a club program to a D2 program.
• 19:02
  SPEAKER_05: Oh, it's incredible.
• 19:03
  SPEAKER_05: I mean, we're we've we've got so many kind of neat stories that go with this whole process that's happened over the past seven years.
• 19:11
  SPEAKER_05: So it's just uh it's it's great to kind of see it all coming together.
• 19:15
  SPEAKER_03: And how's how's fall been so far?
• 19:17
  SPEAKER_03: Let me ask you this, how many got on the roster?
• 19:20
  SPEAKER_05: Uh we have 54 this year.
• 19:22
  SPEAKER_05: Um we uh we we were lucky enough to we brought in 29 last year as like a red shirt group that I said, hey, you know, come on in, learn what we're about, and kind of see what we're gonna do and how we're gonna do it, and and see if you want to stay and try to make the the varsity team the following year.
• 19:41
  SPEAKER_05: And we ended up getting a great group of guys and it was a club team, obviously, and we were a student club, so we had a little bit of help from the school, but not much, and we just kind of went to work and built a budget, and uh we we we went to work every day and practiced, and all of a sudden these guys started playing lacrosse a little bit, and um we ended up playing UF at the last club game that we ever played, and they came over and and we were able to play them and we ended up beating them eight to six, and they were you know ranked in the top ten with the MCLA.
• 20:14
  SPEAKER_05: That's awesome.
• 20:14
  SPEAKER_05: It was a neat, it was a neat moment for just what we had done over the seven years or six years, I guess, at that point of building the club, and then you know, getting to play a really good team and then compete with them.
• 20:26
  SPEAKER_05: That was fun.
• 20:27
  SPEAKER_01: Wow, yeah, and that was that was one of yeah, that was one of my questions, coach.
• 20:30
  SPEAKER_01: You know, seeing that you'd been there uh coaching the club team, seems like to me, and I'm not a coach, I'm just a passionate lacrosse dad, but it seems like to me that that's probably helped you a little bit in that transition to go from uh you know club to D2.
• 20:47
  SPEAKER_01: Do you see it that way too?
• 20:49
  SPEAKER_05: Uh, you know, it was a challenge because uh the early going to the club was you know fully building the budget, fully trying to recruit to an idea that, hey, in a year or two we might be going in CAA.
• 21:02
  SPEAKER_05: Hey, in a year or two we might be going in CAA.
• 21:05
  SPEAKER_05: I never promised, but I kind of put it out there that you know it's being talked about.
• 21:09
  SPEAKER_05: Um that's why I'm here.
• 21:10
  SPEAKER_05: Uh we don't know exactly the timetable.
• 21:13
  SPEAKER_05: So that was the challenging part.
• 21:14
  SPEAKER_05: Once we made the announcement two years ago, the challenging part was trying to bring it to fruition and and trying to understand how are we gonna get the right group of guys here for the first year, because I knew that all eyes are gonna be on a lacrosse team coming onto campus in St.
• 21:30
  SPEAKER_05: Augustine, Florida.
• 21:32
  SPEAKER_05: So we had to make sure that we were gonna bring the right kind of group in to represent it the right way.
• 21:36
  SPEAKER_05: So getting that year with the 26 guys that came back, we had 29 and 26 decided to come take.
• 21:45
  SPEAKER_05: And they're doing very well.
• 21:47
  SPEAKER_05: And um, you know, we we were able to bring in, I think it was 32 freshmen, um, our average GPA.
• 21:53
  SPEAKER_05: And I did not try to do this, it just happened by the way we kind of felt about the guys and the kind of people we.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_05: Wanted to bring in, but the average GPA was a 3.7.
• 22:03
  SPEAKER_05: So we were we were really happy with the way the recruiting process played out for us.
• 22:07
  SPEAKER_05: And now it's showing because our grades in our first semester is you know, we have probably 40 guys that are between freshmen and registered freshmen, and it's a higher majority of that are regular freshmen.
• 22:19
  SPEAKER_05: So for our GPA to be kind of doing what it's doing already, I'm I'm very proud of kind of the way they've had to handle adversity.
• 22:26
  SPEAKER_05: We we're building a facility, so we have a facility actually going in the ground.
• 22:31
  SPEAKER_05: It started Monday, and uh we should have it done by January 28th.
• 22:35
  SPEAKER_05: So we'll have a nice turf facility with lights and some stands and a scoreboard, and and you know, we're gonna have a place to really call home and and be able to play.
• 22:44
  SPEAKER_05: And uh so we're excited about that growth that that's happening.
• 22:48
  SPEAKER_05: So this year, you know, this semester, we were challenged with having to find a place to practice off campus, and we did, and it's about nine miles off campus.
• 22:55
  SPEAKER_05: We're on turf, and we got a great little complex there to call home.
• 22:59
  SPEAKER_05: And and they these guys go out there late at night.
• 23:01
  SPEAKER_05: We go out there 8:30 to 10 15 at night.
• 23:04
  SPEAKER_05: I think it's two nights a week, and then every other Friday and Saturdays we go out and call it Scrimmage Saturday and have our intersquad scrimmages.
• 23:11
  SPEAKER_05: And so we've got a ton of work in and you know it hasn't limited us.
• 23:15
  SPEAKER_05: We're we're just kind of um building the program.
• 23:18
  SPEAKER_05: I I always tell the guys, I'm like, look, you know, I've I've I came through the junior college ranks, and so you know, the only way you can win a big game is I said you have to deal with some form of adversity, and you're probably gonna deal with it two and three times during a game, just based on what I've seen with the highest level play at your junior college top, you know, love you know, final four type and championship type games.
• 23:39
  SPEAKER_05: And I and that's what we teach is adversity breeds champions.
• 23:42
  SPEAKER_05: So we're trying to get our guys already being in tune with hey, whatever the challenge is, we're gonna try to take you know a step at it, and we're gonna work through it, and we're gonna try to work towards when one day we're gonna get something to work from that you're gonna be grateful for.
• 23:57
  SPEAKER_03: And that's kind of where we're that blue collar, that's that blue collar attitude, you know, and and that kind of stuff, that's what gets stuff done.
• 24:05
  SPEAKER_03: You got you gotta be a hard-working group.
• 24:07
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, that's how you get it done.
• 24:09
  SPEAKER_03: And you're in the NCAA now, and it must be so exciting for the guys to just, you know, know they're getting a new facility, and just things are just looking up at Flagler.
• 24:20
  SPEAKER_03: And and we just had um coach on and he we were talking about the growth of Division II and just where it's gone, especially in the last five or six years.
• 24:30
  SPEAKER_03: And now we get to add Flagler, which who wouldn't want to go to St.
• 24:35
  SPEAKER_03: Augustine and play ball?
• 24:37
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah, you know, one of the one of the complaints that we get right now, and it's kind of funny, is is that there's too many distractions.
• 24:44
  SPEAKER_05: You know, we've had several several parents say, hey, there's there's too many distractions here.
• 24:49
  SPEAKER_05: You know, we we are 65% women, and we do have St.
• 24:53
  SPEAKER_05: Augustine right across the street.
• 24:55
  SPEAKER_05: So, you know, if we got to be four miles away, you know, there's a whole selling point if you want to sell the fun, but I have to kind of stay away from trying to just attract that type of uh of an attraction.
• 25:06
  SPEAKER_05: I have to make sure that we're serious about wanting to stay in the priority and that is playing across.
• 25:11
  SPEAKER_05: So it there's there's a couple challenges with it.
• 25:15
  SPEAKER_03: Those are fun challenges, though, I think.
• 25:17
  SPEAKER_03: Those are the worst challenges to have.
• 25:20
  SPEAKER_03: No, but man, it's it just sounds like such a unique place and where it's going.
• 25:25
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, again, as a young recruit, you know, the the state of Florida is so so uh attractive.
• 25:33
  SPEAKER_03: And to have a school right in St.
• 25:35
  SPEAKER_03: Augustine, which in my opinion is one of the most beautiful cities in Florida.
• 25:39
  SPEAKER_03: I actually lived in Florida for 10 years down south, but um St.
• 25:43
  SPEAKER_03: Augustine's a great place to live.
• 25:45
  SPEAKER_03: It's beautiful there.
• 25:46
  SPEAKER_03: And to and now we have a Division II school playing lacrosse there.
• 25:52
  SPEAKER_03: That's just amazing to me.
• 25:53
  SPEAKER_03: I I I wish Flagler all the best of luck.
• 25:56
  SPEAKER_03: I really do.
• 25:57
  SPEAKER_01: So I really appreciate that.
• 25:58
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 25:59
  SPEAKER_01: And coach, what do you think?
• 26:00
  SPEAKER_01: So uh what intrigued me also was the conference you're in going into the Peach Belt versus you know, every other Florida team, D2, is in uh Sunshine State.
• 26:10
  SPEAKER_01: So how do you feel?
• 26:12
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, uh you must feel great about it.
• 26:14
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, Peach Belt, we've talked to some of the other coaches.
• 26:16
  SPEAKER_01: I think it's a uh great little conference that is on its way up.
• 26:20
  SPEAKER_01: So tell us how excited you are about that.
• 26:24
  SPEAKER_05: You know, we're it actually worked out, and I think to in our advantage.
• 26:28
  SPEAKER_05: I mean, we we are in Florida, so we get the advantage of the Florida recruiting, and that there is a lot of attention to the to the Florida schools right now.
• 26:36
  SPEAKER_05: Um, but we get to play a great schedule against you know a conference that is a little bit of a travel conference for us.
• 26:42
  SPEAKER_05: So it kind of gives us two and three dates a year that we get to go on the road and bond and be with the team and stay in a hotel and and you know, kind of do the things that why you go a cot why you go to college to play is go on a road trip.
• 26:55
  SPEAKER_05: You know, that was that was kind of the fun part, right?
• 26:57
  SPEAKER_05: And so we're we kind of enjoy that aspect of the conference.
• 27:00
  SPEAKER_05: But the best part is that all the Sunshine State conference teams, those are all my buddies, and so we've all kind of linked up and hooked up and got the game scheduled for you know, four home, four away, and it helps with the budget for them.
• 27:13
  SPEAKER_05: They're looking for games early.
• 27:15
  SPEAKER_05: Um, we're an easy game for them to get and get to or us to get to them.
• 27:20
  SPEAKER_05: And so it kind of worked out really well that now I I have basically a 13-game schedule already in place.
• 27:27
  SPEAKER_05: So I just need to pick one or two games that come through with, you know, like we picked Colorado Mesa this year, and we picked um Davenport is gonna come through as well.
• 27:36
  SPEAKER_05: So we're we're gonna try to play those two teams on a on a weekday and and uh fill up, you know, some of their spring break uh trip that they're taking.
• 27:45
  SPEAKER_03: Awesome.
• 27:46
  SPEAKER_03: That sounds awesome.
• 27:48
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I mean, uh I saw that in your schedule that you had a lot, you know, a lot of the Sunshade Seg conference, which obviously makes sense from what you were you were talking about from you know uh proximity.
• 28:01
  SPEAKER_01: You know these coaches, uh, and you've been deeply rooted in the first coast for so long.
• 28:07
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, for your recruiting, are you focused in Florida only?
• 28:12
  SPEAKER_01: No, I wouldn't say only, I'm sure you're not, but is that your primary focus, or is there other places you're looking for recruits?
• 28:20
  SPEAKER_05: You know, I it's funny.
• 28:21
  SPEAKER_05: I I I really don't look at area, I look at traits, I look at characteristics, and but I do have a knack for Florida because of the relationships I've gained over the 11 years of living here now.
• 28:34
  SPEAKER_05: And you know, I'm a formerly a Baltimore guy and I came down and helped Coach Kerwick start GAU.
• 28:39
  SPEAKER_05: So you're right, I've been here for quite a bit of time.
• 28:41
  SPEAKER_05: I've helped start rec programs, I've coached in the high school level, I've you know coached at the pro level here in Florida.
• 28:47
  SPEAKER_05: I've you know I've had a kind of a cool uh little path, and and so I've met tons and tons of people and I've tried to just keep all the relationships right, and I have.
• 28:56
  SPEAKER_05: And so we are getting some pretty good Florida kids that are you know staying in our state and staying with us at Flagler.
• 29:04
  SPEAKER_05: And so we've been very happy with the with the Florida recruiting to this point.
• 29:08
  SPEAKER_05: Um overall, I have 18.
• 29:10
  SPEAKER_05: I think we just added California, Wisconsin.
• 29:14
  SPEAKER_05: So now we're I think we're gonna be somewhere around 20 states um representing our team.
• 29:19
  SPEAKER_05: So we kind of went and put took some really good kids out of some pockets in Kentucky and Minnesota, and uh, you know, just kind of bucked around and and and found some Maryland guys and and uh some Pennsylvania guys.
• 29:31
  SPEAKER_05: And so we're just we're kind of just kind of looking around to see what our magic's gonna be.
• 29:35
  SPEAKER_05: We don't know what it'll be really, what our you know, I I have a ton of friends around the country that are in different spots.
• 29:42
  SPEAKER_05: I got these two California guys from guys I used to coach and and was around earlier on.
• 29:47
  SPEAKER_05: So you know that that part of it is kind of starting to come alive that all these guys I got to coach at Essex and and J U and you know Forte Tech, and they're all calling me and saying, hey coach, I got this guy.
• 29:59
  SPEAKER_05: So that's that's a blessing.
• 30:01
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, that's it's fun.
• 30:03
  SPEAKER_03: That's great.
• 30:04
  SPEAKER_03: It's it's it's it's it's remarkable to me that 20 states, first year school in the NCAA.
• 30:10
  SPEAKER_03: You know, that's just remarkable stuff.
• 30:12
  SPEAKER_03: Kudos to you, coach.
• 30:13
  SPEAKER_03: Kudos.
• 30:14
  SPEAKER_03: Well, thank you.
• 30:15
  SPEAKER_03: Thank you.
• 30:16
  SPEAKER_05: We're working hard, I tell you.
• 30:17
  SPEAKER_05: We we definitely are on on trying to do it.
• 30:21
  SPEAKER_05: You know, we want to create good people more than we want to win ball games right off the bat.
• 30:25
  SPEAKER_05: You know, we think the culture part is the is the biggest aspect.
• 30:28
  SPEAKER_05: And you know, like I said about the grade part and then you know, this second class that we just confirmed kind of and we're getting ready to sign, it's a similar type of you know, good student, hard-nosed guy wants to compete.
• 30:40
  SPEAKER_05: And that's kind of what we're promoting.
• 30:42
  SPEAKER_05: Because we can't promise anything when you're starting a program.
• 30:45
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
• 30:45
  SPEAKER_05: Right.
• 30:46
  SPEAKER_05: It's hard to start, you know, a program because you you you fall in love with all the guys, but it's a it's a competitive environment that just continues to reinvent itself, right?
• 30:56
  SPEAKER_05: And and it's even week to week sometimes, it'll reinvent itself, and you're you're constantly watching that competition play out.
• 31:02
  SPEAKER_05: So we got some competitive guys, so it's fun to watch.
• 31:05
  SPEAKER_05: Like our our scrimmaging right now is is guys trying to make you know an impact to say, hey, man, after guys getting after it.
• 31:14
  SPEAKER_03: Right.
• 31:14
  SPEAKER_03: That's great.
• 31:14
  SPEAKER_03: And as a coach, you must love to have guys getting after it.
• 31:18
  SPEAKER_03: It's fun.
• 31:19
  SPEAKER_03: Guys are looking to guys are looking to get on the field, you know, and they're gonna go after that practice.
• 31:24
  SPEAKER_03: And at that to be a coach, that's gotta be a wonderful thing to see.
• 31:28
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah, it's been it's been great.
• 31:30
  SPEAKER_05: So we'll see where this thing goes.
• 31:32
  SPEAKER_05: It's got a path that'll take its, you know, it'll take its path a little bit, and I gotta try to help mentor it and and guide it into the right, you know, the right area.
• 31:39
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, well, we're excited for your coach.
• 31:41
  SPEAKER_01: We're actually uh Dan and I have talked about this before.
• 31:43
  SPEAKER_01: We're excited.
• 31:44
  SPEAKER_01: We we love the Peach Belt and what it did last year.
• 31:47
  SPEAKER_01: We're excited that you get you are coming in there.
• 31:49
  SPEAKER_01: We're we're really excited to to see what you do in that conference and really out of conference too.
• 31:54
  SPEAKER_01: I'll be interested to see what happens when you when you play the other Florida boys.
• 31:58
  SPEAKER_01: It'll be fun to see what you do.
• 31:59
  SPEAKER_01: And like you said, it may not be wins, but it's how you play and how you build from there.
• 32:05
  SPEAKER_01: So we wish you all the luck uh from the in the crease boys, and and we'll we'll be watching and hopefully we'll get you on again during the season and and see how things are going.
• 32:14
  SPEAKER_05: Hey, I appreciate you guys reaching out.
• 32:16
  SPEAKER_05: This has been great to be able to share a little bit about our program.
• 32:19
  SPEAKER_05: And you know, we're we're starting to see some of the fruits of the labor.
• 32:22
  SPEAKER_05: So we're we're excited for the springtime.
• 32:25
  SPEAKER_03: Well, Coach Duncan, I I again we wish you the best of luck.
• 32:29
  SPEAKER_03: Um, we're excited that Division II is uh getting a little national uh uh you know, some some sort of airplay because they really don't, you know, it's all about division one, it's all about division three.
• 32:41
  SPEAKER_03: It's kind of why Kevin and I decided, hey, you know what, let's try this.
• 32:45
  SPEAKER_03: And to have a coach like you come on is humbling.
• 32:48
  SPEAKER_03: We really, really do appreciate it.
• 32:50
  SPEAKER_03: And I love the flagler swag.
• 32:53
  SPEAKER_03: I really do.
• 32:55
  SPEAKER_03: And and uh we wish you the best of luck and uh hope you come on with us during the season and we'll talk some more.
• 33:01
  SPEAKER_03: How's that sound?
• 33:02
  SPEAKER_03: Absolutely.
• 33:03
  SPEAKER_03: Reach out anytime.
• 33:04
  SPEAKER_03: Thanks.
• 33:05
  SPEAKER_03: All right, thanks, Coach.
• 33:06
  SPEAKER_03: All right, we'll see you.
• 33:08
  SPEAKER_03: Coach Duncan, Flagler.
• 33:10
  SPEAKER_03: We'll see you next time.
• 33:11
  SPEAKER_03: Thank you.
• 33:11
  SPEAKER_03: Appreciate it.
• 33:12
  SPEAKER_03: Appreciate it.
• 33:17
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, Danny.
• 33:18
  SPEAKER_01: Now the the final one we're talking to really isn't a new program.
• 33:22
  SPEAKER_01: It's what I like to call a reboot, but I considered I put it in this kind of this category because it's it's been out for a little bit, and that's young Harris.
• 33:32
  SPEAKER_01: And Young Harris is actually going to go into the Peach Belt conference as well.
• 33:36
  SPEAKER_01: And as you may recall, what happened a couple of years ago to Young Harris.
• 33:42
  SPEAKER_01: So they had a coach there that left.
• 33:44
  SPEAKER_03: They got a new coach in named Jay Goldsmith, who whom whom I heard good things about.
• 33:53
  SPEAKER_03: I I've heard good things about Coach Goldsmith.
• 33:56
  SPEAKER_03: I've had people talk to me on the side about him on the Division II Facebook page and some of the things on on social media.
• 34:05
  SPEAKER_03: I really don't know what happened there.
• 34:07
  SPEAKER_03: You know?
• 34:08
  SPEAKER_01: All you can say is that there must must have been something from how the old coach did some stuff to what Coach Goldsmith was trying to do because it looks like the players did not buy into his program.
• 34:21
  SPEAKER_03: And what did the AD say?
• 34:22
  SPEAKER_03: Didn't the AD suspends?
• 34:23
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I'll tell I'll read that right now.
• 34:24
  SPEAKER_01: They they suspended the program in 2020 in March of 2020, very interestingly, about a week before COVID shut down everything else.
• 34:32
  SPEAKER_01: So it was kind of almost in the same thing.
• 34:34
  SPEAKER_01: But I remember back in the day when this happened, it was big news.
• 34:37
  SPEAKER_01: And what the AD wrote in a note, he said, when a new coach enters an existing culture that he or she has been tasked to change, the choice for the student athletes is not complicated.
• 34:49
  SPEAKER_01: Either the student athlete will play under the new culture or will not.
• 34:54
  SPEAKER_01: Unfortunately, in the case of our men's lacrosse program, it has become obvious to me that the old culture is unwilling to adapt to the new coach and its systems.
• 35:02
  SPEAKER_01: So they suspended um play at that time.
• 35:07
  SPEAKER_03: Obviously, these kids didn't buy into what Coach Goldsmith was bringing in.
• 35:11
  SPEAKER_03: Right.
• 35:11
  SPEAKER_03: And here's the AD saying out loud, we brought him in to change that culture.
• 35:18
  SPEAKER_01: And now in this case, Coach Goldsmith did resign, you know, at the end of the season.
• 35:25
  SPEAKER_01: But he didn't have a team.
• 35:27
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 35:27
  SPEAKER_01: Well, and then and then they bring in, so the new coach, Michael Herring, was brought in and he was hired for the 2020 21 season, but because they had such low roster numbers, they couldn't feel the team.
• 35:40
  SPEAKER_01: They couldn't really feel the team, and they suspended play again for another for another year.
• 35:45
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and so Coach Herring comes in with that probably uh that's why I say it's almost with such low roster numbers, it's a reboot and trying to start up a new school.
• 35:59
  SPEAKER_03: I wish him a lot of luck.
• 36:00
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, I think he's got an uphill battle a little bit there.
• 36:04
  SPEAKER_03: Um, you know, I don't know what the numbers are like we can get him on and talk about.
• 36:09
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so I mean, just a little bit about his background.
• 36:12
  SPEAKER_01: It's another interesting uh coaching background.
• 36:15
  SPEAKER_01: He has not coached at the college level, he's coached at the private high school level.
• 36:20
  SPEAKER_01: And he's coached, you know, he coached for three years at Blue Ridge uh school in Virginia, and then he coached prior to that, where he won a lot of uh state championships.
• 36:31
  SPEAKER_01: So obviously he knows how to recruit, because you have to recruit to private schools.
• 36:37
  SPEAKER_01: And it will be interesting to see, and he's gotten a lot of accolades from D1 coaches, coaches like Lars Tiffany and Peter Milliman.
• 36:44
  SPEAKER_01: So it's not like he isn't known in the lacrosse community, lacrosse community, and that he doesn't know how to recruit.
• 36:52
  SPEAKER_01: It'll be interesting to see the transition from high school players to college players and what he can do.
• 36:59
  SPEAKER_01: It's a big difference, coach.
• 37:01
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, it's a big difference.
• 37:03
  SPEAKER_03: It's not high school anymore.
• 37:04
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, but uh I'm excited to bring him on right now, so let's bring in Coach Harry.
• 37:10
  SPEAKER_06: Hey coach.
• 37:11
  SPEAKER_06: Hey coach.
• 37:12
  SPEAKER_06: What's going on, guys?
• 37:16
  SPEAKER_06: I can't complain if I if I did, no one would listen anyway.
• 37:20
  SPEAKER_01: That is so funny.
• 37:22
  SPEAKER_01: I say that all the time.
• 37:23
  SPEAKER_03: This guy's number one in I'm number one in the line for not listening.
• 37:27
  SPEAKER_03: Absolutely.
• 37:29
  SPEAKER_03: Absolutely.
• 37:30
  SPEAKER_03: Well, thank you so much for coming on and taking the time with us tonight.
• 37:33
  SPEAKER_03: We really, really appreciate it.
• 37:34
  SPEAKER_06: Oh, I'm I'm I'm grateful.
• 37:36
  SPEAKER_06: And uh I just want to say uh you know how grateful we all are uh that you guys are are doing are doing this venture and uh just uh what a what a great mechanism to to put you know D2 on on the under the microscope and on the map and those types of things.
• 37:55
  SPEAKER_06: So just uh you know, a big shout out from from you know, as a representative of of the D2 coaching community, big uh big uh shout out to you guys.
• 38:06
  SPEAKER_06: Thank you so much.
• 38:07
  SPEAKER_06: We really appreciate it.
• 38:08
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, to be honest, it uh when Danny and I started this, we say this has always been a joke.
• 38:13
  SPEAKER_01: It started because my my wife's like, get off Facebook, you and Danny talking, start a podcast.
• 38:19
  SPEAKER_01: And so we did that and just to see if it would be fun.
• 38:22
  SPEAKER_01: And Danny and I have more fun doing this.
• 38:25
  SPEAKER_01: Like, you know, I wish it wasn't my I wish I had this as my day job.
• 38:29
  SPEAKER_01: Right, exactly.
• 38:31
  SPEAKER_01: Because it's been it, it's it's we learn so much when we talk to to coaches, and when and because like just doing the research, I'll tell you, just doing the research of the coaching changes and what you can find, there's not a lot out there on you, or you know, the there is things about what happened in Young Harris, and we'll we'll get into that a little bit and how you're what you're doing for that, but we have to kind of piecemeal this stuff and try to get something, and that's why we enjoy having coaches.
• 39:02
  SPEAKER_01: We hope to have players on at some time so that you can really hear from them and get the real insight of what they're doing.
• 39:08
  SPEAKER_06: Right, right, yeah.
• 39:10
  SPEAKER_06: Um yeah, it's uh it's been a long uh long journey.
• 39:14
  SPEAKER_06: And uh so when I was a when I was a young um young guy just starting out, you know, I spent the the majority of my career uh up at Noble and Greeno School in in the Boston area.
• 39:28
  SPEAKER_06: And you know, there was um uh there were a few, a handful of of uh Division III jobs um that were open, mostly Nescaq jobs that you know I sort of uh got um leave from from uh from the school to take a look at.
• 39:47
  SPEAKER_06: And and and and so I looked at a number of those, uh again, mostly Nescaq, and and I believe I was the runner-up for for about four of them.
• 39:57
  SPEAKER_06: And and so I, you know, always a bridesmaid, and and that was okay because I had a job that I loved.
• 40:03
  SPEAKER_06: And uh, you know, playing, I was playing with house money, as my dad used to say, you know, when you're looking for a job, when you have one you love, you know, that's a pretty cool spot to be in.
• 40:13
  SPEAKER_06: And so I had kind of put in our children, uh, my wife Deb and I, our children were were young at the time.
• 40:22
  SPEAKER_06: And so it seemed like the the logical, you know, a logical time.
• 40:27
  SPEAKER_06: And then, you know, as our children got older, and in particular, our our son Mikey, you know, when he started to play and and you know have have some success at you know, when he was a young uh youngster, you know, then it I just put the whole college thing um uh initially on the back burner, and then I totally forgot about it.
• 40:48
  SPEAKER_06: And and I was perfectly content with what we were doing.
• 40:52
  SPEAKER_06: And then, you know, we moved from Boston down to Blue Ridge School just outside of Charlottesville for one reason only, and that was to see our son play his last two years at UVA, plain and simple.
• 41:05
  SPEAKER_06: That was we we didn't get to see a lot of games his first two years.
• 41:09
  SPEAKER_06: And so that was a blessing for our family.
• 41:11
  SPEAKER_06: And you know, I guess winning a 2019 national championship was kind of the ice cake.
• 41:17
  SPEAKER_06: Yeah, without a doubt.
• 41:18
  SPEAKER_06: Yeah, so um uh, you know, so that worked well.
• 41:22
  SPEAKER_06: And then um the the moving piece of of the of the of the puzzle, so to speak, was our daughter uh ended up uh transferring to a uh a boarding school in Washington, D.C.
• 41:35
  SPEAKER_06: And and out of the blue, you know, my wife said, Look, you've always wanted to do this.
• 41:41
  SPEAKER_06: Why don't you why don't you look?
• 41:44
  SPEAKER_06: And you know, I married well, guys, that that's for sure.
• 41:47
  SPEAKER_06: And uh and I she took me totally by surprise.
• 41:51
  SPEAKER_06: And I said, you know, all right, that you know, maybe I'll look.
• 41:55
  SPEAKER_06: And so uh I looked and um I did not have a lot of success in that pro in that process, that's for sure.
• 42:04
  SPEAKER_06: And uh I think because I had no college coaching experience, it you know, most of my stuff ended up in the in the circular file.
• 42:13
  SPEAKER_06: Um, but uh, you know, as as as luck would have it, I suppose um this was something that that um became at least um uh uh available in in the in the fact that they were willing to to at least uh give me a shot uh you know at it.
• 42:32
  SPEAKER_06: And and um, you know, it it ended up working out.
• 42:35
  SPEAKER_06: And so uh you know, my wife is is still up in at Blue Ridge school, our daughter's in DC.
• 42:41
  SPEAKER_06: Her other son who's out of school is in DC, and Mikey's at you know VMI.
• 42:46
  SPEAKER_06: So we kind of use uh our home at Blue Ridge School as the as the family you know home base and and stuff like that.
• 42:54
  SPEAKER_06: But we're we're kind of all uh you know um out and abound, so to speak.
• 42:59
  SPEAKER_06: But uh that's that's kind of um the path that that led uh here.
• 43:05
  SPEAKER_06: And and I had you know uh three, four uh really good years at Blue Ridge and always be grateful for them, uh, for the folks there, and um you know, and some people that helped me uh uh along the way.
• 43:19
  SPEAKER_06: Um, you know, some people that uh some people know and and others that um most people don't know, but there are some people, you know, Lars Tiffany, Pete Milliman, you know, that guys like um you know John Bersner uh and others that that I'm uh fairly close with that you know helped uh obviously move things along uh for me.
• 43:42
  SPEAKER_03: That's that's fantastic, coach.
• 43:44
  SPEAKER_03: That's that's fantastic.
• 43:46
  SPEAKER_03: That's a great story.
• 43:48
  SPEAKER_01: It is.
• 43:49
  SPEAKER_01: It really is.
• 43:50
  SPEAKER_01: And Danny and I talked about that with you know the accolades that uh Lars Tiffany, Pete Milliman have given you.
• 43:58
  SPEAKER_01: Um and So in and your background, the what we look at what we looked at from a a recruiting perspective, right?
• 44:05
  SPEAKER_01: Private high schools, you still have to recruit.
• 44:07
  SPEAKER_01: So I it's it's different in NCAA, but it's not different.
• 44:12
  SPEAKER_01: It's still the same thing.
• 44:13
  SPEAKER_01: You gotta sell why you can bring these kids to your school.
• 44:15
  SPEAKER_01: So I mean, uh I found it fascinating how you said, you know, a lot of men in a circular file, you know, you were always a bridesmaid.
• 44:24
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 44:24
  SPEAKER_01: Young Harris, who, you know, went through some difficult times, you know, but gives you the chance based on your background, what do you think will really help with with young Harris?
• 44:38
  SPEAKER_06: So, well, I mean, probably first and foremost, uh, I come from a diverse background.
• 44:44
  SPEAKER_06: So I think that that can only be uh a plus.
• 44:48
  SPEAKER_06: And and um though I did not grow up in in Nedro, New York, uh, you know, on the on a Dagger reservation, my mom did.
• 44:56
  SPEAKER_06: And and so I spent a goodly measure of time uh there growing up and certainly was introduced um you know to the game and and to to a lot of um cultural things that um you know I still hold dear uh to today.
• 45:14
  SPEAKER_06: Um I mean I grew up 20 miles from the reservation, but in many, in many respects, it might as well have been 20 light years.
• 45:21
  SPEAKER_06: Um and so in my mom sort of making sure that you know, my brothers, uh, you know, I have two older brothers that we had um considerable connection to to not just the property, the land, but to my grandmother and and to many others there.
• 45:38
  SPEAKER_06: So I think that first and foremost, um, you know, certainly brings something uh to the table.
• 45:45
  SPEAKER_06: And I, you know, I I think about this game um in very simple terms.
• 45:51
  SPEAKER_06: Uh my first love was basketball.
• 45:53
  SPEAKER_06: And and when I got to Boston and I started telling people that basketball was not or that lacrosse rather was nothing but basketball on grass, people thought I was crazy.
• 46:03
  SPEAKER_06: And and so, and I coached both the varsity basketball team and the varsity lacrosse team at at Noble and Greeno for years.
• 46:12
  SPEAKER_06: And much of what I I think about in terms of six-on-six uh defense is exactly what I learned from people like Dick Whitmore up at Colby College, uh, from from um, you know, uh learning from teaching tapes from Bob Knight and Dick Bennett, you know, when they were doing uh Dick Bennett for his now son Tony, tearing it up at UK.
• 46:37
  SPEAKER_06: Um that's how I think when I think about man-to-man defense in lacrosse and in the the methodology of teaching is is the same.
• 46:46
  SPEAKER_06: And what I think about in terms of how to move people on offense, um, a lot of that is driven by basketball.
• 46:54
  SPEAKER_06: And I've also been studying the the Canadian box game for for nearly three decades.
• 46:59
  SPEAKER_06: And so I would say what you know, a lot of what we're doing, certainly on offense, is is box driven, um, but also basketball driven.
• 47:09
  SPEAKER_06: And so I think that's kind of a uh, at least I think that is a neat sort of nuanced take on offensive uh play.
• 47:19
  SPEAKER_06: And on defensive play, we're just trying to be as simple.
• 47:22
  SPEAKER_06: We're trying to do very few things and do them well.
• 47:25
  SPEAKER_06: You know, there's two schools of of thought in coaching, sort of simplicity and execution and surprise and change.
• 47:33
  SPEAKER_06: And we are clearly of the former school.
• 47:35
  SPEAKER_06: We just want to be simple and do very few things, but do them well.
• 47:39
  SPEAKER_06: And and I think that you know that's that's uh to some degree coming to fruition, you know, as as the fall progresses.
• 47:47
  SPEAKER_01: I I appreciate that, coach.
• 47:49
  SPEAKER_01: That was a really good rundown of your background, how it how it relates.
• 47:54
  SPEAKER_01: And you know, I've been watching uh uh Young Harris, Lemens lacrosse uh account on Instagram, watching the the stories coming out, watching your your practices.
• 48:04
  SPEAKER_01: And you look back at what actually happened, how you got there with Coach Goldsmith resigning, and they've actually suspending the program, then him resigning, you coming in that that that summer really couldn't have a team, um really play, I should say.
• 48:19
  SPEAKER_01: You had because of low roster, you had more time to kind of build on that.
• 48:23
  SPEAKER_01: But first, it's trying to get over that that hump of what happened, and and it seems to me now, it's just you know, snippets on Instagram, yeah, that you are starting to build that with your team.
• 48:33
  SPEAKER_01: Can you talk about that a little bit, you know, of of what what you're doing and how they're buying in and how that you've changed that?
• 48:40
  SPEAKER_06: Yeah, so I didn't get on board until November 1st of last.
• 48:45
  SPEAKER_06: So I'm closing in on a year now.
• 48:48
  SPEAKER_06: So we uh we were uh clearly a full year behind on the class of 21 and certainly six months behind on the class of 22.
• 48:57
  SPEAKER_06: So um I didn't come up for air much in the first five or six months.
• 49:02
  SPEAKER_06: And and uh I mean I literally recruit.
• 49:06
  SPEAKER_06: And the cool part is is I love to recruit.
• 49:08
  SPEAKER_06: That's something that I that I will always enjoy.
• 49:11
  SPEAKER_06: And and I do, you know, 365 days, that's not hyperbole in any way, shape, or form.
• 49:17
  SPEAKER_06: And you know, I don't know if I'm calling people on Thanksgiving Day, but uh I'm certainly recruiting on Thanksgiving Day, that I know for sure.
• 49:24
  SPEAKER_06: So um I think that um, you know, when I showed my son Mikey and my wife Deb, I when I showed them the position when it when it became uh available, and then I showed them what was on the website in terms of what had happened, they both said, this is uh the perfect job for for you because I've done this twice before at the high school level, you know, taking programs that you know um maybe not burned to the ground, but but but somewhere somewhere in that in that ballpark and turned them around uh quite quickly.
• 50:04
  SPEAKER_06: And you know, I don't envision this to be to be any different.
• 50:08
  SPEAKER_06: And I think you know, some people probably think I'm crazy, but we expect to be um very good very quickly.
• 50:16
  SPEAKER_06: And and you know, we we don't have tremendous numbers.
• 50:20
  SPEAKER_06: I think everyone knows that and understands that.
• 50:22
  SPEAKER_06: Right.
• 50:22
  SPEAKER_06: Um, you know, we have 24 guys on our roster.
• 50:25
  SPEAKER_06: We hope to pick up one or two more for, you know, um, you know, transfers for for January, but we don't have enough, and that and that's okay.
• 50:33
  SPEAKER_06: What we do have are some very talented players, and so we're excited about that.
• 50:39
  SPEAKER_06: We're looking to bring in another 20, you know, for the in the 22 class.
• 50:44
  SPEAKER_06: And you know, I think our ideal roster size is about 50, and and I know that that probably is sort of on the low end of what people are doing now.
• 50:54
  SPEAKER_06: And I don't want to do anything really more than that because I think that takes away from relational teaching.
• 51:02
  SPEAKER_06: And and at the end of the day, I'm a teacher, I'm a history teacher by trade, but it just so happens that I've led a couple of pretty good high school programs along the way uh in my in my career.
• 51:14
  SPEAKER_06: And I don't, I don't, I I am a uh um a transformational educator, not a transactional one.
• 51:22
  SPEAKER_06: So I I don't think about things and what have you done for me lately.
• 51:27
  SPEAKER_06: I'm trying to to teach and I'm trying to um make help you know boys become young men uh of character, of substance, that that are gonna do something not only for this uh small community here at Young Harris, but but the larger community, um, you know, as they move out from from you know from here.
• 51:49
  SPEAKER_06: Uh I don't think that's ever going to change.
• 51:52
  SPEAKER_06: Yeah, I want to win ball games, but um winning is is is um critically important, but it's not all important.
• 52:00
  SPEAKER_06: And I I make sure that I remind myself of that every day.
• 52:04
  SPEAKER_06: Uh I'm having a blast here, guys.
• 52:06
  SPEAKER_06: I can tell you that.
• 52:07
  SPEAKER_06: This has been uh so much fun.
• 52:09
  SPEAKER_06: And um, you know, we got a good assistant coach on board who's who's uh I mean he I joke that you know he's he's more fired up than I am, and that's kind of hard to hard to be.
• 52:21
  SPEAKER_06: And our our guys, you know, we've created a really good uh class here, and they get it.
• 52:29
  SPEAKER_06: They know, you know, we we are not where we need to be in terms of roster size and all that stuff.
• 52:36
  SPEAKER_06: And you know, we have certain things that we hold dear, and um, you know, we don't worry about what we don't have, we're just concerned with what we do.
• 52:45
  SPEAKER_06: And I think that our guys aren't aren't really um in, they're not daunted by anything that is going to confront them uh along the way.
• 52:57
  SPEAKER_06: And uh it's been it's been this is you know, I've had some pretty good teams in two sports in my career uh as an educator.
• 53:05
  SPEAKER_06: And when I when I told my wife about a week into this thing, I said, this may be one of the best teams I've ever had.
• 53:12
  SPEAKER_06: Now, mind you, we're not yet talking about winning lacrosse games at all.
• 53:16
  SPEAKER_06: I'm just talking about a group of guys engaged in a mutual endeavor.
• 53:20
  SPEAKER_06: And my wife had a one-word response, and her response was wow, because she's been around the teams, you know, that that that I've had.
• 53:30
  SPEAKER_06: And so I'm really excited, I couldn't be, couldn't be more fired up about about the opportunity and just grateful for you know Jen Rushton, the AD, and and Dr.
• 53:40
  SPEAKER_06: Van Horn, our president, that you know, they kind of took a they certainly took a chance.
• 53:46
  SPEAKER_06: Um, it would have been pretty easy to to to not hire me.
• 53:50
  SPEAKER_06: And so, um, but you know, anyway, things worked out, that's for sure.
• 53:55
  SPEAKER_03: You know, I felt that the what the AD did and how he put it out uh in social media, I I I I admired him for it.
• 54:02
  SPEAKER_03: You know, he he spoke the truth, you know.
• 54:05
  SPEAKER_03: He could have been a little bit less uh transparent, I guess you could say.
• 54:09
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, that was that was our president, uh Dr.
• 54:12
  SPEAKER_03: Van Moore.
• 54:13
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, yeah.
• 54:14
  SPEAKER_03: Okay.
• 54:14
  SPEAKER_03: I admired that, you know.
• 54:16
  SPEAKER_03: I admired you know what he said, the kids didn't buy in, or whatever, whatever the reasons were.
• 54:21
  SPEAKER_03: Right.
• 54:21
  SPEAKER_03: And he and he he cut it.
• 54:23
  SPEAKER_03: And now he's got you.
• 54:25
  SPEAKER_03: Now he's got you go tearing.
• 54:26
  SPEAKER_06: Absolutely.
• 54:27
  SPEAKER_06: I don't talk too much about what went on.
• 54:29
  SPEAKER_06: And I yeah, I I know, I know, you know, some details, probably which half are are incorrect, but I do know this that nothing nothing really good was happening.
• 54:41
  SPEAKER_06: So that chapter's closed.
• 54:42
  SPEAKER_06: Yeah, close that book.
• 54:44
  SPEAKER_06: We don't we don't speak too much about it at at all.
• 54:47
  SPEAKER_06: And I think what the first thing that we did, and what I have, I think, is a measure of expertise in is you know, the the buzzword, of course, now is team culture, team culture, team culture.
• 54:57
  SPEAKER_06: Well, right that that's been you know critically important as far as I as far as I'm concerned for for 30 years for for me.
• 55:06
  SPEAKER_06: And and so when I got here, we spent more than a week of trying to um hammer that out.
• 55:15
  SPEAKER_06: And and it's not like I you know said, hey guys, here's a silver platter, and your team culture is on it, and you know, here you go.
• 55:23
  SPEAKER_06: Um, they did the work.
• 55:25
  SPEAKER_06: And yeah, we provided some measure of guidance, we provided some measure of um prompt, prompting, um, and and maybe a small measure of leadership, but it really was the the group, the guys themselves that did all the work.
• 55:40
  SPEAKER_06: And we did, you know, we had them doing some individual reflection work, we had them do some work in small groups, and then we had them do some work um collectively as a whole, and then we had them come back the next day and do it again, and then do it again and do it again and do it.
• 55:57
  SPEAKER_06: And so by the end of the week, this team was very confident and very clear in what they decided they were going to hold dear.
• 56:09
  SPEAKER_06: And I won't necessarily get in that uh you know with you today, but I will say this that it's unique, that it's special, and it will be long-lasting.
• 56:18
  SPEAKER_06: And the reason I know that is because they're already protecting it.
• 56:21
  SPEAKER_06: So they have what the work that they've done is now they've taken ownership over it, and anything that runs contrary to that culture is got to be eliminated or or dealt with, and they're already protecting it.
• 56:37
  SPEAKER_06: That's when you know you have you got something you know good brewing.
• 56:42
  SPEAKER_06: And that's great.
• 56:43
  SPEAKER_06: Yeah, we're we're pretty excited about what's going on.
• 56:45
  SPEAKER_06: Are we gonna win every game?
• 56:47
  SPEAKER_06: I don't know.
• 56:48
  SPEAKER_06: Uh, I certainly know this that we are gonna come ready to play and that we're gonna be, if teams aren't buttoned up on both ends, we could be a problem for for everyone.
• 56:59
  SPEAKER_06: And so we're excited about that opportunity, uh, that's for sure.
• 57:03
  SPEAKER_06: And you know, we hope that you know, maybe in a few years' time that people are talking about young Harris uh in in more ways than than just this sort of weird thing that happens.
• 57:16
  SPEAKER_06: Right, right, right.
• 57:17
  SPEAKER_02: So let's get off that subject.
• 57:20
  SPEAKER_02: Let's talk about lacrosse.
• 57:21
  SPEAKER_02: How's the fall?
• 57:22
  SPEAKER_02: How's the fall been?
• 57:25
  SPEAKER_06: It's been great.
• 57:25
  SPEAKER_06: Um, we're practicing um most days very early in the morning.
• 57:30
  SPEAKER_06: We practice one day a week at night, and so our guys uh I think have uh become uh acclimatized, we'll say, to uh uh getting up uh uh pretty early in the morning and getting getting the work done.
• 57:44
  SPEAKER_06: Uh, you know, we've you know my team at Blue Ridge was also quite small, and that was a neat proving ground for for me to sort of figure out how to teach um without the requisite number of of guys.
• 58:01
  SPEAKER_06: You know, it's really hard to get up and down when you have when you have 24 guys on the roster, of which you know 20 21 are healthy, right?
• 58:10
  SPEAKER_06: I mean, it's hard to it's hard to roll the balls out in scrimmage.
• 58:14
  SPEAKER_03: We've had coaches on with 12 guys on their first year roster.
• 58:18
  SPEAKER_03: 12.
• 58:19
  SPEAKER_06: And went out and played.
• 58:20
  SPEAKER_06: And went out and played.
• 58:22
  SPEAKER_06: Yeah, absolutely.
• 58:23
  SPEAKER_06: And and so that, again, that time spent at Blue Ridge, you know, helped me, um, you know, made me a better coach.
• 58:31
  SPEAKER_06: I had to think about how to teach, how to um, you know, sort of present riding and clearing in piecemeal fashion, um, how to talk about um you know, full field transition when you couldn't put 20 dudes on, you know, on the on the field.
• 58:47
  SPEAKER_06: It just so um that uh you know, I think I I have a pretty good uh handle on that, but our guys have really just um bought in to what they what they've created together.
• 59:02
  SPEAKER_06: And and again, you know, of our 24 guys, 21 are true freshmen.
• 59:06
  SPEAKER_06: And so, you know, there's uh, you know, certainly people have said, you know, things like leadership, void, and and I don't buy into any of that nonsense.
• 59:14
  SPEAKER_06: Um what I feel is they're no longer freshmen already.
• 59:18
  SPEAKER_06: Right, yeah.
• 59:19
  SPEAKER_04: Right.
• 59:20
  SPEAKER_01: And that will happen, that will happen during the season.
• 59:22
  SPEAKER_01: It'll build on during the season next year.
• 59:25
  SPEAKER_01: And and you know, um I I just want to say, I mean, I I have truly enjoyed having you, we've truly enjoyed having you on.
• 59:34
  SPEAKER_01: I think uh I'm excited to see what young Harris can do.
• 59:37
  SPEAKER_01: I I will tell you that I think most people are excited to see Young Harris come back playing cross and see what the program can do, especially going into the peach belt and building that conference into a dominant conference.
• 59:56
  SPEAKER_01: And I think it can happen there.
• 59:57
  SPEAKER_01: It's a it's a great conference, and I'm you know, we're excited to see what you're gonna be able to do, coach.
• 1:00:01
  SPEAKER_06: There's some pretty really good uh um folks in the conference, um, you know, Jason Lang, you know, Mono.
• 1:00:07
  SPEAKER_06: I mean, the guys have been guys have been fantastic in in welcoming me and all that.
• 1:00:12
  SPEAKER_06: And I couldn't agree with you more that um that you know it should be the next uh up and up and coming conference, and and um, you know, we're we're excited about the task at hand.
• 1:00:22
  SPEAKER_06: We know it's gonna be an uphill battle and and and uh particularly this year, um, but we're we're excited, and I don't think that excitement is is going to dissipate anytime soon.
• 1:00:33
  SPEAKER_06: So we're uh I'm blessed, we're you know, um sort of humbled to to be here, and I think our guys are are also quite uh excited about about the opportunity that affords itself.
• 1:00:45
  SPEAKER_03: Well, I I know for one, I'm happy to see that young Harris didn't close down and and and and coming back with a force.
• 1:00:52
  SPEAKER_03: And Coach Herring, I I wish you the best of luck, you know, your first NCAA job.
• 1:00:57
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, and and uh it's pretty cool, man.
• 1:01:00
  SPEAKER_03: It's pretty cool, you know.
• 1:01:03
  SPEAKER_06: I've made I've made a bunch of mistakes already, but uh, you know, I think I'm figuring things out.
• 1:01:10
  SPEAKER_06: And then the the you know, Jen Rushton and her staff have been fantastic in supporting uh certainly me for for the first uh eight or nine months, and then you know, uh Coach Gabriel and I uh you know, uh from the summer on.
• 1:01:24
  SPEAKER_06: And so we're again we're grateful, we're grateful for for you too, for for this uh forum.
• 1:01:30
  SPEAKER_06: That that's for sure.
• 1:01:31
  SPEAKER_06: And uh, you know, we're we're gonna we're gonna do our best and and we're gonna show I think everyone what you know when you recruit good citizen scholar athletes that it can it can be uh a really good uh almost a magical thing for for a college or university.
• 1:01:49
  SPEAKER_01: That's great, coach.
• 1:01:50
  SPEAKER_01: And and once again, thanks for coming on tonight.
• 1:01:52
  SPEAKER_01: I'll tell you we would love to have you on during the season, have a play or two on.
• 1:01:56
  SPEAKER_01: We'll we'll try to pick a time uh when it's when there's a great peach belt matchup between you and another team.
• 1:02:03
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, we gotta we gotta get them back on.
• 1:02:05
  SPEAKER_03: Yes, Kevin.
• 1:02:05
  SPEAKER_03: We definitely have to get them back on.
• 1:02:07
  SPEAKER_06: That that's good.
• 1:02:08
  SPEAKER_06: Um again, we'll do and uh be excited for that, and thanks again.
• 1:02:12
  SPEAKER_03: Hey, Michael Herring from uh Young Harris, congratulations again on the job, and we wish you the best of luck.
• 1:02:18
  SPEAKER_03: Thanks so much, guys.
• 1:02:22
  SPEAKER_01: Well, Danny, what can I say?
• 1:02:24
  SPEAKER_01: But that's a wrap.
• 1:02:26
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, tonight was wow.
• 1:02:28
  SPEAKER_03: This whole series of podcasts has been great.
• 1:02:31
  SPEAKER_03: Um tonight was no different.
• 1:02:33
  SPEAKER_03: It was a great idea from our listener who shouted out and gave us this idea about the coaching changes.
• 1:02:40
  SPEAKER_03: Um great to have all the coaches come on.
• 1:02:43
  SPEAKER_03: It's been a great series.
• 1:02:44
  SPEAKER_03: Coach Prince of Deuville tonight.
• 1:02:47
  SPEAKER_03: How engaging and exciting was he.
• 1:02:49
  SPEAKER_03: I I I am so excited for that young man.
• 1:02:51
  SPEAKER_03: I'm really looking forward to watching that program grow with that young man at the helm.
• 1:02:58
  SPEAKER_03: And and and to all the coaches, thanks so much for coming on tonight and through the last four weeks.
• 1:03:04
  SPEAKER_03: And we we really appreciate it.
• 1:03:06
  SPEAKER_03: And we we hope that we're doing the right thing on our end.
• 1:03:10
  SPEAKER_03: Just having fun with the two lacrosse dads, smoking a cigar, drinking a beer, and talking about lacrosse.
• 1:03:18
  SPEAKER_03: And it's been so much fun.
• 1:03:20
  SPEAKER_03: This this series has been great, Kevin.
• 1:03:23
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so until next time, this has been In the Crease with Danny and Kevin.