A Conversation with Maryville University Lacrosse Coach – Scott Stark

SPEAKER_01 0:23

Welcome, welcome, welcome to another episode of In the Crease, a coast to coast discussion of D Two men's lacrosse. I am, of course, Kevin Stenstrom, one of your hosts, and I'm here with my partner in D Two Lacrosse Crime, Danny Moran. How is it going tonight, Danny?

SPEAKER_02 0:39

I'm doing well, Kevin. How are you doing tonight? Beautiful, beautiful night here on Long Island. Just an absolutely gorgeous night.

SPEAKER_01 0:47

Yeah, same down here, actually. No humidity, which is always nice, uh, even in September for um for Northern Virginia. But I do have a surprise for you tonight, Danny. You ready for this? Uh-oh. I don't want to surprise you so much. Late last week, another D2 coach graciously accepted our offer to come on this podcast. So you know what that means? That we now have one coach from every conference that's going to be on this show over the next several weeks.

SPEAKER_02 1:17

Oh, that's phenomenal, Kevin.

SPEAKER_01 1:19

Yeah, I'm really thrilled. Really thrilled that every conference gets to be represented. Uh, and even more so, I know how busy these coaches are. So I know you and I are both really humbled that they'd be willing to come on, share their time with us on this little podcast we have going.

SPEAKER_02 1:37

Absolutely. You know, from what you know started out as a whim, actually as a joke. And and and now we're getting actual, you know, Division II college coaches to come on and talk with us now. And and and I I'm I'm flattered, actually.

SPEAKER_01 1:53

I yeah, I am too. Um, I don't know what they think about after they finish the show with us, but uh just coming on at least is a good thing. And and that's no different from the coach we have with us tonight. Um, and I'm really excited to kind of be get his insight, not only on his program, but on the conference he's in, which is the the Great Lakes Valley Conference. And the reason why I say that is at least to me, um, I think that conference kind of is not recognized the way it should be. I mean, we always talk about the NE10, we talk about the SAC, we talk about Conference Carolinas, GMAC. But you know, last season the GLBC had four teams ranked in the top 20 in the USILA poll for five weeks straight.

SPEAKER_02 2:38

Yes, that you know, that conference has been coming on strong for the last four to five years. They're putting out great teams that conference, you know, and you said it ranked, and then they had four ranked squads in national polls this year.

SPEAKER_01 2:53

That that conference, and and actually they had even more. Uh, this coach had his Saints ranked uh in the top 20, much more than just five weeks. And so we really want to welcome Coach Scott Stark of the Maryville University Saints with us tonight. How are you doing tonight, coach? I'm doing well, fellas.

SPEAKER_00 3:11

Well, I appreciate you guys' support of D2 and certainly the GLVC, but I'm uh super excited to be on here and be able to talk with you guys about our program as well as the conference. So appreciate you guys having me.

SPEAKER_02 3:23

Well, great to have really appreciate you coming on and taking the time. I know you know, practices started and and students are there. How's it going so far?

SPEAKER_00 3:32

It's going well. You know, obviously, you know, it's we're still dealing with uh some of the COVID stuff, and so kind of you know, coming into it, obviously in a better place than we were a year ago, which you know I think we're all grateful for. So being able to get back on the field and and have a fall and kind of getting it going as per usual, it's uh it's really nice. And so, but you know, it's still still beginning of the year, and so you're still kind of working through some things, getting guys uh acclimated and making sure that uh they know where class is, right? That's right. Good news. Good news.

SPEAKER_01 4:03

Step one, step one for many of the kids. So uh just going on that, we've talked to some other coaches about COVID and the challenges from last year. Um, uh not that we need to really harp on that, but do you still have restrictions this year coming in, or are you back to what your usual schedule would be from a fall program?

SPEAKER_00 4:24

Yeah, for for us, we're basically back to to the regular fall going by the NCAA hours compliance-wise. Um, but there's still, you know, there's still protocols in place with testing for unvaccinated, as well as just, you know, still dealing with the protocols of when a kid gets sick and contact tracing and that type of stuff still in play. And then you have the conversation coming from the conference about making sure that you know our conference is all on the same page and how that looks for out of conference competition for for those that are unvaccinated or those teams dealing with different protocols. And so you're still dealing with some stuff behind the scenes, but certainly uh certainly in a better direction than we were last fall. Um, and and so, you know, like I said, being on the field for us uh at Meryville is certainly a treat because we didn't uh we didn't get much of a fall last year.

SPEAKER_01 5:12

Yeah, that that is great. So just to talk a little bit about last season. Last season was your first season as the head coach of the Saints and your first year as a head coach. So can you give us a little insight into what it was like to take over that program and also tell us a little bit about what that transition was like for you from like an assistant associate coach going to head coach?

SPEAKER_00 5:36

Yeah. So uh, you know, I was at Linwood University for uh six seasons, and and something that you probably may have picked up on, may haven't, uh, is I spent actually a year away from coaching in between my transition. So I was an assistant athletic director uh for development uh at Linwood um this, you know, in the 20 in the 2019-20 season. Uh so when COVID hit, I actually didn't experience getting a season cut. I experienced an entire athletic department getting cut, but uh I didn't I didn't experience my own my own season getting cut. So blessing and curse behind that because you know I walked into last year uh not knowing really the impact of COVID um at that point. But the transition was absolutely wonderful. I can't, you know, I have to give Coach Schaefer, who is the previous head coach, a ton of credit, as well as his assistant Coach Burke, um, who's now at Wabash College. I have to give those guys a ton of credit because just the history of the program, like they, you know, we we we're young. We're we only have five seasons under our belt. And Coach Schaefer took over in 2016. And him and Chris, he hired Chris and they did a really good job. And so I kind of really walked into a really good situation uh in the sense of walking into a locker room that was accepting, but at the same time in a very good place, talent-wise and people-wise. Um, so the transition for me stepping in was certainly an interesting time because of COVID, but making that transition from an assistant uh or associate head to to an actual head coach is certainly an experience. It's a jump, right? Uh yeah, you start to realize that there's a much more on your plate and much more time uh you know requirement in the sense of turning things over, getting things to administration, talking with parents, whatever it may be. So it uh it was an interesting transition, but certainly one that, you know, on this now, on this side of it, like you encourage a lot of coaches to take that opportunity to become a head coach. Because I don't think you really understand the the weight that head coaches carry until you make that jump. And and regardless of who your predecessor is or who you mentored up, um, it's it's a transition because you know, for me, I had to walk into a program that was, you know, ready for a coach like me, but at the same time, certainly had to walk into a program and and understood that there was history there before me. And so I have to go in and and get to understand the guys, get to understand the culture a little bit before I really come in and turn anything over. And so it was it was certainly an interesting year. Um, and then you throw in COVID on top of that and not being on the field much. It was just an interesting year for sure.

SPEAKER_02 8:17

I bet, I bet. Um, looking at your roster, you know, I just see you have uh you have players from all over the country. I mean, Texas, Colorado, upstate New York, um, Canada. Uh it's amazing to me how that that conference and and particularly your school, you're getting kids from all over the place to come and play lacrosse there. Uh, how's it going? How do you do that?

SPEAKER_00 8:44

Yeah, so I, you know, I think the I think the beauty of it is it's called scholarship money, right? Uh, and and opportunities. So, you know, but I I really think, and this can, you know, let's not segue it into the conference conversation, but I think it it really speaks to what the conference is about and the type of institutions. And and our institution, along with the Tonabundi institutions within the GLBC, have a lot to offer, uh, you know, not just from an academic standpoint, but from a social aspect, the location aspect. And so I really think that was a big part of my transition of you know, why I, you know, I got out of coaching because I was ready to be a head coach, but I needed to challenge myself professionally. Um, and so when I got back into coaching, really the the place for uh Meryville was right for me because it was in a location that I felt good about. It was, you know, in a near a city, near an airport, in an area that I think is is you know open to having lacrosse and a community of lacrosse. And then at the same time, just being in a place where kids want to go to school, you know, it's they they certainly want to get uh a college experience, but at the same time want to be able to play look high-level lacrosse and you know, everything and anything is between division two, I feel like. So for for the GLVC, it seems like the schools are all you know well located and and the support is there from the school aspect. And so uh for for me, it's it's just about bringing kids in and touching your markets. And so when, you know, with recruiting, it's it's just kind of finding your finding your niche. And like I said, I gotta give a lot of credit to Coach Schaefer and Coach Burke for you know recruiting pretty heavily and and bringing in the right guys. And so we certainly tapped into some markets that I'm not used to. Um, and then I get to kind of bring in my markets and still kind of tap into theirs and you know, kind of really create a nice little plug for who we are and the type of kid we're gonna bring in.

SPEAKER_01 10:37

So yeah, and so just to touch on that with the GLVC, you I think this kind of will go into this question with the answer you already gave of why the GLVC is doing so well, but you know, Danny and I have talked about this on the podcast before about the growth of the game in the across the US. And and you know, there's the the what we like to call the hot spots, obviously, Long Island, Maryland, um, uh upstate New York. But, you know, I think the GLVC, if you look especially at last year and the last few years, that that conference really epitomizes the strength of the growth of the sport, right? What is it like to grow the game in the Midwest like you are doing? And and is it something like you said, what these schools have to offer that's really trying to drive that growth?

SPEAKER_00 11:30

Yeah, uh well, I think it starts with Division II in itself. I think when they started supporting the sport, it started to explode. And I don't think the entire Division II division gets enough credit for that, right? I mean, we've we've expanded and we put ourselves on a map uh that wasn't there 10 years ago. And it's still you still get some of that, you know, you still get some of that D2 uh history a little bit in the sense that it's it's just D2. But I certainly think you have the support of these administrations. Uh, they're good academic schools in the sense of offering a small type of type atmosphere, you know, with some niche degrees in certain institutions, but then you also have that support of the scholarship piece. And that really changes things for these kids to be able to find an opportunity and and to be able to go to school at a reasonable price. And so I think, you know, across the board of division two, supports there and it's starting to grow. Um, for the GLVC, I think you're right. I think it represents that history and the growth of division two in a very small pitcher, but you're seeing institutions within the GLVC support this, support this sport. And and that you want the honest truth between the support of the administrations as well as location, as well as having good coaches. I mean, I I can't speak enough about the coaches within the GLBC. Uh, we have history, coach Coach Lang and I played against uh Coach Stocks in the uh in the ECAC back in the day. Um, you know, when we were playing Mercieris, Wheeling Jesuit, Seton Hill. Right. And so we played, we played those teams and had a history in our first few years at uh at Linnewood and kind of really got to know each other. And then stocks moves on on to U Indy, and we have a great history there, but just good coaches, you know. I mean, across the board, uh, you just have a core of coaches who are dedicated, they're supported by their administration, and as well as just coaches who you know want to impact the game and be competitive. And I think that's you know, when it comes to the GLVC, why you're seeing it grow is because we're competitors and we and we we do it the right way, but we certainly want to beat up on each other. And so that just drives us. I mean, you know, dating back to my days at Lindawood, you you want me to give you one credit on why we grew so quick and put ourselves on the map. And a lot of it has to do with the ECAC. Playing those teams pushed us to be better, and I think you're seeing that in the GLVC when you start to you know have the support of these institutions. We just we challenge each other, the kids see the talent that they're that they're trying to strive for, and it just makes for a really fun atmosphere. And so I think that's that has a lot to do with it, but it's certainly the support of the administration, right?

SPEAKER_02 14:12

Well, that's absolutely you've been playing a lot of high-level lacrosse, high level. Um, what about coming out east on your non-conference schedules? Uh, you plan on doing that in the future?

SPEAKER_00 14:23

Yeah, yeah. Uh Midwest lacrosse, we travel quite a bit. Um that that's probably that's probably not something that we get enough credit for. Right. But but yeah, I mean, I I think we travel, you know, and this isn't uh you certainly have a West Coast conference that does a lot of travel in themselves. So I don't want to discredit those guys, but you know, just being in the Midwest pretty much my entire career or my entire career, uh yeah, we we traveled quite a bit, and it takes us a little bit more to get those all out of conference games because we usually have to travel for them. Um, we certainly get teams to come to us, but it's it's certainly a little bit more difficult than you know, jumping out a phone and saying, Hey, we're gonna travel to you. So yeah, I think, I think, you know, across the board, we certainly will. Um, you know, I I certainly intend to continue playing against good competition and continue to go out. And I think it'll be interesting to see what happens with uh with division two and and restructuring of conferences as as teams continue to expand um or divisions continue to expand in the sense of adding men's across, and you're seeing a lot of growth in the south and how that's gonna shape in the north and that type of stuff. But yeah, I mean we're gonna go we're gonna go up north and play a few out of conference teams in the north region as well as play some of the teams in the south. And I know uh you know our counterparts in the GLBC are also making quite a bit of you know miles on their on their schedule, uh coming up.

SPEAKER_01 15:50

Frequent flyer, frequent flyer. I I think it's great for the teams on the north and the in the south and the east to play GLBC teams. Because, like you said, I think your conference, you're beating up on each other, and if you look at it, you know, they're all strong teams. You know, you in your first game of the season, you played against your old team, and at the time they were ranked number 13 in the nation, right? And you beat them. So I mean that tells you two things. One, uh well, it tells you that uh, you know, on any given day, Danny and I talk about any given day that the competition's uh has enough parity that you can beat them, probably. But two, uh that tells the strength of your conference, and then three, I'm just kind of curious how that felt to go up against. I know you had a game canceled at first, and then you went into Lindenwood. What did that feel like to go against your former team and then beat them?

SPEAKER_00 16:43

Uh, you know, I I told Coach Lang after the game, I said the monkey's off my back. I, you know, I'm I'm I'm just I'm just glad. I'm just glad in the sense that you know, you know, obviously I was I was thrilled, I was excited. I had my daughter two days prior to that, so it was just a really exciting week. Um, yeah, thanks, thanks to my wife for allowing me to coach in that game. She was she was still in the hospital, but uh it was just a really exciting week. It was a really exciting moment for our program just to to obviously, you know, have our guys understand that yes, anybody can beat anybody. And if you show up and and you you pay attention to your prep and and you you know work hard, like yeah, I mean it's any given day, right? So it was certainly exciting, uh you know, like I said back in my comment, it was it was more so of kind of going up to Coach Lang being like, I yeah, I don't want it to be about him and I all the time, right? I want it to be want to be about our programs and and stepping on the field. And they they got us a few more times in the in the year, but the G O V C was tough to to go through uh playing that all conference schedule. But it certainly was nice. And like I said, you know, dating for the program itself, and this is the honest truth, is I'm a big community guy. And so just to having that for our program and and to to have them as well as our win over Rockhurst, which which were two programs that we, you know, the program had competed against year in and year out since they started, they hadn't found a win against those programs. And so for us to be able to do that and kind of go on that little run at the beginning of the season just installed a little bit of you know excitement within our community. Our alumni were pumped. It allowed me to connect with them on a on a better level and for them to get excited about what we're trying to do. And it was just really exciting and certainly kind of helped us, you know, move forward and make the conference tournament and you know, kind of you know, start that that tenure a little bit of saying, hey, this is what we what we're capable of doing as long as we continue to put our step our head in the right direction.

SPEAKER_02 18:40

That step, you took that step for sure. For sure.

SPEAKER_01 18:44

Yeah, I found that. Oh, go ahead.

SPEAKER_02 18:46

U Indy is a very good team this year, very good team.

SPEAKER_00 18:51

Yeah, I mean, coach Coach Stocks obviously is is you know, he's had a history of success, uh, and and he knows what he's doing. So we we had a we had a rough start against them in our first game, but played them uh three days later and took them to a one-goal game within uh the last couple seconds of the game. And so like I said, it was great for us, but yeah, I mean that's the conference. I mean, it really is. I mean, there's there's good conference, and we beat up on each other last year. And I think it was, you know, COVID, it would made it exciting for us to be able to see each other and and play against each other, but it's certainly uh it's kind of a bummer that we couldn't get our teams and our and have that representation out of our conference. Uh, you know, and then stocks certainly took you indie and and went into the postseason and and had some success. I mean, it was it was exciting. They played well, they played well.

SPEAKER_01 19:40

Well, and and you said it, coach. I mean, I've I found it really interesting that you know, you beat Lindenwood, and then a few weeks later you beat Rockhurst, who's now the one who's ranked number 13, right? And and you go and get your team ranked as high as 12th in the nation in the USILA poll. So I'm sure, like you just talked about, that created even more buzz, even more of a uh a connection to the community, I guess, um, for you.

SPEAKER_00 20:13

I mean, hey, this this sport is about runs, uh, and and not just in games, I think seasons too. I mean, you you look at what St. Leo did a few years back, and and you know, you look at what we did in 15 at Lindawood. You know, we we just kept winning and wound up making the national tournament. And then, you know, you see that in St. Leo. So I I think it is, I think it is about putting it together and and going on those runs. And you know, I think that's what was really exciting about us is we didn't have a fall last year. The first time we stepped on the field together was in January um as a full collective group. Half of our, you know, a majority of our Canadians were still in Canada in the fall, and then we just didn't have any practice full team practices in the in the fall. So when we stepped on the field, it was just about us, and that was our focus. And then, you know, we we went through some hurdles there with COVID and a couple of game games game being pushed, and then wound up uh, you know, just being excited, stepped on the field, found, found one win, and then she kind of kept going. So it certainly was excitement for our community. Again, for you know, we had 20 freshmen. So to have our have our have our upperclassmen who built the program and have our alumni who who built the program see that, and then have that new generation of of Maryville lacrosse players get that excitement. I think it did a lot for us and hopefully will continue pushing us forward in the future.

SPEAKER_01 21:35

So yeah. So and speaking of that, where or where are you trying to bring your program? What kind of culture are you trying to build? Is it just to build on what the previous coach did? I know you got to get to know those those athletes when you came in. Uh, you inherited a bunch of good athletes, obviously, from what you and with your coach and what you were able to do last year, but what kind of culture are you trying to? um put in place there at Meryville.

SPEAKER_00 22:05

So it's a good question because I had asked myself that when I uh when I stepped into the role. Um and I got a lot of time to think about that because I didn't jump right into lacrosse stuff. I I had majority of the fall to kind of shape who we are and what we're going to try to do. And a lot of it came down to the fact that I want uh this investment to be installed into our athletes. I've spent enough time coaching at the college level to where I've seen a lot of kids utilize the investment of their four years. And I've seen a lot of young men uh not really capitalize on that investment. And so when you ask the kind of culture that I'm creating, I want guys to understand this is a four-year investment into the rest of their life. Right. And so I want them to have a little bit of passion behind what they're trying to do. I want them to I want to challenge them. I want our staff to challenge them and give them perspective on you know who they are and who they want to become and so whether that's on the field, off the field, it's just about trying to build us and put dudes in our locker room who have a little bit of ambition about the people that they want to become and the direction that they want to go and and hopefully understand that they're going to be in a locker room full of other guys that have that same ambition. Right. So but a lot of it just comes down to the investment. I I really think that Meryville is great for me from an academic standpoint standpoint because it's not about the piece of paper with us. It's about the job placement. The institution's done a great job of of really kind of putting themselves in a place where they have a ton of corporate partnerships within the St. Louis area with companies that are domestic and international just to offer up opportunities for our student athletes and or just our student population general. And where I come in is is is trying to find students that fit that mold of saying listen if if you want to capitalize on this investment and you want to understand what it's about, Maryville is a great place for that just because of the fact that again if if it's about getting into internships, it's about job shadows, it's about building your network. And so that fits me because it's about your investment right if we're going to pay for this somebody's paying for it whether it's me, the school them themselves, parents, somebody's paying for it. And so what I want to do is really try to challenge our guys to understand that investment. So that's the culture that I'm that I'm trying to build is is trying to create that understanding within our locker room that we're here to focus on the people we want to become and if that's to you know be the best lacrosse player and be an all-American then great. If that's to be a CEO then let's go for it. Right. And it's just about trying to challenge our guys to do that. And I think you know if I can find um the individuals that are passionate about something then they'll understand the investment and the opportunity cost of you know saying hey I got to put away this so I can be good at this right and so it uh to me it's just about the investment. So that's the type of culture we're trying to create if that if I kind of make sense.

SPEAKER_01 24:59

I really like that word investment. I mean because it really speaks to if you like you said if you invest if you give into not only the program but the school the community your return is going to be two three four fivefold on what you put in I think that's why the word investment is so good.

SPEAKER_00 25:21

Yeah I mean here's how it breaks down to me is that it's about who you know really and I you know I I I hate to say that because I think the the four year education is super important. It's it's what I do. But I think at the end of the day it's really about surrounding yourself and and building your resume and building your brand. And so it for for me it's just about talking to our guys about investing in that early and and in my years of coaching you've always seen that that point of a kid's career to where he takes ownership of his process. And whether that you know whether that's on the field or in or within their professional career at some point somewhere usually between their junior and senior year they start to kind of be less focused on lacrosse andor taking ownership of their process whether it's in the weight room for lacrosse or off the field and and in the classroom of saying I'm going to do internships right all I'm trying to do is move that point. I'm trying to move it back to freshman and sophomore year of saying let's start that investment now. Let's let's start challenging you to to understand the impact of of taking part of your process and owning it and you know investing in your network investing into you know growing who you are and and the people around you and I think it can go a long way all it is is trying to challenge a you know 18 19 year old to to to mature a little bit sooner. It's certainly a challenge at times but you know I think if you if you do the recruiting process the right way those kids are out there. You know I think I think you you certainly find kids who want to be great um and it just takes a little bit more time and a little more vetting in the recruiting process. But I I certainly think that we've found success uh since I've stepped into Maryville at finding the right guys that fit us and fit Maryville.

SPEAKER_01 27:05

Excellent it's excellent yeah so and speaking about that we have talked on on this podcast we spent two episodes talking about recruiting from a parents perspective and you kind of started to shed some light on what you look for in a recruit um and a player. Can you is there anything else you want to add on when you're recruiting who you are kind of looking for what type of person player you're looking for?

SPEAKER_00 27:35

Yeah I mean good person. So my recruiting philosophy you know going back to how I wanted to build this program um I started to kind of think about all the players that have played for me and and the success that they had. And it always came back that you know it usually started with good people. And so we have a philosophy in our recruiting is is people over people over player um and and making sure that we're investing in defining good people and not really cutting corners just because we found a good player. And that takes a little bit of vetting that certainly makes you have to reach out to high school coaches reach out to club coaches and and try to get those answers from other people as well as as well as teammates. And so when when we talk about you know regions or your markets that you're grabbing kids from you start to understand that there's a community there right and so asking other high school coaches asking you know other players players that have played for you against those kids um teammates of those kids whatever it may be just trying to really get an understanding of the type of person you bring in your locker room. And so that's our thing right it's it's just about trying to make sure we're finding good people and and again it comes with that that next level of it is trying to find a young man that is passionate about who they want to become and if they're again if it's an on the lacrosse field fantastic. Then you focus on you know having them understand what that's like in a professional setting right if it's a professional setting you say you have a young man who's in who's interested in a niche degree then you understand that that person carries a little bit of understanding of what it's like to to have a direction and what it's going to you know the type of investment that you got to take to kind of find find that direction or follow that direction. And so you know I think if you have one of the two if a kid's passionate about lacrosse and he's proven that he's a good person, uh then then you get to focus on the professional side of things, right? If if it's a lacrosse player or a young man that's interested in you know business or interested in cybersecurity or PT, whatever it is, if you have that already in that process then then you understand that hey they have a little bit of direction and a passion behind what they're doing. And you know that's going to kind of you know be seen on the lacrosse field as well or at least they'll understand it, right? Interesting yes yes absolutely yeah so then just going off of that where do you see or what are you trying to go with your program over the next several years coach that's where he wants to go hey hey I I want to win uh no doubt I'm you know as much as I'll talk about how you know I want good people in my locker room and as much as I want to talk about kids' success off the field uh it certainly is about finding success on the field right I mean that's that's why I'm a lacrosse coach I'm I'm as competitive as they come um but I again I want to do it the right way I don't want to cut corners right but at the end of the day like yeah championships is where it's at and and you know I don't think that I can talk about a national championship until I win a conference championship. But that's certainly you know the end game is to to raise the trophy and be the be the team that wins it all. But I think you know within the GOVC the talent that we have in in the competitors that we have it's certainly the goal walking into each year is saying let's go win the conference title and everything else will play itself out. Right. And so it's it's certainly about success. You know I didn't I certainly didn't take over a program and when I talk about my coaching history and and kind of what led me to taking a year off it stemmed from me being competitive and making sure that if I was going to be a head coach that I found the right place. And that's what Meryville offered me and my family is to to be at a place that I think we can be successful at and that we can certainly find success on the field. And so yeah I mean it's certainly about winning championships uh you know but it's also about making sure that we're we're providing a good experience and a lot of that comes with the support from the institution of saying hey you know we're gonna we're gonna fund you and we're gonna give an experience to these athletes that you know makes being a poly being a part of a college athletic team is is important.

SPEAKER_02 31:49

So not only that coach but I'm finding that the pool of talent now in the Midwest is exploding. It's exploding you you guys are finding players you know lacrosse has primarily been like a northeast kind of game and a lot of the better players came from that area that's not the case anymore and and division two is a a real way of seeing that and that these players are coming from Utah Colorado Texas Kansas Missouri these players and they can play what do you attribute the explosion in the Midwest to um the concussions in football no you know I think I think a lot of it is just the depth to be honest with you and the opportunity these kids get to play.

SPEAKER_00 32:48

I mean I'm originally from Minnesota and I left in 2013 and when I go and recruit some of these kids in in my own home state now uh they're coming from high schools that weren't even existing uh with lacrosse I mean they just weren't right they they were hockey schools or football schools they didn't have any support behind that for for the game of lacrosse and now they do and and you're seeing seeing some of these teams pop up and so I think it's just the depth that you that you're seeing I think the top talent always seemed like there was it was there there just wasn't a ton of it um you know you certainly can date back to to having kids in the Midwest play Division I and some had a lot of success but now you're starting to see a little more of that top talent finding better opportunities to to get on the field and not just be a number right and so I think that's where D2 is really starting to explode for us is and it's not just in the GLVC. I mean you got minus you got Midwest kids going all over the country uh to play which is really cool but I you know I think a lot of it comes down to just it's not just about division one and they're certainly starting to understand that hey I can go division two and be just as big of an impact player as I was in my high school right and so I think you're starting to see some of that talent um stay division two as well as you're starting to just see there's there's more depth of it because there's high schools that were never playing for before and kids have more opportunities. I mean there's anything the Midwest doesn't have a uh doesn't have you know enough of is club club teams uh I'm I'm joking on that like there's so many club teams in midwest oh is oh okay yeah I mean it's it's unbelievable right and and then I think that's always been the case but I think the knock was that hey like there's not enough team not enough talent for these club teams and I think that's you know I've gone back and forth on it but at the end of the day I think it's just more opportunity for these kids to play you know and then they're they're playing you know and you start yep yeah that's interesting that you say that coach because you know obviously you know my son we went to tournaments all on the you know club tournaments in the summer all on the east coast and we saw what Midwest teams but usually it was like a state team or a regional type team are you seeing in the Midwest are you are there a lot of uh summer tournaments in the Midwest as well that you're being able to go to to draw from and recruit from yeah I think I think you're starting to see more so there is there's been a shift um and and I think what you're seeing is a lot of uh open relationships among club programs which you know as you guys know the political game of of Club lacrosse has always been there and will always be there but right I think what you're seeing in the Midwest at least and I can't really speak to this a ton of on the east coast but in the Midwest you're seeing a shift of these of these top club programs trying to find somewhat of what they call an alliance of saying hey rather than all of us go out east and and play we can combine you know our programs and put on a pretty good pretty good showcase here right or pretty good tournament here. And so you're seeing that I mean the what the what the what the you know cherries have done you know in their area what what you're seeing out of the project Project Midwest alliance and and and those guys I mean I went to one of the best Midwest tournaments I've ever been to um this summer and that was the Project Midwest tournament out in out in Westfield um Indiana and it was it was teams that we traveled to see right we traveled to to the east coast to see two of them play and then we come back two weeks later see another two play and the fact that we got to see these teams all play against each other in our backyard or at least close to home um certainly makes it easier for us. Obviously easier on family you save on money and so I think there is that shift that's taking place and it's just really kind of cool to see. I mean there's teams out of KC that are that are you know sticking around and doing really well there's there's you know again you have the teams Minnesota Illinois Wisconsin Ohio Indiana I mean they're combining to to play each other um and so it's just it's kind of a really cool atmosphere and it allows me to sit down and watch at one tournament multiple clubs that I'm going to recruit from without having to go out east and catch them you know playing a playing a tournament and running around just to catch those couple of teams and so recruiting wise it's certainly helping out and you know again it's it's providing a really cool atmosphere because now we're competing against a bunch of the same kids in our backyard right in the GLC at least.

SPEAKER_01 37:28

Yeah cool cool no that's awesome to hear I'm really excited to hear that that sounds great I mean not only certainly for the coaches around there but I think you know Danny and I have talked about this on when we did the recruiting podcast. I mean having those lacrosse players understand that there are quality schools in their area that they can go to they don't have to travel all the way to the east coast to get a good education get to a good college that that it can do a lot for them as well as play really good lacrosse I think is is where it's at. So I think that's awesome that they're they're starting to build those alliances and do those um uh those summer tournaments I I'm kind of interested in on what if there's something in particular that kind of drew you to being a D2. I know you I think based on reading your bio you were more club lacrosse in the college level and then went to Linenwood as a as a graduate assistant I think but I'm just curious if there was something specific that drew you to D2 and and what is kind of keeping you there now for D2 lacrosse.

SPEAKER_00 38:35

So I mean I certainly fell into it based off of an opportunity that Coach Lang gave me um to come you know to get out of the club game and go to the NCAA uh to to jump in with their young program and and help you know build what we did at did at Lindiwood um certainly helped me understand the industry right um and I and I'm grateful for that opportunity. And I think over time I've started to realize you know I was I was certainly like you know my my resume doesn't show it but I certainly spent some time trying to trying to build a network to to continue to climb the ladder because I think at some point you know I was really ambitious about trying to go to to division one. And unfortunately division two kept paying me and unfortunately I wouldn't I wouldn't make that jump to a volunteer assistant at division one and get out of a paid paid role. So that's kind of what kept me but I think over time as I kind of really decided where I wanted my career to go uh division two it just it fits me because I do value the person over the player I do value being in the locker room with with guys that are that are great people um and that's not saying anything about division one that there's not great people I just I I get to spend a little more time focused on you know the person than necessarily just the the cutthroat business of division one in the sense of recruiting the biggest and fastest kid right I I get to I get to kind of overlook size a little bit and and you know find the right people for us in our program. And so I think that's what really kind of drew me to to wanting to stay in division two. And then it's just the competitive level like I I really do think that division two uh doesn't get the love in in the in the retrospect of talent you know I think I think and that's division two division three I mean there's there's talent all over NCAA lacrosse there's talent in club lacrosse right uh about what the fit is what the fit is for the young man and and the opportunity that's at their disposal and so for me division two allows me to to be the coach I want to be to be involved in their process much more than just on the lacrosse field but to be involved with their their academic side of things. I like the small small small school feel in the sense of the athletic departments to where you're kind of you're you're a little more involved in the community um you know and it's it's certainly not as stressing about wins wins wins it's it's a little more about hey we're we're trying to create a a great atmosphere and a great experience but you know at the end of the day I think that division two is just a it's a really special place. And I think you know as over as time continues to go on and you see more of these division two kids get into the opportunities of playing professional lacrosse you're seeing all these Canadians come down to play division two and go into the NLL I think it just provides a little more of a clear picture they're saying hey there's a right fit for anybody right just depending on what you're looking for and what you're trying to get out of it.

SPEAKER_02 41:33

Absolutely coach uh let me ask you a question I've asked uh each and every coach that's come on the podcast with us this question. I'm a freshman I'm here at Maryville.

SPEAKER_00 41:45

Tell me what my day is going to be like so get this question pretty much every visit, right? Uh usually it comes from mom and dad uh is is explain this day to day. And why I answer this is I answer it first about a very broad question is is what's you know I look at it as like what's the difference between division one and division two. Here's my answer is if you're going to a competitive program, there isn't much of a difference, right? We're gonna we're gonna be given our limits from the NCAA and we're gonna try to we're gonna try to pump as much uh lacrosse and lifting into you as we can uh and we're gonna try to win championships and so I don't think that there's much of a difference when it comes to the workload that we're asking our athletes to do you know I certainly think there's there's difference in talent I certainly think there's difference in experience but at the end of the day I think across the board if you're trying to go to a program that is going to be competitive um it's not this isn't a more of a balance to me it's it's still very much competitive saying hey if you're gonna come here we need we need to have you have a priority in lacrosse right um your academics so uh that's kind of how I start the question and then and then the rest of it is kind of explaining a little bit about who we are and how we try to do things. So just kind of laying out a picture of what the expectation is in for is for a fall I'm a big guy I'm a big component of getting our guys off campus in the fall. You know I I like to try to get on a bus. I like to try to get away do an overnight somewhere just to kind of get our guys together get them away from campus a little bit and and to experience something different is is is the way I like to operate but some coaches like to keep them in-house I want to see other talent I like I want to try to scrimmage as much as we can I want our guys to play as much as they can um and so but that's different philosophies. And so just trying to share that experience of saying hey this is what it's going to look like but you know we're still lifting three days a week we're still on the we're still on the practice field as much as the NCAA is going to let us be and uh we certainly still have components about academics that are very important. So you know I don't think it's less of a workload. I think it's just kind of what what it's like from program to program, right? Absolutely. Good answer.

SPEAKER_01 44:02

Yeah. So with that, we always like to end with this question with the coaches because you were so willing to give up your time and sit here as we grill you with questions. So kind of the get off the stage question for you is I want to give you the chance to showcase your program. Anything that we have not talked about yet that you feel you want to impart to our audience.

SPEAKER_00 44:29

You know, I'm not, I kind of explained us, right? Is is we're we're we're gonna try to recruit the right way for the right for who fits us and who fits our institution. Um my biggest thing is is it's a process that everybody needs to own, right? And every kid that walks on our campus is gonna understand from my perspective, is like, I don't really care if you end up with us. It it really doesn't matter to me, right? It's your process. I want you to to answer the questions that you need. I'm here as a resource to help you understand that this is who we are, and if it's the right fit for you, then great. If it's not, then I obviously want you to go find the right fit. And so, you know, I I encourage young men and and their parents to understand that it's it's not about it's not about anything other than the right fit. Um, and and that could come in different wavelengths. Some people are certainly looking from a financial aspect, some kids are looking from an academic aspect, location, right? My biggest thing is this, and this is just flat out the honest truth, is I'm not really big on buying players. I don't believe in just big offers up front of saying, hey, come to us and play for us. I think I'm gonna spend my time and explain who we are and why it's important that that young man is is you know of our interest and and why we think they fit us. Um, but at the end of the day, I it's it's not really a big component of mine to go out and buy players because I think at the end of the time, at the end of the day, that shouldn't be the biggest factor. Um, for some families it is, right? And I don't want to neglect that, but at the end of the day, it's it's about finding the right fit. And if we're not the right financial fit for you, then I understand that and I bet I wish you the best. But at the end of the day, for for me, it's about finding the right people that fit who we are and what we're trying to do and believe in what you know our program is about. But at the end of the day, it's really just about making sure kids understand that hey, it's their process. And so my my big word is less about Meryville and more about saying, hey, you know, if parents, if you're listening, players, if you're listening, is about owning your process and and finding what's right for you and understanding that coaches should be there as a resource to saying, hey, this is who we are. Um, and you know, explaining a little bit of why they why they you know, why we're interested in you. But at the end of the day, ask the questions that you need answered for for you to figure out if it's the right fit for you or not, right? Absolutely. Excellent. How many, how many students in Maryville? So uh this is this is this is where we change a little bit. Uh we're we're 3,500 kids on ground, but if you look online, you might see an enrollment about 10, 10 to 11,000. So Maryville was one of the first institutions to jump on the uh the online schooling. And so we have a massive uh population of online students, um, more so of you know the the older generation or the adult generation of going back to school is where most of our online is focused. Um but that that certainly is what's helping us grow and putting up new facilities and new buildings is certainly our online education is is taking off and doing well. And you know, our our president's pretty committed to the on-ground uh experience. Um, but you know, certainly having that backing of the online schooling. So our enrollment says 11,000, but we're we're only 3,500 on ground. Okay, okay, gotcha.

SPEAKER_01 48:00

That's still a nice size school. A little different to be honest. Yeah, but I I think even 3,500, that's that's a nice size school.

SPEAKER_00 48:08

Yeah, and we're right, you know, we're right in uh a town. We're called it's in a town of town and country of of St. Louis. Um, and it's a really wealthy area, but we're kind of in a mixture of of residential city as well as uh as well as having you know the corporate headquarters. So our business program is sponsored by Rollins, the baseball company. Yeah. And and we share, we share a parking lot with their corporate headquarters. And so again, that kind of just fits the mold of of who we are, is right. We we have a lot of corporate sponsorships that allow us for those opportunities when you talk about job placement. So the plug that I will give is that our big our big sell is that across the board, we have 93% job placement within six months of graduation across all of our schools. When you start talking about our niche degrees of cybersecurity, nursing, uh, you know, our even some of our business, our PT program, you're talking about you know, 98% and above job placement within in six months of graduation. So again, it's about that investment, right? Of coming here and building your brand. So absolutely, absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 49:18

No, I think that's great. And and coach, I really appreciate you coming on tonight. I really appreciated um your insight and your honest and transparent answers, especially at the end there, when you talked about when I asked you the the question about the you know, what would you want to say about the program? I think those sort of things help um kids who are looking to find a program. I remember my son, uh my oldest who did not play sports, but when we were going through the cot looking at colleges, you know, that was the same sort of thing what you said just resonated with me. Is don't you don't have to go for the brass ring of an Ivy League or anything else. You've got to find what fits you. And I think you saying that is the same thing in academics and in athletics when you're looking for a lacrosse program at and a school, they both have to marry together. So I really appreciate those answers.

SPEAKER_00 50:08

Well, it you know, I think it's uh it's from my experience, right? It's it's just from spending, you know, almost a decade in higher education, and I just think that it's all about the investment. I really think that as uh as time changes, the the degree is, you know, everybody's looking for experience and everybody's looking for uh graduate school now. So it's like, how can you come in and build your brand within your four years and and hopefully position yourself to be competitive for the next 40? So, but guys, I really appreciate what you guys are doing. Uh love the podcast. Look forward to to hearing our podcast, but seeing you guys grow in in the sport of division too. So I uh I certainly appreciate you guys and what you do. Thanks, Coach.

SPEAKER_02 50:49

You liked it, you had fun, huh?

SPEAKER_00 50:51

Yeah, I'm I'm not gonna say I'm very good at podcasts, but I uh I certainly are we, we aren't either. So I like talking shop, so I appreciate you guys giving me the opportunity and getting to know you guys as well.

SPEAKER_01 51:03

Well, hopefully, you know, maybe during the season we can get not for a full 45 minutes or whatever, but uh a couple minutes to hear how things are going. Would we really appreciate that if you'd be willing to do that during the season? Would love to. We'd love to.

SPEAKER_02 51:15

Okay, so much for coming on. We really appreciate it, and good luck this season.

SPEAKER_01 51:20

Yeah, we'll be watching. We'll definitely be watching to see where you guys go, see how the Saints progress this year, which I'm sure they will. I'm I'm hoping for it for sure. So, Danny, before we get out of here, I I thought I would remind our audience why we are doing this podcast. And we talked about that on this podcast today, and actually the coach shared those same sort of thoughts. You and I always felt that Division II lacrosse did not get the love it really deserves. So, our mission in this podcast is to focus solely on D2 and showcase how great the level of play is. So, to our listeners out there, if you are listening and like what we are doing, subscribe to this podcast on your favorite platform. We can be found on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, Stitcher, iHeartRadio, Pandora, and many, many more. The goal here is to help us spread the word about D2 Lacrosse. And with that, like we just said at this thing, we're we're not perfect at podcasts, we're a bunch of amateurs. So if there are any suggestions out there from the audience that they'd like to have us cover something different in the show, please leave us a comment. Because really, we want to make this D2 lacrosse discussion better for everyone that listens to the podcast so we can even grow and have that spotlight on D2 Lacrosse more. So, okay, I'm off my soapbox now, Danny. Um, and uh and with that, I think uh that's a wrap. That's a wrap for this episode of In the Crease.