Carousel of Coaching Changes Continues (Part 3)

Intro

SPEAKER_03 0:40

I'm Kevin Host, Kevin Stenstrap. And with me as always is a man who needs no introduction, Danny Moran.

SPEAKER_04 0:48

Oh, Kev, I love your introductions. I look forward to them every week. You are just the man when it comes to introductions. How are you tonight in Northern Virginia, my friend?

SPEAKER_03 0:58

I'm doing great, and the check is in the mail for you saying that to me.

SPEAKER_04 1:03

So what's happening? How's everything going?

SPEAKER_03 1:06

Well, you know, we usually talk about the weather. It's fall.

SPEAKER_04 1:08

It's fall now in We just had a nasty, nasty storm come through the last two days.

SPEAKER_03 1:15

We've had a little bit of it. It hasn't been too bad, but the weather's changed. You know, we had days and days of it like in the 80s, and all of a sudden, you know, down to 60. It's down to 40s at night. It's quite the change. But that means fallball. That just reminds me. We're in fall ball, Danny, and we're in talking to these coaches. This is our third episode of four about the coaching carousel.

SPEAKER_04 1:39

The coaching carousel. The coaching carousel continues, Kev. The coaching carousel continues, Kev. The coaching carousel continues.

SPEAKER_03 1:53

We just go round and round and round and round and round and round. Well, the other thing I need to point out is, and I'm sure people have heard this because it's the third episode, and it's been out there since the first episode, is we actually you updated our opening theme song. Yeah, what'd you think? I like it. I like it a lot. What's funny is now this is like, you know, like you were just saying, it's people have heard this is the third episode where they're going to hear it, but we're recording we recorded those other intros weeks ago, so it's almost like when you watch a movie and the lips aren't syncing with the motion. Right. That's where we're at right now. The the new theme song's been out for three episodes and we're finally talking about it in this third episode. Yeah, well, hopefully somebody noticed.

SPEAKER_04 2:40

Yeah, new logo, new logo out, and new season. Enjoying that. And a couple new segments coming in the in the year this year. And just you know, fifth fifth year, we've got to keep it keep it fresh, Kev.

SPEAKER_03 2:53

We gotta shake it up a little bit. We gotta do some fresh stuff. Right. All right, now this being the third number three of four this week, we're gonna stay just in the south region. However, one of those is a conference that always feels kind of weird than I say it's in the south. It's like saying the RMAC, it's the GLBC. There we have a coaching change in the GLBC, which is the South region, which always kills me. And we have one in the Sunshine State. Yes, we do. All right, now up from the GLBC and a coaching change, the William Jewell Cardinals. And we have to apologize to this head coach. He actually was a head coach last year, but in an interim status. That title was removed on May 23rd of this year when he was officially announced as a head coach. And Danny, he is all D2. That's all Barry. Rad assistant at LMU. And I think he's been with the Cardinals since their inception, basically, as the assistant. So let's welcome him in,

William Jewell Head Coach Andrew Briones

SPEAKER_03 4:10

Andrew Briones, head coach of the William Jewell Cardinals. Hey coach.

SPEAKER_04 4:15

Hey coach, welcome to the show.

SPEAKER_00 4:17

How's it going? It's going great. Thank you guys for having me. Excited to be here.

SPEAKER_03 4:22

Oh, it's awesome to have you. First off, congrats on having the interim removed. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 4:28

It feels great. You know, it was it was a great role, but I'm so super happy to have that tag removed. Uh, and really I now can relax a little bit, make this program my own. Um, it's just very exciting. I'm very grateful for the opportunity.

SPEAKER_04 4:41

So, how's it looked so far? You you know, you got a bunch of young guys out there, a lot of freshmen and sophomores, a couple of juniors now, you know, it's a young squad, you know, just been through the in Division II a couple of years now. How's it looked so far this fall?

SPEAKER_00 4:55

It's looking great. It's uh a lot of young energy for sure. It's it's a young coach, it's it's a young group of guys, and it's so much fun. Um, a lot of teaching, a lot of learning. Uh, and it goes both ways. It's it's me learning uh how these guys, you know, take criticism, take coaching the best. Um, and it helps form myself, you know, in terms of drills, game planning, scouting, all those things. Um, but it's so much fun, and I'm really excited. This fall's been off to a great start. Excited to get in some competition here soon.

SPEAKER_03 5:24

That's that's great. I have to ask you. You are the second coach in an in a young program. What is different? I don't know, maybe even different from when you're an interim to the head coach now, but what is different or you're gonna that you're doing differently, and what remains the same from when you started there as the assistant?

SPEAKER_00 5:45

I mean, more meetings, uh that's probably the biggest one. Um, I mean, it's it's it's been kind of building up. Um so as the assistant, I was very lucky that um Coach Burke had me sit in on a lot of stuff with him. So I was kind of getting uh prepped for the role before our we both knew it. Um and then when he departed, no, I it was I was able to step in very smooth, and he's been a great mentor to me. Um and you know, having that base of being with the team first as an assistant made the transition to the head coaching role uh pretty seamless, and a lot of the guys were happy for me. Um I I received a very warm welcome when I announced the interim status, and then again when the interim tag was removed. So um, no, it it's been great. It hasn't been too much of an adjustment. The biggest thing with last year is being a one-man full-time staff. Um that was the biggest difference you know between last year and this year already. You know, I was able to hire a full-time assistant, Kevin Greley. He's a Rockhurst alumni.

SPEAKER_02 6:43

So look at it.

SPEAKER_00 6:45

Absolutely. So it's great to have him. Um, someone to bounce ideas off of. I don't have to plan practice by myself anymore, logistics by myself anymore. Um he's been a huge help, and I'm really excited to you know keep it rolling.

SPEAKER_03 6:56

Yeah, that's awesome that you're able to hire a full-time coach and someone who's very familiar with the GLVC.

SPEAKER_00 7:03

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_03 7:04

Sure does. What do you think are the keys for you as you continue to build this program?

SPEAKER_00 7:10

I I think a big thing is you know really focusing on the culture and and cultivating that. Um, because a lot of things will take care of themselves. If I can set a good standard for special teams, for energy, for effort, you know, all those things will take care of themselves when it comes to the statistics. That those things will come, the personal accolades will come. Um and so right now it's really just teaching you know guys how to be good teammates. You know, with this culture, it's still young, and with a lot of young guys, you know, and with the first year too, we all came in at the same age. So there were there's a big group of freshmen, 33 freshmen the first year. That group is now juniors. Um, and so they've they've matured a ton in two years, especially last year, helping me out. Um, and so a lot of it really has been you know cultivating the culture, making it to what I know it can be, uh, and what's gonna bring us you know to success long term.

SPEAKER_04 8:05

Interesting. Sound like you got it together, man. That's really good.

SPEAKER_00 8:08

I'm trying.

SPEAKER_03 8:11

Uh I was gonna say, Coach, you know, I think culture, I'm curious what you think of like building the culture because it's not something you do overnight, right? You look at your first year, you guys went seven and eight, which is unbelievable for a first year program. Now, last year you dipped, and I I'm curious what your thoughts are. Is that just because was it like a sophomore slump? Was it all the you know, you came in and there were obviously Coach Burke left, you came in as the interim, now you don't have any help, it's just you. Was it a combination of those things? Was it trying to still and still trying to build that culture? I'm just curious what you're thinking.

SPEAKER_00 8:47

Yeah, absolutely. It was a combination of things. I I think one of it was just some uncertainty. You know, every time a coach leaves mid-year, there's some questions that go up in the air.

SPEAKER_02 8:56

Right.

SPEAKER_00 8:57

Um and I think it's really hard for guys to buy in when they're uncertain. And, you know, when you make your commitment, you know, coming out of high school and you want to attend a program for four years, uh, you want to be able to buy in and have certainty with that. So the uncertainty um from last year with the coaching change um really made it difficult for some guys to buy in. So I think that's part of it. Another thing, too, is like you said, you know, it would have been extremely difficult for us to surpass our expectations for ourselves in year two. Um, and you know, it's it's a maturity thing as well. And so when those initial expectations weren't reached early in the year, um, it was a lot of growing pains and a lot of necessary growing pains, and that's part of building a program. And I think now that we're on the other side of it, you know, retaining as well as we did, the guys understand it. They understand the goals, they understand what we need to improve on, um, and kind of what we need to avoid as well, which I think is almost more valuable uh than knowing where you want to go.

SPEAKER_04 9:52

Absolutely. I couldn't agree with you more.

SPEAKER_03 9:54

Yeah, that's interesting. I what I hear there is you had a phenomenal first season, you get some more losses than what you expect. It's tough as a young program, a young team, basically freshmen and sophomores, to get out of that slump and and take those losses as learning lessons versus just feeling defeated. Was that part of the struggle you think? They they they thought, oh, we were seven and eight, we have a chance to do better. And then when they they took their lumps, they're like, oh my gosh. And and it's a l it's a journey, right? And I always say kids it's not linear. You don't rise like this, you're gonna have your ups and downs, right? So it would was that part of it? Like was that what you were trying to say? That it it they just had a they had to learn to they had to learn from their losses instead of be beaten up by them.

SPEAKER_00 10:45

Sure, absolutely. It's you you have to learn how to lose. And as a new program, as a very young group of guys, you you have to understand that. Um, and I go back to my experience at at Newberry as a first-year program. We struggled a lot that's those first couple years. Um, but that year three, year four turn uh really came fast, and that's where you started seeing the receiving votes. Um, and I I see us on a very similar trajectory. I almost wish it would have started year one with some more losses, so our guys were some lessons there. Um, but no, the guys have come along great. And I think the maturity, which is something you don't obviously don't see on this on the stat sheet, um, the maturity and the growth of these guys as not only lacrosse players, but young men um off the field in the classroom with each other, it's been awesome. Um and yeah, it's a lot of it was learning how to lose, um, and a lot of it is just learning how to be a good teammate. And I think there were some times last year we really struggled with that uh in the midst of some losses, and I think we have learned those lessons. And so coming into year three now, um, I think we have a higher standard for ourselves when it comes to the culture, the teamwork, the thing, uh things of that nature. And like I said, like when those things are in play, the wins and losses will take care of themselves once you have you know all the intangibles that you know not every program does have.

SPEAKER_04 12:03

Coach, where are you from originally?

SPEAKER_00 12:06

I'm from Friendswood, Texas, which is right outside of Houston.

SPEAKER_04 12:09

And that's where you played lacrosse and and learned the game of lacrosse and everything in Texas?

SPEAKER_00 12:14

Yes, sir. Coming from a soccer background, um, fifth grade is when I started playing.

SPEAKER_04 12:18

Okay. Like, how's that dynamic?

SPEAKER_00 12:32

I mean, I really enjoy the Midwest, and Kansas City has so much to offer, not only, you know, as a metropolitan area, with but you know, just the entertainment options are phenomenal. There's a ton of wide music, the food's awesome. You know, going from Texas, the Kansas City barbecue is a little different for sure. Oh, yeah. So it's a little less frisky, a little more sweet uh pork, but no, it's it's it's phenomenal. I'm really enjoying my time in the Midwest. I think culturally it's very similar to Texas, very similar to the Southeast. Um, not too many drastic changes there. Um I'm feeling right at home here.

SPEAKER_04 13:06

Oh, that's great. Now, how's recruiting gone?

SPEAKER_00 13:10

It's been great. So we brought in a small class this past year with the coaching change. Um, and so we have a small group of freshmen this year, but we're already well ahead of schedule in 2026 um and looking to just keep that momentum going. But recruiting to a place like William Jewel isn't too hard. Once you get the kids to campus, the campus sells itself, the location sells itself, and um, I think what we can do on the career services side of things is great. A lot of our guys in their freshman year summer uh or the summer after their freshman year were getting paid internships and doing things to really boost their resume.

SPEAKER_02 13:42

Wow.

SPEAKER_00 13:42

Um and at the D2 level, you know, that that's part of the battle, right? It's it's not all just about lacrosse, and while that that's the fun thing that brings us all together, you know, how can we set you up after school? Um, especially with colleges getting expensive everywhere. I view it as a return on investment opportunity. And if you can come in somewhere, have a small classroom, get a great lacrosse experience, and also be in a metro area for not only the entertainment but the jobs, you know, it's it's a really cool spot.

SPEAKER_04 14:08

Oh, that's great. Now, I'll I'll make well I'm sorry, Kevin. I'm I'm a I'm a senior, I'm not sure where I want to go yet. I, you know, William Jewell looks good to me. What do I have to do to get onto your radar?

SPEAKER_00 14:23

I mean, the biggest thing is obviously I want to see some film or see a play, but when it comes to you know what I'm looking for, you know, I was a dual sport guy. I love my dual sport athletes in the recruiting process, whether that's a hockey background, football background.

SPEAKER_02 14:35

Right, right.

SPEAKER_00 14:36

I mean, some of the better defenders I've coached are are tennis players because you have to break down with your feet and the wrist inflection there is similar to a slap check. So I'm a big fan of dual sport guys, and then academically you just have to match our profile, what we're looking for in the classroom, um, and then also just be hungry. You know, the the the grit uh that comes with being a D2 athlete in general, then you add another layer of that um of being in the Midwest where it's very a very physical game, very physical conference. Um and so if you're the type of player that you know goes hard after ground balls and bounces off contact and is able to play hard right after they get knocked down, like we'd love to have you.

SPEAKER_03 15:12

That's that's great, Coach. And I have to, Danny, I love that question. I let me follow up a little bit because when we had Coach Burke on when the program was just started, he said that William Jewell was in a unique position, and you went through a lot of it. I think two of the things he focused in on was academics, the high academics of the school, and like you said, kind of those internships. Do you I it sounds like you use that as a differentiator in recruiting for the GLVC? Is that what is that correct?

SPEAKER_00 15:44

I mean it it's there's so many great schools in this conference, and five out of six of them are in big metro areas or right next to. Um but I think what kind of separates us is the downtown life is 20 minutes from campus, but we're in a quiet suburb. And when you can have the best of both worlds there, we can have entertainment, the food, um, the internship opportunities in a 20-minute drive, but your class sizes are small. Um, it's an athlete-driven campus. Um, it it's a lot of a you get a lot of attention and you can really personalize your experience. Um, and so when you combine our school size as well, it's it's a smaller school. And so it is what you can put into it. And if you're willing to really you know take care of that and cultivate that, you can really have a great experience here.

SPEAKER_04 16:25

That's great. What's your out of conference schedule look like so far? Or can you let the cat out of the bag, so to speak?

SPEAKER_00 16:31

Yeah, I mean, it's we take two big trips early. Uh, we go down to Georgia for uh Emmanuel College and Shorter.

SPEAKER_02 16:37

Okay, great.

SPEAKER_00 16:38

Come back and travel up to Ohio for Malone and Tiffin. Um and then we're finalizing games with Northwest Nazarene. Um I know I'm forgetting somebody else, but then we we'll play Quincy and Rockhurst as as a one-and-one every year. So one game in conference, one game out of conference.

SPEAKER_04 16:54

Right, right, right. All right, great. That's fantastic.

SPEAKER_03 16:58

Let me turn to this for a second. You mentioned it, and I have a follow-on question to this. You mentioned it. You went you were at Newberry when it started. Yes, sir. Now you go to where you got the assistant coach in a brand new program and now the head coach of a really still new program. Do you think going through what you did at Newberry helps you guide this team and these players?

SPEAKER_00 17:22

Absolutely. And I think you know, it one, it helps that I'm a little younger, too. Um, but two, also having that experience myself is it's important because, you know, I know exactly what you guys can be going through. Um in Newberry, being a new school in a non-traditional area in South Carolina, very similar here. It's it's a new program in a non-traditional area. Um, the local club scene's still growing, the local high school scene is still growing. So there's not a ton of resources around us to reach out um for lacrosse. And so I can understand some of the struggles for sure. Um, but it's been so much fun, and I I see so many parallels and into what we did at four years at Newberry um and what we could do here at William Jewel. And I think I got an extra layer onto that with you know, junior year of my college career being COVID. I I dealt with that as well. Um and so understanding that from a player perspective and kind of using that experience to help teach and kind of guide these guys through um their college experience, you know, I'd be lying if I said that wasn't a big factor for me taking the assistant job initially. I wanted to be part of a new program. That's something I felt very comfortable with. Um and I'm just so excited uh for this opportunity right now.

SPEAKER_03 18:30

That's awesome. Now, the follow-on, you bleed due D2. Why do you think D2 is so great?

SPEAKER_00 18:38

A big thing for me is just the athletic to academic to social life balance. I feel like at the D2 level, the lacrosse is so competitive. You have some of the most talented guys, guys that are going in the NLL uh draft constantly. Some of my former teammates um I got to practice against our NLL guys now. It's so exciting. And you combine that with the awesome opportunity for the high-end academics, and then at the end of your day, you still have a couple hours. And that's just hard to beat when it comes to you know getting a great college experience, such a well-rounded experience. Um, and again, in a small school like ours, you can really cultivate that and personalize it as much as you like. And for example, this fall for us, you know, we have morning practice, afternoon lift, you know, and the evenings, the guys are free. Um so they can go do anything they need to do, whether that is you know getting those shadowing hours, internships, studying, or socializing. Um, and I think the flexibility there is really what makes D2 great.

SPEAKER_04 19:36

I agree. With three boys, three boys that went into D2, so I agree. And you know, they can stack the scholarships too, and that's that's attractive to a lot of parents as well.

SPEAKER_03 19:49

Yeah, well, exactly right, Danny. And and all we can say, coach, is we really appreciate you taking the time to come on with us. It's been great getting to know you a little better, and we're really excited to see where the Cardinals go this year, and excited to see what you can do with the program. So thanks for coming on.

SPEAKER_00 20:07

Well, I appreciate it, guys. Thanks for having me.

SPEAKER_04 20:09

Andrew Bionis, the new head coach, William Jewell Cardinals. Thanks so much for coming on. We really appreciate the two knuckleheads from In the Crease. Uh, appreciate your time tonight. Thanks again.

SPEAKER_00 20:20

Yeah, thank you guys.

PBA Head Coach Dan Carlson

SPEAKER_03 20:23

All right, Danny, let's move to a coaching change in the Sunshine State with Palm Beach Atlantic Sailfish.

SPEAKER_04 20:31

Oh, the South, Kev. You know how I love the South. I know.

SPEAKER_03 20:34

No, you're gonna love this coach too. But this is Dan Carson. He's taking over for Brett Bernardo. Coach Carson was most recently the head coach at a D3 school for four years, Messiah University in Pennsylvania. Before that, he was associate head coach and offensive coordinator at Air Force Academy. And he had some other pretty cool stints he coached at. Princeton, Richmond, Grove City, Ohio Valley. He comes with a lot of experience at a lot of levels, except for D2.

SPEAKER_04 21:10

That's kind of funny if you ask me.

SPEAKER_03 21:12

Yeah, well, and it's it it and it's it's a great resume, right?

SPEAKER_04 21:15

So some of those small schools like Princeton and Air Force, you know.

SPEAKER_03 21:21

Yeah, those ranked schools. Yeah. So let's just bring them in. Yeah, yeah. Hey coach, welcome. Great to have you on.

SPEAKER_01 21:28

Yeah, hey guys, thanks. Coach thank you for the shout-out. Hey, I I have to say, you you shouted out a lot of schools, uh OBU, Ohio Valley University, my first ever job was D Two. It was D two. We were they don't exist anymore. Uh so I have a master's degree in a school that's no longer in existence. You know, shout out OBU, Cooperini, Birmingham Southern, you know, some some of these. No, but uh yeah, no. Um They were D two.

SPEAKER_03 21:57

When when were you there?

SPEAKER_01 21:58

D two. Um So it was my twenty-three year old assistant coach with the head coach of North Greenville, Corey Strass.

SPEAKER_02 22:06

Right.

SPEAKER_01 22:07

We're both twenty-three years old, uh, head coach and assistant coach. Both of us basically were. I mean, he was the head coach in title, but we had no idea we were doing that.

SPEAKER_03 22:15

That's awesome. Coach Strass has been on this podcast several times.

SPEAKER_01 22:18

Coach Struss is a good friend of mine.

SPEAKER_03 22:20

So that's hilarious. That's that's awesome. Here, and I was gonna say, some serious changes for you. D three to D2. So you were D2 one time, but you know, D3 to D2. Yep. Pennsylvania to Florida. Good man. Smart. What made you want to make those changes? Or is that just obvious?

SPEAKER_01 22:40

I mean, outside of the obvious, um, you know, I I had known about PBA for a long time. Uh, when I was at Grove City, we went down to to Palm Beach Atlantic and scrimmaged them over spring break. And I remember in 2013, looking around with my eyes wide open, being like, man, this is if they ever got a varsity program, this is this is a dream. And so um, I mean, it's a downtown West Palm Beach. It's a mile from the beach. Um, it's got a really cool missional component that I'm sure I get into in a little bit, but it's a special place. And um, you know, I was just excited about it. Obviously, uh no longer gonna be frozen salad in January lacrosse. I would be shorts and a t-shirt, which is pretty nice. And um, yeah, I mean, I loved my time at Messiah. It was an incredible place, incredible people. Um, but but uh, you know, the opportunity to PBA was something for me and my family that we couldn't pass up. My wife's family, now, you know, all this coaching journey, you're always following a coach around, wife, coach's wife. Uh, they've all relocated from New Jersey down here to South Florida. So it ended up working out perfect for us because I got young kids, so I got a family here. Um, I got help from Yana and Tata when we need it. You know, it's just an awesome fit. And so not only a lifestyle fit from a location, but a family fit. But also, um, I don't know, you guys are on it all the time, but I think D2 lacrosse um is one of the most up-and-coming, one of the most exciting brands of college lacrosse that there is. And I'm just I've been watching the expansion of D2 lacrosse in the South as well. Yeah, um, so many of my former, you know, guys like myself that were D1 assistants and D1's not expanding that much, have become incredible um D2 head coaches and taking programs from nothing to something, you know, and Anderson and North Greenville and some of these places. And these guys were guys that I've coached with that um are incredible leaders of men. And I'm like watching them and I'm like, man, this is the sauce down here. There's there's something in the waters in the south in D2, and um, and then you obviously you look at Tampa and what what JB's done and Coach Whipple have done over there, it's special. So just excited, just excited to be down here. It's really good. Let's talk.

SPEAKER_03 24:42

Let's talk about it. I love how you said that, the the growth of D2. Danny and I talk about it all the time. And you're in the Sunshine State. So, what are your early thoughts of going into that conference? Uh and you talked a little bit about it. Tampa, you you look, there's a lot of good competition. What do you think about going in there?

SPEAKER_01 25:00

Yeah, I mean, uh, all respect to all these guys. They've been doing a great job. I mean, the toughest thing is I might win a recruiting battle against another school from the north, but then, you know, I look across the street and my boys at Lynn Mark Miller, Lynn is, you know, getting another guy, and then, you know, Florida Tech. And it's um, you know, I I again I I don't know enough. I'm I know enough to be dangerous, but uh from what I've watched from film, what I've followed, it's like I would argue against us, anybody say, hey, I think top to bottom the most competitive conference in D2. And so um it's exciting. The challenge is definitely laid before us. Um, but I really do believe that uh, you know, some of the the best lacrosse is being played right now in the South. Um no, no offense. I mean, the Adelphi guys, I mean, what a what a dynasty they built. So, you know, some of that, but man, just top to bottom, what an awesome opportunity. And in Florida, um, you know, you get all these. I think the influx of the division one transfer, the post-COVID movement of guys with extra years. The what was the Terry Alt kid decides to go for Brown to Tampa? Right. You know, just you know, uh Rollins a couple years had a butt like Mikey Burton had some DT answers from Syracuse. Right. I know those guys over Rollins, my my buddy Gary Clemente is a defensive coordinator, and he does, you know, he's from warmly at Wagner. He does an incredible job. I know those guys are doing great. So um it's it's exciting. It feels a little daunting, but I think the exciting thing for us at PBA is like we started in 2018 as a program. And so um, you know, as long as for for us, as long as we're just stacking days and just trying to be our best every day, I think we can continue to compete. If you look at a little bit of last year, they're finally in one goal games, overtime games with ranked opponents. And so um, I you know, I'm really excited about the future at PBA. And I think we are as much as we're in a really competitive conference, we are a niche, you know, we have a niche that's maybe a little different than some of the other schools. And so really leaning into that faith, the Christian experience and and the Christian experience at the beach, right? And um, so for us, the opportunity is there, the challenge is there. Um, like I said, I know enough to be dangerous, but man, um, I think that's I'll I at the end of the year we should do a post-first year podcast and see what I'm doing. There we go. Because I know I've been a head coach before, man, I was like full fire and brimstone, and then at the end of the year, man, how I was humbled. So I'm excited, but I think I'm a little bit like, hey, we're just gonna temper these, we're gonna take it day by day and well it's funny, Coach.

SPEAKER_03 27:21

I I saw a quote by you, and now I get why you were the person to say it because of your personality and your and your fire. And it's you said, Sailfish Nation, get ready. We're gonna take the world by storm. That sounds just like what you're saying on this podcast. I was gonna ask you, were you just trying to fire people up, but I think that's how you are.

SPEAKER_01 27:43

Yeah, I'm a passionate guy, man. I think um, you know, I I love this game. You hit it, man. I love the PLL. Um, you know, uh, even down to like guys like Chris Bates, who now that I'll coach the archers. I work for him in Princeton. Like, it's fun. It's such a small world.

SPEAKER_02 27:57

It really is.

SPEAKER_01 27:58

Um, you know, I I the coolest thing, you know, we have this coaching convention every year, and and the coolest things are we'll have like D3 head coaches get up, and you'll look in the room, and the top 10 D1 coaches are in there with white, like they're clipboards, they're learning and they're they're growing. There's so much respect among coaches, and there's so much growth that every person is trying to undertake. Um, I just think it's such a cool sport, you know, and I think uh a lot of those things are there. And so I love the passion, love the game, I'm fired up about it. Um, and and I really do. Like I said, like I think we have something really special to sell, and I believe in it. And so I think when you believe in something and you're ready to go get it, um, it just oozes out of you. And I think that, you know, PBA lacrosse has been excited, whether you know, from the years of the club program, the other varsity for for kind of that juice and that ready to go. And um, you know, I think the university made some really amazing commitments through the process of hiring me and going to national search and doing things that I do think we're in a a better position and really ready to go forward. So um, yeah, there you go. You get a little bit of me. I'm fiery, passionate.

SPEAKER_04 29:01

That's awesome. I'm ready to go. Now, PBA over the last couple of years has been a little up and down in consistency. And I think a lot of that has to do with head coaches going in and out. Now that you're here, what can you bring differently to PBA that hasn't been there before?

SPEAKER_01 29:20

Yeah, I think the first thing you hit it, man, uh consistency, right? You know, when they on my interview, I was like, hey, we just we haven't had consistency. And um, I think you look at the best programs in the country, um, and not just the D1, but look at Kevin Corgan at Notre Dame. Like the consistency over the years has made the difference, right? And so, or you know, even like a um, you know, looking thinking about the D2 world, like what they've done at the Delphi, the consistency and how that's now bred to immediate incredible success, or you know, great paradigm at Lenore Ryan, right? Yeah, it was there for a long time. And now look what he's built. Like, um, and so you have have that, and I think that's a big piece in it. Um, you know, and I think, you know, shout out to the guys who were here before, right? You know, Brett uh Brett Bernardo, Jesse Venata, and even Coach Tempone, like great men, great leaders. Um, you know, I I what I would say is I've had the ability and the gifting to learn from the greatest coaches in the game. You know, Dan Shimotti at Richmond, right? Chris Bates, Princeton, Matt Madelon, Princeton, uh, Bill Wilson, Air Force, Eric Saramant, you know, Ruckers, Air Force. And so these guys have poured into me, and I've just soaked up that stuff like a sponge. Like even guys like John Thompson spending winners of time with him, he's at North Carolina recruiting every five-star in the country right now. Right, right. And so I think um bringing that experience and the knowledge that I've been gifted with, right? None of the things that I know in the game, but things that poor people poured into me, into these guys. Um, I think that combined with just consistency, like I my my mission and my plan is to be here for the next 20 years, right? My family's set, my kids are set, we're good in school, and so that consistency over time, I think you're gonna see a lot of success. Um uh will that be tomorrow? You know, right, but um that I think will be that'll be a differentiator for us. Um it's cool that you use that word, Dan, because I think that that's the word that really, you know, trying to carry the day right now.

SPEAKER_03 31:16

Yeah, and I what to be honest, last year they were four and seven, but you look at oh yeah, that doesn't really tell the kind of play they had, right? They had wins against Lander, Emory Riddle, and St. Leo, and they took Rollins to double overtime and lost to Lynn by one. So, like St. Leo was ranked. Yeah, yeah. Really close, really close. And like, so what is your early assessment of the team? Have you have you been had much practice yet? Have you been able to see the team and where they're at?

SPEAKER_01 31:47

Yeah, that's another fun transition from D3 to D2. D D two, you get a little more time with the guys, and so um, you know, we're really diving in. Um, I've got a really hungry group. I think one thing that um, you know, I I was a little bit concerned about going in was all right, is this just gonna be a group of guys that came for the beach and to play lacrosse on the side, right? Because we're a mile from the beach, and you know, I got guys telling me, yeah, I'm a surfer, I do this. Like it is a hungry group. If I can say anything about it, but it's a really hungry group. I think they're hungry for high-level fundamentals, they're hungry for accountability, they're hungry for um somebody to push them, somebody to say, hey, what you're doing is not good enough, right? And I think you know, I had a coach a long time ago tell me that young men crave discipline, right? Uh young men need discipline, but they don't really want, they don't, they won't tell you they want it, right? So they crave it, but they'll rub up against it. And I think this is a group that's really just craving that discipline and that component to um the day in and day out. And so um great energy every single day. Um, you know, I I think the unique challenge for us is uh we lost an all-American who's now on my staff, but we got a transfer from Jacksonville, Curtis Goddard, who, if you watch those guys last year, Van Curtis was special. He was a really special player. Um, you know, led the team of ground balls outside of our face-off guys, could just make something happen. When and he had, you know, I always say there's some guys who just got that it factor, like when the game was in the line, he could do it. So, you know, just trying to figure out okay, how do we replace that? Another kid that we lost, um, you know, um is a kid named Keegan Southern, who, you know, 13L SSC, uh, great player, um, unbelievable young man. I think um probably could have been featured more with how I think talented he was. Um you know, he graduated um and is you know about to get married and all that stuff. So, you know, congratulations to Keegan. And then, but we return like our entire defense, which is great. And so, you know, I think early on we're gonna really lean into midfield and defense as we get some of these young, you know, we're gonna be young at the attack position, um, ready to go for college ball. But uh, I'm excited, man. I think uh, like I said, sometimes you know, ignorance is bliss. Like, I don't really know other than film, I don't know what SSD ball is all about, but um, you know, we're gonna go bring it um and kind of see how how good we can be.

SPEAKER_04 34:06

Well, some state conference is a good conference, like you said, probably up, you know, top to bottom, numbers-wise, probably the best conference in the country. I mean, now we got John Jezz and Emory Riddle, and you know, it's just uh quite the conference, and I just think what St. Leo does year after year. Florida Southern had a down year after having a great year the year before. So you're in the Sunside State conference. It's it's it's gonna be a tough little run in the beginning. How have practices looked? How's the practices been looking?

SPEAKER_01 34:38

Yeah, I I think um the one thing that I'm an up-tempo guy. Um, you know, I I don't put guys on the end line too often, but uh it we're running, man. We are uh we're we're pushing the pace, you know. And you're down in Florida too, so guys are just drenched top to bottom. It's pretty entertaining. Um if they're not if they're not drenched because of their sweat, they're over the pouring water on themselves.

SPEAKER_02 34:59

But right, right, right.

SPEAKER_01 35:00

You know, it's been a lot of fun. We've really gotten up and down. Um, you know, I think the game is is meant to be played up and down. So really trying to teach these guys how to play in phases, how to get up and down, how to run. What does a sub game look like? Like how do we play at the highest level? Um, and and how do we play with pace? Um, and you know, kind of teaching all of that. And so that's really a lot of the focus of the fall. Uh, practicing fun. You know, like I said, I I mean, I'm a juice guy. We're a morning practice, so you know, we had this incredible sunrise, you know, over the practice field this morning. So we're getting up every morning, getting after it. And um, you know, we had the the the speaker out for warmups this morning. Guys are really bringing the energy and the juice, and I think uh practicing fun. Have a lot of fun with the boys.

SPEAKER_03 35:42

That's great. That's awesome. What would you say, coach, uh, are your top priorities for this year? Um, and even going into you know, uh next year uh for this team and this program.

SPEAKER_01 35:56

Yeah, I think the first thing, if if you look at PBA, you mentioned how close they were. Um, I I think our clearing percentage was like 71%. And and in the games that we lost, um, it was closer towards 60%. And I think you know, being able to be a disciplined team in the clear. Uh because we got so many stops. I'm telling you, you watch some of those games against the Florida, Florida Tech or a game, the game against Lynn, uh, the Lynn game, they cleared the colour.

SPEAKER_03 36:22

That was a great game.

SPEAKER_01 36:23

Unbelievable game, right? Didn't score in the second half, but part of it was the fourth quarter. They failed like four or five clears in a row and then got stopped again, and then failed to clear, and then got stopped again, and finally the the dam just broke. And I think really being disciplined in that, and um, you know, really, really getting into hey, what does it look like to get the ball from our defense or offense at a high percentage? Um, you know, you got a division one transfer in uh at the goaltender position. We're really excited about him, really excited about a guy that we return in cage. We have some a really fun competition of the net. And so, you know, both those guys just hey, proven who can save the rock, who can clear the ball, right? And and who's that first line of the clear. So um, you know, I think that's gonna be a huge focal point, you know, for this year. Um, you know, as much as it's like, hey, transition, attacking in phases, doing those little things.

SPEAKER_03 37:11

So that's great. That's great. So you talked about at the beginning, and I want to give you the chance to say it. Uh, this is your chance to talk about PBA, your program, the mission. Sell the program to uh any high schoolers that are listening on this podcast when it comes out.

SPEAKER_01 37:31

Yeah, it's it's it's awesome. So um I I think one of the cool things about PBA, and maybe the the thing like I said, hey, there's a lot of places in play in in the country where you can go to incredible academic schools, right? There's a lot of really cool locations, right? Um, you know what what PBA is, it's an incredible lacrosse experience, especially for the young man that wants to grow in his faith or wants to encounter his faith. Like, what does that mean in my life, right? And so this lacrosse experience that we offer is just that. It's it's faith academics and lacrosse, right? And it's also the opportunity. Hey, why are we practicing in the morning? Well, now in the afternoon, if you want to go out and play some golf and the best golf coaches in the world, you got that opportunity in the fall, right? You want to go surfing? Hey, guess what? You know, the waves were up last week. It was pretty awesome. Coach Carson was paddling out with a couple guys, right? That was something, you know, and what a cool experience, right? So you have this place where I mean, you know, shout out to the New York school, shout out to those places where they're playing great tough ball. But um, you know, hey, hey, outside of lacrosse at school, like there's times I've been in places where there's not a lot going on, right? Whereas I think our guys have the opportunity to get a balanced college experience, right? As much as our guys are getting the extra wall ball time, they're getting the extra time, you know, shooting, like they're hungry, they're out there. I got film, I got kids asking me to watch film at 6 a.m. before 7 a.m. practice, they're hungry, right? They still have the opportunity to go and do a lot of things. And so, you know, I think that the experience component is a massive part. Um, you know, for us, really what we make sure we emphasize is that kind of three-tiered system is hey, it's it's an opportunity for the young man that has a really strong faith to continue to find brothers, a brotherhood, a family, right? Where they get to grow in that faith piece. Um, it's the opportunity for a young man who's like, hey, I'm curious about this. Like, what is this all about, right? To come in in a really safe environment where they already have a natural family of lacrosse, and then that natural family can expose them to things in their lives maybe that they wanted to know more about, right? From an academics period piece, like we have an $80 million college of business building that's being built. We are in the downtown heart of West Palm Beach. West Palm Beach right now is the finance capital of the South. They are for 40% of our income is coming from the finance industry. New York City is getting a little crazy, and people are running for Florida taxes. And so it is an incredible opportunity. Right now, the owner of a Miami Dolphins is poured in six billion dollars in the city of West Palm. He wants West Palm to be the central heart of the finance industry in the South.

SPEAKER_04 40:12

And so Stephen Ross, right? Stephen Ross.

SPEAKER_01 40:14

Yeah, yeah, yeah. And so it's just, I mean, everywhere you look, Goldman Sachs last year moved their international and U.S. headquarters to West Palm Beach. And so our guys are on campus. They walk one and a half blocks to the Goldman Sachs office and they do internships. We have a guy doing an internship there right now. Most of our alumni stream in town, they're not going home. Sorry, mom, not going back to Maryland, not going back to upstate New York, not going to Central Mass, not going there. I'm going to stay here. And so it's just in a cool place uh with a really great vibe. It's got this perfect mix of city and beach town, right? And then it doesn't it doesn't hurt that across um across you know the street, uh, if you if you say across intercocial is per capita the most expensive place to live in the country. Uh Donald Trump's Mar-a logos over there, right? It's just this really cool clash. You go north and you got Michael Jordan, you got all the golfers from that that show. Um and so it's just a really special place. The location's incredible. The school's growing, right? We've grown from 2400 to 3200 in the last couple of years. So, unlike some of our other competitors, schools like Cabrini falling off because of enrollment. We're on the up, we're on the up. And so uh we're building buildings like crazy to try to meet the demand. Um, our acceptance rate has gone like from the 90th percentile. It used to be kind of like, hey, in the early, you know, 2017, 18, it was like you got a poll so you can come to PBA. Now we're like just above 60%, and and this is gonna be the most competitive academic class in the history of PBA next year in the 26th class. So um, yeah, again, faith, academics are stepping up the table. Um, and then and then the lacrosse piece, why not come down south, play in the most competitive country? I mean, the competitive conference in the country, right? And just do it differently, right? There's a cell at Lynn, there's a cell at St. Um St. Leo, there's a cell at Tampa. All those places are great, right? Our cell is gonna be family, brotherhood, faith, and we're gonna come together under those umbrellas and do something for the glory of God, something bigger than ourselves, uh, in a really sweet spot. So hopefully that didn't take up too much time. But no, coach, that was great. You sold me, coach. You sold me. That was great. Yeah, I might have had you at the golf courses or in the fire, but I really sold you with family and brotherhood. Yeah, there you go. You did. That's essential to us. And so, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 42:34

Yeah. Well, I'll tell you what, coach, this has been great having you on. Uh, great finally to have a Palm Beach Atlantic coach on and and share your your thoughts. And I'm fired up to watch the sailfish this year. So thanks again for coming on.

SPEAKER_01 42:49

Thanks, guys. I really appreciate it. Thanks for the time. And you know, uh it's kind of I said, hey, we're gonna take the world by storm, but man, we're uh I stole that from Dabbo Sweeney, by the way. He just said it and I was like, I love that. Uh but yeah, I'm just really excited. Thank you for the time. And and like I said, if you guys want to do an end of end of year one podcast, I'll just scoop on what what it was like. But uh, thank you so much for the time.

SPEAKER_04 43:11

All right, Dan Carson from PBA, thank you so much for coming on tonight. We really appreciate your time. Thanks a lot.

Shout Outs

SPEAKER_03 43:18

That was a great uh episode. Two programs that I think, Danny, are on the rise. Coach Brionis is young, very young guy, but he has been at William Jewell really since his inception. And he knows what it's like to start a program since he played at Newberry when it was new.

SPEAKER_04 43:37

Yep, yep. I think he's gonna be a pretty good coach, you know. I think he's gonna relate well to the kids, you know. I think he's gonna have that kind of rapport with the kids. I think he's gonna do well, you know, and Newberry with Coach Cotter there, he's a great coach and he does good things and you know, he's gonna bring that with him, you know, over there. And I think, you know, I think William Jill is gonna be

SPEAKER_03 44:00

In good hands. Yeah, I think when you s you said it right, not only was he coached by a a good coach, but he can relate to those players to let them know what it's like to be a founding member of a program, get it started, understand that there are lumps, try to take the lessons learned instead of letting it beat you up, right, and move on from there. 100%. I couldn't agree with you more. And then Coach Carson at Palm Beach Atlantic, that guy comes with a ton of enthusiasm. I was pumped after talking to him.

SPEAKER_04 44:34

And pedigree, too, you know, and and like I think he's gonna have it, he's gonna have it a little tough in the beginning, I think, but I think he's got the right motor to get that team going and get recruits there and and get that team back to where it was like four or five years ago, because they were a pretty decent team four or five years ago.

SPEAKER_03 44:54

They were very good when uh my son was a freshman. I think my son's freshman year, they were they were I I remember them coming up to play Wingate, and I was like, don't look past this team. They got some players.

SPEAKER_04 45:11

Now they I think they were undefeated at that point before they played Wingate. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 45:16

They may have been. And what's funny, Danny, is I think like you said, I think he's gonna make them now. Last year, the Sailfish, they had some flashes of brilliance and some really good games, and they uh and they had some that weren't I think uh Coach Carson's gonna come in and he's going to get them to be uh he's gonna be the consistency there, like you talked about. That's the key word there, yeah. Yes, yeah, and I think that's the key word. I think they're gonna be competitive in games, in in many games this season, but I think look for them in in future seasons and see what they can do.

SPEAKER_04 45:52

You know, numbers, depth, that's always been a problem a little bit. He's gonna have to get his foot, you know, his feet wet in the concrete there and and and get his players in there. I think it's gonna be a work in progress, but I think he's got the right motor, like I said, to get that done. I agree. And I think he's gonna bring consistency and accountability to to that team. And I think, you know, they're in the Sunshine State conference, Kev. That conference is badass. I don't care what from top to bottom. Like every team is really kind of pretty good.

SPEAKER_03 46:23

So we always talk about it with the peach belt, right? That it the those four are now five teams of Virginia State, but those four teams, you never know who's gonna win. And I will tell you, the way it happened last year in the Sunshine State, you could have a team like Palm Beach Atlantic, and I think they may have even beat St. Leo or they beat one of those teams. You think that they are that, oh, that's gonna be a win for name it, Rollins or Florida Southern. And it isn't. Emery Riddle wins or Florida Tech wins or they beat up on each other.

SPEAKER_04 46:57

They really do beat up on each other.

SPEAKER_03 47:00

So it's a good conference. I'm I'm excited to see where the sailfish go in Palm Beach Atlantic. And I think uh I just love when the conferences get tighter in competition. I I I I do too. I as well. Yep. All right. So do you have any shout-outs? I've got one for this episode.

SPEAKER_04 47:22

I have one shout-out. Well, you start us off there. Okay. Do you remember our old friend from St. Rose, Alex Williams?

SPEAKER_03 47:30

Yes.

SPEAKER_04 47:31

Went down to UAH, was coaching last season because they closed St. Rose a couple of years ago. Wound up going to UAH.

SPEAKER_03 47:38

No, we went to Lander.

SPEAKER_04 47:39

Uh, Lander, I apologize. I knew it was a peach belt. I knew it was a peach belt.

SPEAKER_03 47:43

Well, I'm here to be honest, my friend.

SPEAKER_04 47:45

Guess what? Oh, I knew we were gonna be. The Buccaneers will start their season next year in Division II. And Coach Williams has been named the head coach, and I couldn't be happier for him. And he'll never come home because he's gonna be in Miami now, Kev. So, coach, congratulations on the on the hire. Um, I think it's gonna be great that that Barry Barry's actually a very good athletic school basketball over the years. When I lived down in South Florida, Barry University had a very good basketball squad.

SPEAKER_03 48:25

So they're good athletics.

SPEAKER_04 48:28

I would. I would go down to see Barry play.

SPEAKER_03 48:30

So I texted Coach Williams after I heard. Okay, good. And he was very gracious as always, but I gave him grief, and I gave grief on the lander page when it came out saying, where was the exclusive for in the crease on this?

SPEAKER_04 48:47

Yeah, he forgot about us. I know.

SPEAKER_03 48:49

You know, he becomes a head coach again, and we're just the little people.

SPEAKER_04 48:53

We're just the little people. But again, congratulations, coach. I couldn't uh couldn't get a better man than you.

SPEAKER_03 49:00

That's awesome. And I think, Danny, I'm gonna save my shout-out for next week because we don't have many as we start off. So I'm gonna start I'm gonna save my shout-out because I had that one as well. I'll save my other shout-out for next week.

SPEAKER_04 49:14

Oh shoot.

SPEAKER_03 49:14

I stole your I stole your. You did it. That's okay. That's okay. I apologize. I got another one and I'll save it. And and oh, by the way, so people will know, like we're recording this October 14th. This episode will probably come out in a couple weeks. So the news of Coach Williams will have been out there for a few weeks, but that's okay. We still wanted to congratulate him. Yes. And with that, Danny, for tonight and our third episode of the Coaching Carousel.

SPEAKER_04 49:47

Coaching carousel continues, Kevin. And that's all right.