Carousel of Coaching Changes Continues (Part 4)

Intro

SPEAKER_02 0:41

I'm your co-host, Kevin Stenstrom, and with me as always is the man who brings it every week, Danny Moran. Oh, Danny.

SPEAKER_03 0:49

You know it, Kevin. I'm bringing it up trying to bring it every weekend, every week, every Tuesday. Got your rally cap on. Got my rally cap on. How's it going tonight in Northern Virginia?

SPEAKER_02 1:00

It's going great. It's going great. You know, it's it's this is our warm-up. These are our warm-ups, these episodes about the coaching changes. It gets us in the flow. Then we get ready for conference previews. I know you started your homework. I was starting my homework. My wife's already complaining that I'm doing too much lacrosse stuff. So it's all good. It's all good here in Northern Virginia.

SPEAKER_03 1:21

Yeah, started doing homework uh last week and did a little bit more over the weekend watching football. It was really crappy weather up here.

SPEAKER_02 1:28

So nowhere to go, nowhere to do it today, not on Sunday.

SPEAKER_03 1:32

Not golfing weather, not doing anything. It was like sit home and eat weather, you know what I mean? And watch football. Yeah, exactly. And I did a bunch of homework and got ahead of things for a change, you know, instead of procrastination. I like that. I like that.

SPEAKER_02 1:49

As we're still waiting for some info to come in and see some schedules and whatnot, it's it's but you got to get ahead of the game because there's a lot of teams to go over that we're gonna be going over. That's right. But tonight we're not talking about conference previews. This is the last episode on the carousel, Danny.

SPEAKER_03 2:11

The coach and carousel continues, Kev. The coaching carousel continues.

SPEAKER_02 2:17

But tonight we're gonna have to get off this ride, thank, thankfully. This will be the last night. This will be the last one. And this week we are talking with two coaches who hope to instill consistency in their programs as they are taking over. We've got one we will start in the south, and then we're gonna end the episode with a school up north. Sounds good. Let's do it.

Emmanuel Head Coach Mark Destro

SPEAKER_02 2:45

So in the south, we have a coaching change in Conference Carolinas with the Emmanuel Lyons. They have a new coach in Mark Destro. Now, Coach Destro grew up right around the corner where I live now, Arlington, Virginia, coach. I I live in Burke, Virginia, just down the road a little bit.

SPEAKER_01 3:06

Nice, yeah, I know I know Burke pretty well.

SPEAKER_02 3:08

Yeah. He also, though, is a player and coach who is well traveled. He played at Jacksonville, Manhattan, and Catholic University, and his coaching stints have been at Silani, I hope I said that right, Mount Union, Methodist, and Piedmont. And as a coach, he brought his teams to conference championships and NCA appearance. So he's not only well traveled, Danny. That sounds like he's been everywhere and not done a lot. He he's accomplished, too. So let's go through this. He answered me about where he lives, so let's really bring him in. Coach Mark Destro. Hey coach, how are you?

SPEAKER_01 3:43

Coach, good. How are you doing? We're good. We're good.

SPEAKER_02 3:49

Great to have you on the show. First, congrats on being named the head coach. I know when we spoke, you would, I think it's been the job just for a couple weeks. You're like, please just give me a little time. So we appreciate you taking the time now in October to talk with us. But second, I I read your press release, and I think you have a great story on how you got into coaching. Can you just tell us about that?

SPEAKER_01 4:14

Yeah, so I was going into my senior year and just I mean, I feel like a lot of people might be in the same boat as me, but just had no idea what I wanted to do after college. I was I was a history major. Obviously, there's not a lot of uh jobs out there for history majors, but uh yeah. Librarian business. You can go into business.

SPEAKER_02 4:34

He you're a liberal arts graduate. I was one too. So there you go.

SPEAKER_01 4:39

Yeah, but uh at the time my mom was working with uh Coach Torpey uh with his mom at um an adoption agent or national counselor for adoption, and he was the person that I credit to getting me into lacrosse, and uh I think he helped he went with my dad to buy my first lacrosse stick and like everything I needed, and I was in in seventh grade. Um Wow. And I was just like, I don't know what to do. And he suggested coaching, and and he definitely he helped me get in touch with uh with Marty Waters down at Swanee and um actually just phone interview, offered me the job, and I was like, I'm there. Like I can't wait to can't wait to get down.

SPEAKER_03 5:18

That's awesome. That's awesome.

SPEAKER_02 5:19

So did Coach Torpe see something you as far as what he thought you either your IQ or something, or he's like, dude, this is a great way to go. If you if you can handle the pay. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 5:30

I mean, I I think it's more along that it's just a great way to go, and if you can handle the pain and and roll with the punches, it's a it's a it's a good fun way to live. Um fun and quotation marks there. It's gonna be stressed. A lot of stress.

SPEAKER_02 5:44

Yeah. Yeah, but it's I guess it can be a good kind of stress sometimes, right? So what drew you to taking the manual job?

SPEAKER_01 5:52

Um, I had I was at Piedmont for the 23-24 season, and then up until like November 6th in 24. And um yeah, 24. And I guess the school was just going through some financial issues, and I was a low man on the totem pole on our staff, and unfortunately, the I was the one that got let go out of that. Um, I mean I loved it. I have no heart feelings. I love Coach Dunn is credited him with a lot of the stuff that I preach now to my players and uh was in commercial landscape sales from December up until a month and a half ago.

SPEAKER_04 6:33

And wow, okay.

SPEAKER_01 6:34

Um my buddy Jack was like, hey, I saw the uh the manual job opened up, like you should definitely apply for that. I was like, uh, I don't know, and kind of kind of like dread or can't think of the words, but uh like worn out from coaching, and then I was thinking more and more. I was like, you know, I'm really not happy with what I'm doing now, and this gives me the opportunity to get back into something that I love doing and applied. It was uh I think I applied two days or a day or two after it was posted. I think it was like posted on July 3rd, I applied July 4th or 5th, something like that. Um interviewed, had a phone interview a couple weeks later on campus a couple weeks after that, and then I think maybe four days after I was on campus interview, they offered me the job, and then I started two days after that.

SPEAKER_02 7:23

Wow, that's amazing. Yeah. So it's almost like all right, you got your break from coaching. Like you said, it can be stressful. So you got your break doing something else, and you're like, uh, the grass is definitely not greener on this business side. I'm gonna go back to coaching.

SPEAKER_03 7:38

And the landscaping greener. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 7:41

I mean, it was it was tough. We were basically trying to start a branch for a I mean, a pretty large company, they're all up and down the east coast from Pennsylvania to Florida, but trying to start a brand new branch in Athens, Georgia was was not not easy to do.

SPEAKER_03 7:55

Right, right. Yeah. So now that you're at a MATCOL, what do you got going on, man? Because you you kind of thrown right into the uh to the deep end of the pool pretty quick. Yeah. But you know what, you got a pretty decent squad to to to deal with, don't you?

SPEAKER_01 8:11

Yeah. I mean, we're we're definitely younger and smaller than we were last year. We we lost a lot of production with the graduation, and um some kids just didn't want to come back for other personal reasons. Uh so a lot of potential in this freshman class. I think Coach Olson did a fantastic job with this class. I mean, that they're if I'm hoping they all stay for all four years, and if they're here for all four years, by the time they're seeing juniors and seniors, they're gonna be, I think, a per pretty formidable force. So um just need to get a few more pieces in here, and I think it's I mean the team should be clicking.

SPEAKER_02 8:49

Well, let me ask you this, and uh you mentioned it, Coach Holson, uh Danny and I had him on, you know, he'd actually been there for two years. He he had and we he got in right on like when the season started when he did it. Like and then so he had a his full season last year, fall ball, and then the season, and it really looked like he was getting that program up and on speed where he had never been before. Now, granted, he had some he had some players that were seniors that could really help with that, and they bought into his culture. What are you doing or how do you plan to keep that going? I I guess it's a little bit different because like you said, a lot of them have graduated, some have moved on, so you've got a whole almost like a fresh new batch of younger players, is that correct?

SPEAKER_04 9:33

Correct. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 9:34

So how how so what are you are what are you implementing to try to keep that going uh from what it was started from last year and the year before?

SPEAKER_01 9:45

I mean, obviously with what Coach Olson was doing, it was working. So it a lot of what I've been doing is is using the seniors and the player and the juniors that were here last year and and trying really not to make any drastic changes and kind of keep up with what he was preaching. And I mean, obviously made a few changes here and there to like team rules or study hall or things like that. But I mean, uh pretty much a lot of the stuff on the field is is not drastically different from what they had been doing over the past year and a half.

SPEAKER_03 10:19

Tough conference, too. Conference Carolinas. For sure. Some pretty good teams. North Greenville really put it together last year, and Belmont Abby's always been a staple, you know. And uh Emmanuel was 500 last year, you know. That was a good year for Emmanuel.

SPEAKER_01 10:35

I I mean I think it was the best year they've had since the first season. I think the first season they were in seven, last year they were eight and seven.

SPEAKER_02 10:44

Yeah, that really, really turned around. So how have the players reacted to the the coaching change? Obviously, Coach Olson left to go be an assistant up at St. Bonaventure with Coach Storyer. Um, but what what are they how they are they starting to buy in? Are they what are they thinking?

SPEAKER_01 11:02

Yeah, I mean I the freshmen have been bought in since day one. I I think it was maybe my second or third day, it was 11 30 at night, and one of them texted me was like, hey coach, can you turn the field lights on? I'm like, it's 11 30. What are you doing? Go to bed.

SPEAKER_03 11:19

That's a good sign, though, you know?

SPEAKER_01 11:22

I mean, they're always out there working. They're just constantly trying to get better. Um, I mean, we're like I said, we are really young. I think we have four seniors.

SPEAKER_03 11:33

Well, how many on the how many on the roster?

SPEAKER_01 11:36

Uh 25 total. So trying to trying to get a few in, hopefully, in this transfer window, and then uh, I mean, hopefully hopefully get the roster up into the 30s next year.

SPEAKER_04 11:47

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 11:49

It looks like you also have been able to hire an assistant, is that correct?

SPEAKER_01 11:52

Correct, yeah. Gotta uh managed to uh steal away North Greenville's volunteer assistant from last year.

SPEAKER_02 12:00

Someone who knows the conference.

SPEAKER_01 12:01

Yeah, knows the conference, knows the school. Uh, I mean, it's definitely valuable having somebody he went here for two years, so he kind of knows a little bit of the in and outs that how the school operates, and uh I think it's he's gonna be a valuable addition to the team and and definitely in the recruiting aspect because there's a lot of questions that kids are asking. I was like, I'm still learning, but uh you can talk to Coach Lattimore. He's he's he's gone through this, so he knows he knows what to expect.

SPEAKER_02 12:27

So it sounds like he's really helped you in your transition.

SPEAKER_01 12:30

Yeah, definitely.

SPEAKER_02 12:32

He's been a big help. That so speaking about recruiting, what are you looking for in a player?

SPEAKER_01 12:41

I think it varies. I mean, the biggest thing I'm looking for is someone that's just gonna come in ready to compete. Obviously, with our smaller numbers, uh the opportunity to play early and often is gonna be there for the next couple years, and I want somebody that's gonna come in and not be afraid to to challenge that two, three, four-year starter for their spot. Um just having that little chip on your shoulder, having a little attitude in your game, and and that's that's the biggest thing I'm looking for. And and pretty much all my players, goalies, all the way up to photos and offense, defense. It doesn't really matter. As long as you're wanting to get in here and have that drive to fight for that starting spot, it's that's pretty what I'm I mean, that's a pretty big thing for me.

SPEAKER_02 13:23

I agree. Yeah, that's that's good. Tell us about Emmanuel. Like if you were if when you're trying to recruit kids, players, what are you saying? I mean, I know you're you're there fresh and you haven't been there a long time, but when you got on campus, when you talked to the administration, when when you talked to admissions, as you were going through the hiring process, what kind of stood out to you that said this is a place where you know we can build a good program and and I think uh student athletes will will enjoy the experience?

SPEAKER_01 13:55

Um it's it kind of came out of the size of the school and the student, the makeup of the student body was one of the biggest things that I uh was one of the first things I realized. I mean, we have probably just under a thousand total students, including graduate students, but of that, I think it's like eighty-two to eighty-five percent of the student body is athletes.

SPEAKER_04 14:18

Right.

SPEAKER_01 14:19

So it's definitely a very athlete driven or athletic driven school. And uh, I mean, they they come out to support everything from beach volleyball to I mean, we have a flag football team now. I think they're in their second year. Former NFL uh running back is the head coach for that. So I mean, they're they're out supporting every single game. Our our student athlete advisory committee literally came to every coach and was saying, let us know what games you want to be completely full, and we will make sure we're gonna get everybody there. So that's great.

SPEAKER_02 14:48

That's awesome.

SPEAKER_03 14:49

That's great.

SPEAKER_02 14:51

So, what is it looking like um for your schedule this year, like out of conference? And how do you how are you feeling? Maybe I'll ask that first, and we'll go to what do you think about the conference?

SPEAKER_01 15:02

Um, I mean, out of conference, it's pretty much the it's very similar to what it was last year. Okay. Um Tusculum, Virginia State, uh, Montevallo, Lander. Oh God, throwing a blank on some of these. Did uh we added Flagler a couple weeks ago. Uh Coach Duncan was my defensive coordinator at Jacksonville, and I'm literally sitting in the office, phone rings. I'm like, why is Coach Duncan calling me right now?

SPEAKER_03 15:29

He wants a game.

SPEAKER_01 15:30

Yeah, it's like, hey, we'll come up and play you there. I was like, as long as we don't have to travel, I mean, I'd love to come to St. Augustine, but I think that's a little bit out of our budget right now.

SPEAKER_03 15:38

That's how he's coming up. That's great. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 15:42

That's what always amazed me. We too we talk, Danny and I talk about this all the time. How special the lacrosse community is, right? Like he was your coach, and he's reaching out to you like, hey, uh he's trying to help you out, I think, right? Help you build.

SPEAKER_01 15:56

Definitely. I mean, it's a tough game. I mean, for sure. That was a tough game.

unknown 16:02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 16:03

Oh, he's a good coach. Something about Duncan hit struck me right away when I first met him when we had him on the podcast the first time. I didn't know him prior to that. I didn't know his pedigree. I didn't know his background. And I said to Kevin afterward, I said, mark my words, this team is gonna be good in three years. And sure enough, man, they were meant each year you could see the improvement with them. And you know what? I've seen improvement with Manuel over the last couple of years, too.

SPEAKER_01 16:31

Yeah. Yeah. I mean, you just gotta get the the right fit, um, get the kids to stick around and buy in. I mean, it kind of works with any team. If you have constant turnover, it's to it's tough to build a program. You just gotta get the kids to to stick around. And you get a class of 10 guys every single year that are there. If you lose, maybe lose one or two. But if you get that core group sticking around for all four years, it's it eventually that team is gonna start getting better and better and better and build that continued success.

SPEAKER_02 16:58

Yeah, I I totally agree with that. And and and we hope that can happen for you. But let me ask you this about the conference you're in. We talked about a little bit. Have you been able to, you know, have you watched like you've because you're at PMAT, you were out for a while, you were not really involved in D2. What do you what do you think about the conference? And have you like been able to really scout? I'm probably scouts a little bit too strong, but have you been able to like go back and watch some games from other teams and see where they're at?

SPEAKER_01 17:27

Uh yeah, I mean it's I I know it's a tough conference. I mean, North Koreanville Coach Strauss has done a phenomenal job building that program. Uh, like you said earlier, Belmont Abbey is constantly ranked in the top uh 15, 20 in the N D2, so they're always are always good. I mean, you look at Lee's McRae this year, they're gonna be they're gonna be crazy good. I mean, the amount of transfers that that uh John brought in is I mean that's gonna completely potentially change the uh direction of the landscape of the conference. Yeah. I mean that's uh you look at a team that last year and historically I mean has kind of been in the same boat as Emmanuel, and now they're probably gonna be up there competing for the conference championship this year.

SPEAKER_03 18:14

Yeah. It's very possible.

SPEAKER_02 18:17

Yeah, and then you've got teams like the the great thing about this is I think there's teams like Young Harris that's oh that's starting to get competitive again. You've got Mount Olive that took a little bit of a dip, that's coming back. So I think there's a a good group core that's kind of all Vines were trying to get up where Belmont Abbey and North Greenville were. Yeah or are.

SPEAKER_01 18:39

I mean you look at it uh when was it 2019, 2020?

SPEAKER_02 18:47

I can't remember when uh Jay Goldsmith took over at Young Harris and they had the whole uh Yeah, it was it was right around it was 2019, 2020, yeah, yep.

SPEAKER_01 18:55

Yeah, they they were I mean prior to that they had been they were great very good. They were getting to a point where I mean they were competing with every almost almost every team in the South, and then obviously that unfortunate situation happened and they kind of took a big step back, but they're I mean they're growing every year and they're gonna be another tough uh tough opponent for us.

SPEAKER_02 19:18

I agree. Yeah, it's it's gonna be fun to watch, and and coach, we're gonna really enjoy seeing where Emmanuel goes this year, what you can do with it. I know it's a building process when you've only got 25 only. There's some schools that have less than that. So when you've got 25, you know, you're you you're praying, I know, you're praying you don't get injuries. And you can do it from there.

SPEAKER_01 19:40

Yeah, I had a few uh had to structure a few practices uh interestingly. We have it's 25 and five goalies, so it's oh wow, okay.

SPEAKER_03 19:51

All right.

SPEAKER_01 19:52

So it's really I mean, and then we have one in one that's currently out for a decent amount of time. So really we got 19 field players. So it's yeah. Practices are structured a little bit different.

SPEAKER_03 20:04

How how's fall ball been going?

SPEAKER_01 20:07

It's been good. Well, I mean, we are obviously like you said with the low numbers, everything's a little bit uh shaking up. So we've kind of been going three days a week of actual full team practices. We're going for like an hour 45 to two hours, and then Tuesday, Thursdays we'll do individual positional work with offense doing a lot of shooting, passing, uh install and defense. Uh Coach Bloodmore is hand handling the defense and just doing a lot of footwork, installing defensive sets, um, then handling both of us kind of obviously both of us were goalies, so we kind of just go back and forth handling the goalies. So who's running the offense? That would be me. I okay, okay. I I tell everybody I feel like I'm more of an offensive goalie. I spend more time I spend more time in college shooting than actually taking shots.

SPEAKER_03 20:55

That's great.

SPEAKER_01 20:56

Uh yeah, I mean I you I've had to understand how offensive works or how offenses work. And I mean I sit there and for my entire career ran a defense and figured out how to shut down offenses. I've seen both sides of the ball ever since I became a goalie. So it's it's not it's nothing new. Um I wouldn't say nothing too new, but I mean it's obviously going from coaching goalies, running the substitution box, and man up, man down is going a little bit going into an offensive coordinator role is a little bit different.

SPEAKER_03 21:26

Where'd you grow up, coach? Where'd you grow up?

SPEAKER_01 21:28

Uh, right upside DC in Arlington, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 21:30

Oh, oh, that's where you grew up. Okay, okay, all right. Right next door to me. Okay. I thought he might have just lived there. I'm sorry.

SPEAKER_02 21:39

No, we talk about this, and I read this in your bio. I completely forgot until we're talking to you again tonight that you were a goalie. Another coach is a goalie. We'd love those.

SPEAKER_03 21:51

They're the ones crazy enough to do it, the crazy goalies.

SPEAKER_01 21:56

I mean, I I started playing seventh grade. And I was the biggest kid on the field, so I was play I was playing attack and kind of just stood on the crease and four inches taller than everybody. So it was easy a little bit easier for me, and then get to high school and people knew how to play defense, and I panic whenever somebody pressured me. And I think after going into my sophomore year, I was like, I feel like I can do better than the goalies that we have. So I switched a goalie and that just.

SPEAKER_02 22:23

Well, and that that's funny, Coach, because you said uh you're on the crease and you feel like you got you got nervous when you're gonna get pressured. Talk about pressure with having a you know 80 mile per hour ball coming at you. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 22:41

Yeah. I don't know. It's something uh obviously it's it can't say that I'm not afraid. Like everybody's a little bit afraid of seeing that ball coming at them, but uh it just kind of you gotta put that in the back of your mind.

SPEAKER_02 22:54

Uh that's funny. That's great. I love it. I love it. Well, coach, this has been awesome. Like I like I said, uh, we look forward to seeing what you what you can do and what the manual lions do this year. And really, I wouldn't I would love to see Conference Carolinas be really, really uh competitive against each other, you know. So you don't have a couple teams that are just at the top and everyone else down the bottom. I I'd love to see it mix up and see see where you guys go this year.

SPEAKER_01 23:19

Yeah, I mean that's I mean that's my overall goal is to get us into that every into that talk every year if they compete for the conference. And it's an upward hill, an upward climb to get there. It's it's as much as I would love to say it would be great to come into a program that's gonna win the conference every year. I mean, there's something about putting your stamp on uh a program and and help building it to that point that just makes it better.

SPEAKER_03 23:46

I agree. Well, Coach Mark Chestro, brand new coach Emmanuel Lyons, we really appreciate you coming on the show tonight. We really do appreciate you. We wish you the best of luck this season.

FPU Head Coach Ryon Lynch

SPEAKER_03 23:57

Thank you.

SPEAKER_02 23:59

Okay, so we just finished talking with a coach who grew up near where I live now. So follow me on this one, Danny. Now we're talking to a coach who is living now where I grew up. So we're switching it. And that's the new guy. You're from all over the place. I mean it's funny that this episode has my where I live now and where I grew up. This is uh coach Ryan Lynch, Franklin Pierce Ravens, he's just taken over that team. He played and coached at Springfield College, which is Danny, is just a pitching wedge away from my hometown of Longmeadow. Wow. A good pitching wedge. I probably would need to do a driver, but you'd be your pitching wedge. My driver. He was a player at Springfield College from 2010 to 2014, then he was a grad assistant for two years, and then he was an assistant coach from 2017 to 2025. He was there a long time, my friend. Now though, he lives in my arch nemesis town of East Long Meadow and the hated Spartans of East Long Meadow. I've got to let that go. Can't let that get to me because he's become enlightened and joined the D2 ranks by taking over Franklin Pierce and being in the N. So let's just welcome him in with a big D2 shout-out. Coach Ryan Lynch. Welcome, Coach.

SPEAKER_00 25:30

I appreciate you guys having me. Thank you so much for taking the time. I appreciate it.

SPEAKER_03 25:34

Coach Lynch, welcome to the program. How are you doing tonight?

SPEAKER_00 25:37

Doing great. Doing great. Really excited to get to uh talk to you guys, get to you know, shed some light on our program and the direction that we're headed.

SPEAKER_02 25:45

That's awesome. So, first of all, congratulations on taking over. I have to ask, though, after spending 15 years at Springfield, what compelled you to make the jump to Franklin Pierce in D2?

SPEAKER_00 25:57

Yeah, it was a few things. Um, I was fortunate to be at my alma mater and working under a legend in Coach Bugby. Um coach finished up his 42nd year at Springfield last year.

SPEAKER_02 26:11

Unbelievable.

SPEAKER_00 26:12

Yeah, and an absolute incredible mentor. Um, very, very fortunate to be one of the many that are in his coaching tree. Um I learned a lot in my time there. And then um we were fortunate to get our program at Springfield back to hosting the conference championship. Ended up coming up a little bit short. Um, and then when coach retired, um, Springfield decided to go a different direction in terms of the staff, um, which led me to look for some different opportunities. Um, to be totally honest, I was I was in a weird spot um career-wise. So last year at Springfield, I was uh teaching full-time as well. Um two-year-old son. Um, and we've got uh we're in an interesting family time right now where we need to make a little bit more money. So I was in between some stuff. Um, and then 4th of July weekend, I got a call from our athletic director, um Matt Johnson. Um, was able to talk to him a little bit about the program because I was I I I'm so passionate about coaching. Uh I really uh it's it's what I'm all about, right? And so I was gonna do everything that I could to stay in coaching, but I really wanted to be a good opportunity and the right opportunity for not only my family, but my career as well. So um, you know, I was looking at some different stuff. Like I guess I got the call from from Coach Johnson. Um, and then when I went up and I did my interview and I met the people, um, it was just a really special place. And I remember calling my folks actually when I left my interview, and I said to them, you know, I think this is a place that I would uh would have gone as an undergrad. I get just kind of my type of school, you know, 70% athletes, um very athletic driven, very, very student-centered, um, where it checked a lot of boxes. Right. And so um it was a great opportunity and uh excited to learn about D2, something that I really had no knowledge of, and I'm still still learning a lot about. Um it was really just a fantastic opportunity and the direction that the school is headed under the leadership of of Matt Johnson and our our president, President Eden, um, it's a very, very exciting time at at Franklin Pierce. So perfect opportunity for me and a great next step.

SPEAKER_02 28:33

Excellent. Yeah, that that sounds awesome to fall into place like that. And I I have to admit, you know, when you responded to me, you were kind enough to tell us that because of all your time at Springfield College, you had the common mindset of writing off D2, but now you have seen the light. Can you expound on that a little bit? I know you're still learning, but can you tell me what that switch was? Was it just what you learned at Franklin Pierce or was it learning about the NE10? What was it?

SPEAKER_00 29:03

I I think a combination of both. Um I always had great respect for the NE10. And at Springfield, we would try to scrimmage as many D2 teams as we could. Um and we're fortunate that there's so many great Division II teams in New England always looking for scrimmages. So it's not that it's not that I thought that the level of Division II wasn't wasn't at the caliber of you know, uh top level lacrosse. That that wasn't it. It was more learning about the the day the day-to-day that these student athletes go through. And you know, I uh the division one, you always hear like they got you, it's a job kind of a thing, and the division three, it's more the student athlete. And um, I really feel like the division two model is a great balance of both. It's a great place where, yeah, you're absolutely still student athlete first and the academics come first. Yeah, but there's also so much more time that you have to dedicate to your craft, and especially up in Ringe, New Hampshire, where there's not a lot to do off of the campus. Um, but regardless, just with the time that we have as a staff to be in front of our team, you know, Division III, you got 24 days in the fall, and then that's it. And lift can't be mandatory and all these little things. Being in D2 now and realizing how much time we have, you know, I'm able to approach the fall in a different mindset because for me, we have so much more time. So at practice, we're able to be a little bit different in terms of how much individual we're working we're doing, how much teamwork we're doing, because the segments are so different. So I I again I always had great respect. There's obviously still some some schools and teams that I'm learning about. But like I said, nothing but respect for D2, and you know, they'd come up to Springfield and it'd be great scrimmages for us every single time. Um, but it it's it's the balance that you get in the division two that I think is is really overlooked by people.

SPEAKER_03 31:00

Wait till you see a Delphi.

SPEAKER_00 31:02

Oh, I've seen him. Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 31:05

That's a D1 that's a D granddaddy. That's a D1 team in Division II close right there.

SPEAKER_00 31:11

You know, I'm very fortunate. Um, one of my mentors, Kevin Sheehan, is a longtime a Delphi assistant. Um, I was uh teammates with his son. His son's one of my best friends, Dylan Sheehan. We played together at Springfield. So I've been hearing about a Delphi from from Coach Sheehan for a very long time. And and hey, check out this play. You guys should do this kind of stuff. So very aware, very aware.

SPEAKER_03 31:33

High IQ team. Yeah, so you got sane A's too. Kevin calls them the granddaddy of them all.

SPEAKER_00 31:42

It really is week in and week out. It is a battle. So uh we're looking forward to it. We're looking forward to it.

SPEAKER_02 31:48

Yeah, I mean, schools, it's just a great mix. Schools like Bentley, your school, St. Mike's, SNHU. I mean, like, it goes on and on.

SPEAKER_03 31:59

Good academic schools, too, you know. These are good academic schools as well. It's not just a Division II school putting out good team. These are good academic schools here.

SPEAKER_00 32:11

And I think because of how how much you can dedicate to it, you know, throughout the year, the the and I I've been there two months, but even in the two months, with the amount of time that we're allowed with these athletes, you're able to improve so much as a team, as a unit, that I I can only I'm looking forward to as the year goes on big time because you can make such a jump as a team.

SPEAKER_03 32:33

Now, how's the team accepted you? How's everybody buying in? You know, what's what's the dynamic look like right now?

SPEAKER_00 32:40

It's been unbelievable. And I I would be uh naive to think uh we're not in a little bit of a honeymoon phase right now, right? Um we didn't have a lot of success last year. Um, but I will say uh I I'm taking over a program with unbelievable culture, and that was a big part for me. I'm I was fortunate that we had a handful of student athletes that were part of the interview process. Um and so I got to meet them early on, got to talk to them about the team, you know, asked about the reputation of our guys on campus, um and just glowing, glowing responses back when you talk about our guys. You know, we're asked to do a lot with event management. It's a it's a really tight-knit community. Um, and so these guys are asked to do a lot, and it seems like they're the the athlete department's always asked for a lacrosse team first, right? Um, and that's just because of the type of people that we have on this program. And, you know, they stuck together through this coaching change. We lost one student athlete um who ended up transferring, go in division one. Um great opportunity for him. But you know, with a coaching change, it it's easy for guys to kind of just mail it in, go look for other opportunities, but they stuck together. Um, and it's such a tight group that it it's been it's been a pleasure. Showing up every day, practice, being able to do film stuff with these guys. It is the best part of my job. So they've taken to it. It's been great. I think that we've been smart with the way that we've been handling things. Um, something I learned in my my grad school years at Springfield through uh a great professor I had, Coach Joel Deering. He always talked about when you go to a new place, learn the culture before you start making changes, right? Because there's things that are in place that absolutely work. Yeah, we only won two games last year, but we have great people here. And the culture that was set, we don't have guys getting in trouble off the field. They got great academic standings, they're dedicated to this, and that makes it easy for me as a coach, right? So I think that they've appreciated that we're gonna challenge everything that we do, even when we start winning games and we start having success, we're never gonna stop challenging everything that we do. I think if we're able to have that mindset throughout as an athlete, you know, you're you're you're not bored, right? Practice is different. We're working on different things. Um matters too. I'm not just command style through and through, right? I I'm I'm taking their feedback and listening to them. And um, it's it's been a pleasure, but it's because of of their dedication to the school and to the program that has made it so, so easy.

SPEAKER_02 35:16

Well said, Coach. Yeah, that is awesome to hear that um it you're making it a two-way street, right? And so you talked about listening to the players, not changing the culture right away. But are the things from your experience at Springfield College? I mean, look it, you helped bring that team to five consecutive conference championships, five NCA tournaments. Does any of that translate to to the program? And is it right away? Is there things that you're gonna like just bring in slowly? Or is it or do you see that experience helping translate to to the Ravens?

SPEAKER_00 35:53

I was I was so fortunate at Springfield, um, not only through my experience with the lacrosse program, but I I am a firm believer in um the education that I received there. I I was a fizz ed undergrad. It's what my background is in, and I believe in that education piece. So I believe in my ability to teach. So uh I think one thing that we're gonna really start to do at Pierce that might not have been there before is we're gonna develop these young men. And they're they're in a spot where I think they've been developed as people, and we're never gonna stop doing that because that's the most important thing.

SPEAKER_04 36:27

Right.

SPEAKER_00 36:31

But I'm also very confident in our ability as a staff to develop this group. So little things throughout the day, right? Like we're structuring our weeks different, and I think more um, you know, more player-friendly in a way, but we got 33 guys on the roster. We don't need to practice five days a week at 6 a.m. for two hours straight with some kids that like we can be smarter with how we we attack the week, right? Right, right.

SPEAKER_04 36:59

Yep.

SPEAKER_00 37:00

So we're out at 7 a.m. three times a week right now, going for an hour and a half, hour 45, but we don't need to condition. We structure practice in a way where you'll look at them an hour and a half into practice, you're like, they're gassed. And it's just because we're the way that we're we're rolling through it. And so uh I want to be a program, especially when we get our roster up and we beef up the this uh our our number there. Um, I want to be a program that develops these young men and this team on the field, off the field. Um, but that's the main thing is I think with my experience there and my teaching background, we're able to view this time that we're in right now as a very teaching-oriented time where we're gonna be really good at the simple things. Lacrosse is a simple game. We can make it very, very complicated as coaches. Um at the core of it is let's find the two-on-one attack the middle of the field, right? So let's be great at working on our two-on-ones. But we're we're trying to figure out what our identity is. So we're gonna be great at what the simple things are. We'll figure out how we play um and what suits this group, and then from there, um, you know, we we don't need to really start winning games till February. So we've got some time to work on it. Um But that that's the main thing that we'll take. And again, I I the culture is is strong. So so that was that's the main thing that you worry about as a coach is do you have to come in and make any big changes culture-wise? No, it's a it's a it's a great group, they're so close. We just have to be a little bit smarter with how we're attacking our weeks and how we're going into our game plans and and what we're uh the product that we're putting out there on the field.

SPEAKER_02 38:39

So excellent. Yeah, I I like that idea, and I think about development, and I'm sure I know there are a lot of coaches, especially if you look at it from a a D2, probably a D three perspective, a lot more than I don't know, I don't know how D1. Like they get a lot of guys that are, you know, are are ready to go. There's a lot more of a mix, I think, in the D2 and D three world where you may have someone that is a great athlete but a little bit raw on the on the talent development side or the IQ side. That may be a little bit they can use improvement on. And you don't get that your freshman year, right? You're not gonna be there your freshman year. Like especially in D2, I remember my son saying, I think we've talked to a lot of players, the speed of the game in college is a lot different from high school. You know, where my son went, you know, he was the one of the top players on his team, one of the top players in this region. When he got to Wingate, guess what? Every guy on his team was a top player in his team in the region. You know, so it's a different animal.

SPEAKER_03 39:47

You know what, coach, I'm sorry to interrupt, but you know, you hit something about teaching. And I heard Nick Saban, who arguably might be the best college coach of all time, talk about how he's a teacher and he considers himself a teacher of football on the field. He doesn't consider himself a coach, like you know, I don't I think of myself as a teacher. He's constantly developing, you know, and these are Division I pretty much NFL ready type players, right? You know, and he's still teaching, and I think that's important to develop players. Like Kevin said, you can get a kid that's pretty athletic, might be a little raw in certain certain areas, and develop them. I've heard other coaches say, give me a good athlete, I'll make him a lacrosse player, right?

SPEAKER_00 40:36

Yeah, and I I think it it goes down to not only dealing with the individual athlete, but plan and practice. You know, I I'm I'm going through my practice plan and I'm thinking to my time making lesson plans as an undergrad, you know, how are we going to transition from drill to drill? What's the most effective way that that we're gonna structure this? You know, we're coming up with a block plan, it's basically like a unit plan that we would do for the fall, right? So it's a lot of the teaching aspects that go into it. And I always say, if your coaches aren't teaching you stuff, they're not doing a great job. And that was one of the things, uh, the major things I took from Coach Bugby. For as much as we had the success on the field, they left our program better people. And it's because of the life lessons that we were able to pull through on the field stuff, off-the-field stuff, you know, recognizing the big picture, that all the coach speak that you throw in there, it's all real because athletics is such a great microcosm of real life, right? We're able to learn life lessons through sport without any real consequence. And if we're able to keep that perspective, and yeah, you're always gonna be a competitor and you're gonna want to win. And but but there's more than that. Life's gonna hit you in the face. Like I said, we're in an interesting life situation right now as a family. It hits you in the face. What are you gonna do? You're gonna respond, you're gonna keep working hard or you're gonna crumble, right? And so I I really do take a lot of pride in that. And then um, obviously, the the most fun is the the one-on-one individual sessions that you get to do as a teacher. Like that's just you're just molding athletic kids, and you know, it's funny to circle back, Kevin, to something you mentioned, you know. We are able to take athletic kids. It's amazing. And again, I'm inheriting the roster, but I think they did a fantastic job. We have kids on this roster that are elite-level lacrosse players, absolutely. Um, and they deserve all the scholarship money and everything that was given to them, right? Um, we also have kids that started playing their sophomore year of high school.

SPEAKER_04 42:35

Wow.

SPEAKER_00 42:36

They're three and they're defensemen, and you can see that there's something there, but they're raw. But we have the time, especially D2, right? I I used to look at that athlete, and I would even division three wise would be like, we'll take them, we'll develop them. But now we like with the even with the eight-hour weeks, you have so much more time to actually do that development work. It is uh it's a great, great spot for athletes like that, especially.

SPEAKER_02 43:03

Well, all I can say is, coach, um you look sounds like you're bought into Franklin Pierce, you're bought into D2, and I think Franklin Pierce has got a great young new coach to help them move up the ranks in any 10.

SPEAKER_00 43:19

I I really appreciate it. It's uh again, the the the school is in such a good spot. Um we got such good support. Um, you know, it's our job to to beef beef up this roster and get this program to a real Division II college lacrosse program so that we can really start competing in this great conference and really start making some noise.

SPEAKER_03 43:38

So we're how many how many players would you like to have? Like what's your ultimate, you know, what's that number for you on the roster?

SPEAKER_00 43:45

Around fifty, fifty five. Um, I at Springfield we would always operate around forty five, fifty. Um, no knowing that, you know, a couple injuries, some some things happen um throughout the course of the year, but You know, you get around 45 and everyone can travel on the bus, things like that. I think that that's an important thing. Um, you know, we're at 33 right now. It it's tough. We got to be creative with how we're structured and practices to make sure that we are able to work on the different phases of the game. Um, but I think getting up to 45, 55, somewhere in that number is a really good number. And um, you know, we're at a spot where the more we get on the roster, the the more support we're gonna get from the school. And we've got other programs on campus doing it right now, men's and women's soccer, baseball, just to name a few. You know, their roster numbers are up, which means more scholarship money, more coaches on the coaching staff. So the school is ready to commit to these programs. I just got to do my job of getting the the athletes there. So it's a really exciting time for us right now.

SPEAKER_03 44:47

I think they're gonna get I think they got a good coach in you, coach. I really do. I I like your fire, I like your spunk. I think you're a bright young man. I think you got it going on, and I think Franklin Pearce got themselves a good one. I I wish you the best of luck.

SPEAKER_00 45:01

I appreciate it. I uh I I really uh appreciate not only having me on, but everything you guys are doing for Division II Lacrosse. Like you said, I I do think uh it it deserves its credit. It is uh it's a fantastic, fantastic collection of lacrosse programs here. Um might not be the biggest number, but um it's quality, right? And so uh really appreciate it.

SPEAKER_02 45:24

Ding, ding, ding. Quality lacrosse. That's right.

SPEAKER_00 45:28

I really appreciate you guys.

Shout Outs

SPEAKER_02 45:32

Those two coaches were two great coaches, I think, to end on our fourth episode and final episode of the coaching carousel. What do you think?

SPEAKER_03 45:41

Yeah, good two good coaches. I think they're really good for their programs, they're young, they're hungry. Uh just it's uh it's been a really good coaching carousel, a great array of coaches this time, Kev.

SPEAKER_02 45:56

I agree, I agree. And uh a good mix of uh different levels of experience, longer coming around. Now, if you look at guys like um who we just had on, Coach Destro and Coach Lynch, not as long in doing it, but uh a very good pedigree before they came from and both different personalities, but like you said, they are hungry to get their programs up to the not only up to the next level, but really focus on the players as people as well.

SPEAKER_03 46:30

Yeah, important, you know, and they want to develop and and and develop players and becoming good young men, and I think that's part of coaching in in college as well. And I think uh Emmanuel and Franklin Pierce have two good young hungry coaches that I think can make a difference if they can just get players to come down and play for them.

SPEAKER_02 46:53

Totally, totally agree. Now, let's move to shout-outs. I've got one, the one I saved from last uh episode, and it is a shout-out to Coach Brendan Kearney of Lewis. He was promoted to associate head coach. Now, just like we talked about with Coach Williams, we are recording this a few weeks before the episode will drop, so it's late news, but just like Coach Williams, the In the Crease Boys just wanted to say congrats to Coach Kearney. So with that, Danny, that's a wrap.

SPEAKER_03 47:33

I have one shout out. Oh, you got one? Yeah, you didn't ask me. Oh, I'm sorry.

SPEAKER_02 47:38

What's your shout out?

SPEAKER_03 47:39

Well, I think it's gonna be pretty cool, I think. Well, you know our good friend Joe Vedovnik. Yeah. You know, his son committed to a Division II team. His cunt son Connor, goalie, is gonna be at Tiffin Dragon.

SPEAKER_02 47:58

That's right.

SPEAKER_03 47:59

So congratulations to the Vedovniks. Joe, good job. Appreciate you.

SPEAKER_02 48:04

And Robin. You know Robin had something to do with it, too. It's not just Joe.

SPEAKER_03 48:08

Robin had more to do with it than congratulations to the Vedovniks and the and Connor, good job, buddy. Yeah. Congratulations. You're gonna be great up there in Tiffin. Close close to the home, too.

SPEAKER_02 48:22

And that, Danny, is a great way to end this episode with that shout out. That's a wrap.

SPEAKER_03 48:32

That's a wrap, okay.