Conference Previews for the 2022 season

SPEAKER_00 0:10

Welcome, welcome, welcome to another episode of In the Crease with Danny and Kevin, a coast-to-coast discussion of D2 Men's Lacrosse. I'm your co-host, Kevin Stenstrom, and with me as always is that passionate and proud D2 lacrosse dad, Danny Moran. I say that because Danny's youngest son recently signed his national letter of intent to continue his education and play lacrosse at a D2 school. And, you know, when this episode comes out, yeah, that's great. A little applause. When this episode comes out, um, it will have been several weeks since that signing day, actually, but I had to give a shout out to your son Joe and to the whole Morant clan. So congrats, Danny, to your family, especially Joey. I know it's a lot of hard work and effort to get there, not only uh on the lacrosse field, but in the classroom to get into the school he's going to.

SPEAKER_02 1:08

Well, thanks so much, Kevin. That means so much coming from you. Um, we're so proud of Joe and all his accomplishments, not only academically, but on the lacrosse field. He's a pretty darn good football player, and he's a pretty darn good basketball player, but lacrosse is his love. Um and he chose a great school. Uh uh, a school chose him. You know, it's it was a match made in heaven, so to speak. Um and we're excited for him, and um uh we expect him to do good things there. And I thank you so much for saying that stuff. We really appreciate it.

SPEAKER_00 1:44

He's worked hard, he really has. He's grinded. Yep. Okay, so let's move on now, Danny. We just finished our series of D2 coaching changes, and now it's time for something new. I don't know about you, I don't know about you, but doing this podcast has really helped me get through the doldrums of not having a D2 lacrosse season. You know, the winter months. The winter months, which actually are in the summer and then part of the winter.

SPEAKER_02 2:14

Yeah, it's been fun. And I'm, you know, now I'm getting amped up for the season myself, you know, as it's getting closer, you know, um, school's getting ready for midterm, uh, not midterms, finals are coming up, and then the kids will be home for the holidays, and then when they go back, it's go time and it's the beginning of the 2022 season. So we're right around the corner from the season starting, and I'm pretty amped up about it.

SPEAKER_00 2:38

Yeah, we're basically just two months away. Um, and you know, with 10 conferences, that gives us just enough time in those two months, if you count in the holidays, to kind of go through and start doing conference previews, talking about the different conferences.

unknown 2:55

Right.

SPEAKER_00 2:55

Now, our our plan with that, you know, with every one of these previews is just like we've done in the past, we're gonna bring in one coach per conference to come on with us, help us out, and give us their insight.

SPEAKER_02 3:09

That's awesome. I, you know, um we'll you know, we'll talk about the each conference, like, you know, in preview and tell us, you know, we'll we'll come up with our thoughts and what we think is gonna happen in that conference, and then we'll we'll get a coach on and get his thoughts on that conference and where his program might be going. And um I'm I'm looking forward to this next series.

SPEAKER_00 3:32

Yeah, so now we're we're we're scheduling all these meetings, interviews, discussions, whatever you want, conversations with the different coaches over the next couple weeks, right? But since there's 10 conferences, the series of episodes are going to spread out well into January. So I'm just kind of giving a warning to our listeners out there that you know there may be some information that comes out like team schedules that we don't have right now, as you and I are talking tonight, that will be out there once the episode goes live. So I just don't want them to crucify us for having some inaccuracies as we go through these episodes.

SPEAKER_02 4:16

Well, hopefully the listeners are outkind to us, you know. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 4:21

We'll we'll soon find out. That's right. Well, let's get right into it then. Um, and let's just start off with the South Atlantic Conference.

SPEAKER_02 4:30

Yeah, one of the big ones. Um, with the addition of Anderson University and Limestone, now the South Atlantic Conference, the SAC, has the same amount of teams as the NE10. So they're the two biggest conferences in all of Division II. On, you know, and if you depending on who you talk to, you know, if you're from the South, they'll say that the SAC is the best conference in Division II. And if you talk to the NE10 guys, they'll tell you that their conference is the best. And you know what? And both of them have a case, but you know, the SAC is pretty good, pretty good um conference top to bottom. You know, last year, let's start off with, you know, last year's Champs Linoron Bears, you know, Coach Greg Paradine. He he does an amazing, amazing job up, you know, up there in uh Hickory, North Carolina. He's got some great players on his team, and a lot, a lot of his players are coming back. Right. You know, he's got Miles Moffat coming back, he's got Tyron Eccleston. Uh one of my favorite, one of my favorite players in all of Division II lacrosse. They have this kid Bryce Reese. He's just an amazing player. He's coming back. And um the kid Will Canada, who just he he basically killed Wingate. He was the one that knocked Wingate out of the gates last year in the in the champ in the conference. He had a great game. He he's coming back. So they got four offensive studs coming back, LR. So, you know, they were number one last year for a reason. They went, you know, their national runners up. You know, they lost, they lost to a very, very, very good Lemoyne Dolphins team. So um Lenore Ryan had nothing to hang their heads about. They were they should have held their heads high. And I see them doing more of the same this year, Kev. What do you think?

SPEAKER_00 6:28

No, I agree. I mean, uh, you know, they they lose their starting face-off specialists, but they they play more than one anyway. Right. Um, they've got some of their uh defense coming back, and they're like you said, they're stacked in their offense again. Um, except for Dickinson not coming back. I mean, they are still stacked, and I don't see them. It's gonna be tough to knock them off their perch, let's put it that way.

SPEAKER_02 6:53

I I agree. The only team I think, you know, poised at this moment in the SAC right now is the Wingate Bulldogs. Um Wingate, you know, uh 8-1 in conference last year, 12-3, had an NCAA berth, beat LR in the middle of the season, then lost to them in the SAC conference, you know, uh championship. Um those were great games. They were really high, exciting games. Both teams are very similar. You know, they're very similar. Um stacked on offense, really good discipline defense. Um, and Wingate's got a lot of their guys offensively coming back. Basically, their whole starting attack is coming back. Right. All All-Americans, all of them. Um, and but they did lose two All-Americans on defense. They lost Reese Norman and James Houston, two studs on defense. So it's gonna be interesting to see um what Coach Tim Boyle is gonna do on the defensive side of the ball as far as playing close D and that sort of thing. But, you know, they they have Willie Greco coming back. That kid's just just a flat out stud. I'm sorry. Um when he's not scoring, he's gonna know how to pass the rock. Oh, and when he's not passing, he's scoring, man. He's he's one of the best passers I've seen in quite a while. You got Adam Vodovnik coming back, who is just a great finisher for Wingate. And Danny Riley, the midfielder, you know, he's a sniper out there. Um I expect Danny to step up his game this year. I think this is the year that he becomes a little bit more prominent in the offense. I I felt that the offense from Wingate was a little attack-oriented last year and maybe forgot about their midfielders sometimes. And uh I think Danny Riley's the kid that's this year is gonna take them back to where the midfield's gonna open up, you know. And that's just my opinion. So I still see LR and Wingate as one and two, one A and one B, you know, so to speak.

SPEAKER_00 8:58

And what's funny, I've got to mention this, is their schedule. You know, it's one of the ones in the in the SAC that's actually out there right now. Um, but this Wingate. Wingate. Yeah. They're out of conference schedule, which includes, you know, Mercyhurst, Lemoyne, Mount Olive, and they start off with Barton. I mean, wow, it and so we will get to talk to Kit Coach Tim Boyle. We're bringing him on later on the show about all these things. And and so that'll be great to get his perspective on all these things. But let's move on and let's let's talk about limestone.

SPEAKER_02 9:32

Limestone. I mean, Coach Brendan Storyer is coming back after being at Mars Hill. He was an assistant for a long time under J.B. Clark. Um, went to Mars Hill for a couple of years, and now he's back. Um, the Saints struggled a little bit last year. They had uh a couple of injuries on the defensive side that I think hurt them a little bit. But um they got they got Owen Consoletti coming back, and he's an attackman. Um he had 41 goals last year, and and he's lethal on man up. So you don't want to be in the box against limestone. That's one place you don't want to be because they convert on their man-up opportunities. Um I think the defense, we're gonna have to see what they do defensively this year, but I expect them to be a lot better this year under Coach Storier.

SPEAKER_00 10:25

Yeah, they're bringing back a lot of uh now they're grad students, right? They were seniors, they're gonna be grad students based on what you can do in the NCAA over the next few years. So I don't see them losing that many conference games as they did last year. They lost three. You know, I I it I think it could I think they're gonna be right back where they were, and it's it's gonna be, you know, every game is gonna be uh, everyone's gonna look out for limestone this year, I think.

SPEAKER_02 10:55

Don't forget, North Greenville gave them a hell of a game last year, limestone pushed them to the brink, I mean, to the end. So, you know, limestone, it'll it'll be interesting. I I think Coach Storier is gonna have them boys balling out. Uh I I definitely see them as being a contender, uh, you know, and and with Queens as well, you know. Queens, um, you know, they're they're but Quinn Talent is coming back, and Keelan Pylon, their top scorers, you know, from last year are coming back. Queens upset Wingate last year, right? You know, and one that was a heck of a game, and and Queensoli was played was played out of his mind in that game, probably the best game of his career. So Queens is another team that is, you know, can give these uh teams game and and knock them off, you know. If they they got the talent over there at Queens. So those first four teams right there, LR, Wingate, um, limestone, and Queens, boy, oh boy, right that's that's quite of four squads right there. And then right behind them is the Newberry Wolves, folks. Look, look out. You'll you're gonna hear it from us, you're gonna hear it from other coaches. Newberry is poised to take that next step. They got players there. Um beat limestone last year. Yeah, yeah. Newberry's a good squad. I mean, they went, what'd they go? They went um seven and five last year. Six and four. Six and four in the conference. Six and four in conference. Right. That's not shabby in the SAC, you know. And they gave teams a game, you know, and and I think Newberry is is poised with Coach Cotter. I think they're poised to do some really good things this year.

SPEAKER_00 12:48

So they might do their two through four scores from last year are returning too.

SPEAKER_02 12:57

Yeah, they get you know, they're seasoned, a little bit more seasoned this year, you know, for sure. So I think Newberry's one of those teams to watch out for in the SAC. I think that that's the type of team that that can knock off somebody as well.

SPEAKER_00 13:13

Without a doubt.

SPEAKER_02 13:15

And what do you think about Coker? Well, Coker has a new coach. I mean, his numbers weren't that high. We had Coach Snow on with us. Um but just think about what they did last year, okay? They lost to Mount Olive, who was nationally ranked. They lost him by two. They put up 15 on Wingate. Right. Okay. Wingate was only averaging what? Well, they were only giving up like seven or eight goals per game. So, you know, they put up 15 on him. They beat Kataba in overtime, right? So, you know, they can ball. They can ball Coker. And now they're bringing in Jon Snow, who who's who's got pedigree, never coached at the NCAA level, N-A-I-A guy, but he's got pedigree, and he's won. So they're gonna have a new, they're gonna have a new look, they're gonna have a new offense, a new defense. And I think Coker is gonna be interesting to watch this year.

SPEAKER_00 14:16

Yeah, I think it so they're and even Coach Snow brought this up, right? They've got a small roster, they've got like 22 on the team this year. He right he's harping on them that, hey, you're playing 10v10. We have enough players to play 10v10. Now, as you go through the season, you know, that depth, that lack of depth may start to hinder them as they play, but they are going to be a wild card.

SPEAKER_02 14:46

I just, you know, I think they're maybe a year or two away. Let Coach Snow get some recruiting done and get him, you know, story building. Yeah, you know, give him, give, give Coach Snow two, three years where he's where he's dug in a little bit at Coker, and he's got his recruits coming in and the guys that he knows that play his style of ball. And I I I foresee good things coming in Coker's way in the next couple years. I think this year they'll ball out again, they'll be competitive, but like you said, their lack of depth is going to be what hurts them in the end.

SPEAKER_00 15:21

Right, right. So let's let's move on from there. Um, what do you another coach we talked to when the coaching changes, uh Joe Turner with Mars Hill.

SPEAKER_02 15:31

Well, Joe, you know, he's inheriting the team that didn't win a lot of games last year. But Joe's got pedigree, comes from a great coaching tree, and you know, that team is gonna have a new look as well. You know, they're gonna have a new type of offense and a new defense going in. Um we know Coach Storyer did a good job at recruiting. Right. And before he left, he he he had he had built that roster up. He had added a lot of kids. And um let's see what Coach Turner can do at Morris Hill. I think again, that's that's a team that's maybe uh two two years away. Right. Let's see what coach, you know, Coach got to get again, he's gotta get his cleats dug in, he's gotta get his boys in there, his recruits, and I find it, I find it interesting, Danny, because Joe Turner being an offensive assistant coach, when I look at the stats from last year, you know, not only uh on it's more on the defensive and special teams.

SPEAKER_00 16:35

So face-offs, they were at like 40%. And then goals against average, they were like at 18. So that's obviously where they need to improve from us, and that's just from stats, right? And stats don't always tell the story. I think you're right. I think it's gonna take a couple years, but it'll be interesting to see what he he does with his assistants to see how they can improve that on the defensive side for this year and moving forward.

SPEAKER_02 17:02

You know, Marshall's, you know, traditionally always gotten some good players. They're not that long away from being conference champs a couple of years ago. Right. You know, they're not that far away from that, they're not that far removed from that, I should say. So there's something there at Mars Hill. They're always like one or two players away, one of those teams, you know. And again, I think Coach Turner, uh, he's a good recruiter. He's done some good things. Um, again, come from a great coach and pedigree. Um I think it's gonna take two or three years. I need he needs to recruit and get his style of brand and his boys in there. And but again, the you're gonna have four teams with new coaches in the SAC. They're gonna have all new looks and uh new offenses. Because next man up is is Tusculum. Right.

SPEAKER_00 18:00

And their coach Ronnie Tapp, you know, he he coached at Newberry, so just like Joe Turner knows knows the SAC.

SPEAKER_02 18:08

Knows the SAC, but was really instrumental in getting Newberry to where they are now, and they're poised to make that move, right? So you know the you know, you know, Coach Tapp knows his business, and now he gets a chance to to to to captain his ship, uh, and so to speak. And and uh he's got a lot of pedigree, you know. U.S. uh I mean uh uh Team Canada guy, um national, you know, face off uh played in the NLL for how many years? I mean, the guy's a player, obviously, and that type of coach is going to relate well to his players, you know, and they'll respond to him. Um he's a Canadian, he's gonna recruit north of the border, you know that. So he's gonna get those box type of guys down there. So I think Tusclam is in a really good place. Their team that's that that can give teams games already this year. They can give team games, you know.

SPEAKER_00 19:07

Yeah, I think they're I think their senior leadership's gonna have to step up like they did in the fall when we talked to Coach Tapp, right? They really didn't have a coach all through fallball un well through the fallball practices. And when they got to the scrimmages, that's when Coach Tapp was there with his with his assistants. But they're gonna need to be able to carry that through um when they play in the season.

SPEAKER_02 19:30

Well, Coach Tapp, you know, when he was on with us, he mentioned about how his seniors were taking care of business of things, kind of taking care of the lacrosse business end while there was no coach going to the AD and getting shirts and getting stuff, you know, ready for the team. So he sounds like he's got a really good set of seniors already, you know, guys that are willing to take the bull by the horn, so to speak.

SPEAKER_00 19:55

Yep. So let's move on. Uh another team that I think is more than just a wild card. They are very, very consistent. They're always a tough opponent, I should say. Always a tough opponent when you're playing them, and that's the Cataw Indians.

SPEAKER_02 20:11

Yeah, Coach Bork, Coach Bork has his boys, they're scrappy bunch. They're, you know, they're really good. Um, they had that big win over Belmont Abbey last year. That was a big win for that program. Um, and their top scorers are coming back, Matt Mitchell and Tucker Fanso. Yeah, those boys, they're coming back. So he's got seasoned, you know, veteran players on the offensive side. Their problem last year, I think, was more on the defensive side. They were giving up 13, 14 goals a game. Yeah. And they were only scoring 12, 13 a game. So that's where they need to kind of uh improve a little bit uh is on their defensive side. But Coach Bork always has them ready to play. They don't lay down uh Kotaba, they're I've always felt that they were one or two players away, but they're always a good team. They always come to play. You know, they lose by one or they win by one. They're always in tight. Those uh a scrappy, a scrappy team, the Kotaba Indians. Always a tough, scrappy physical team.

SPEAKER_00 21:18

Right. And and the other thing I think they need to improve upon is is face-offs. They were about 37% last year, which when your defense isn't playing that great, that's what makes it even more difficult, right? So now the goalie is their goalies returning. We'll see what their you know, their their close defense and what their short stick D middies look like this year, their rope rope defense looks like. Um, but they they beat all the their SAC opponents that were under 500. So they need to now turn the tide on those top five, six teams that are above five hundred, right?

SPEAKER_02 21:52

Right. And that comes down to recruiting and getting that depth that we s we speak about so much. You know, I think all the really Good teams have that depth. You know, they're two and three deep, you know, really good players, two or three deep at each position. So that's I think in uh that's a problem with Catava. You know, even with Coker and even with Tusculum, they just didn't have the depth, but they're good squads. They have good players, they have good players, and they come to play.

SPEAKER_00 22:25

No teams, you know. No. They're just not. And that goes right with uh the new kid on the block, um Anderson, came out of the blocks last year. Um now they ended up four and eight, you know, they won, you know, I think what did the coach say four of their first five games or whatever, and then and then you know lost, but you know, they still have Cam Weeks coming back at faceoff.

SPEAKER_02 22:51

Yeah, and that's huge. That's huge because you know, you'll hear many coaches tell you face-off's the most important position. You know, you need the ball. And if you're not getting the ball, that means your defense is playing a lot, and that's you don't want that. So then you have a kid like Cam Weeks, you know, who was as a true freshman just set Division II on fire last year and put quite frankly, put Anderson on the map. I know I was like, who who the heck is this Anderson squad sitting at 4-0? You know, like who are they? You know, first year in the conference and of true freshmen taking face-offs, but they made noise. And we had Coach Mitchell on, and he he raved about Cam and how great it was for the program to have Cameron. But he even spoke about what a great kid he was, too. So I really liked Coach Mitchell. Um, we have friends of the family whose whose son just committed to Anderson, so they're getting a player, Long Island pit, Suffolk County boy. So he'll be down in Anderson and um I'm enjoying the warm weather. Yeah. I I said to his dad, I can't wait to till we meet down there. It should be so much fun. But um Anderson Coach Mitchell, I really liked him, and I think his team, you know, that they're they're young, they're a young squad in a tough conference in the SAC. They're another team that's probably a year or two, three years away from still have to build. But they have the groundwork and and they have the resources there. And I think it's I think Anderson coming into the SAC has been a good thing.

SPEAKER_00 24:33

Right. And so then the the last team to really talk about, you know, is Lincoln Memorial. Now they were 0-9 last year. I will tell you, I know just from friends of the family players that had been on that team prior to COVID, so the 2020 season when they had to shut down, a lot of those players did not come back. You know, they decided, you know, and they were not seniors, you know, they were they were juniors, and they just decided, you know, with COVID and everything else, to move on. And then they got a new coach. So realistically, Lincoln Memorial in 2021 was kind of a reboot, right? They're really starting over.

SPEAKER_02 25:12

They didn't have a yeah, complete reboot. You know, like you said, all those players left, and they so they were in complete reboot.

SPEAKER_00 25:19

So and they're still there. They have a small roster, about 29, and they're all freshmen and sophomores. So they're gonna have some, some uh, you know they're gonna struggle. They're gonna struggle, but they're going to probably build. They're gonna build on what they've got. We've talked to other coaches about this. Coach Mitchell was one of them, right? You know, you build from that and you learn from that, and it's lessons learned.

SPEAKER_02 25:42

So you know, a good coach said you come to the dance with who you you dance with who you come to the dance with.

SPEAKER_01 25:47

Right.

SPEAKER_02 25:48

And and if you're and if you're loaded, uh, you know, if you're low on numbers or a new program or whatever, and you have a bunch of freshmen and sophomores out there, and you take your lumps for a year or two, but just think by the time those freshmen get to be juniors and seniors, you got a bunch of kids that are seasoned that have played a lot of NCAA ball in the N in the SAC, which is no joke, as you know. There's no days off in the SAC. Each team is capable of pretty much you know, beating the the next team. They're all that, they're all very good. And then and it might be a little top-heavy, a little bit, but that middle group, you know, that Newberry, Kataba, Tusculum, Coker, they're all poised to do something good. So when you play those types of teams, you're gonna be in for a ball game, you know. You're not and it could go either way, which makes the SAC great. That's that's what I say. Right.

SPEAKER_00 26:45

And and so with that, you know, you and I, as we've talked about, we're not coaches, we didn't play the game. We try to talk a good game, but why don't we bring someone on who has coaching experience, has been in D2 his whole coaching career, and that's Tim Boyle from Wingate. Hey coach, how are you doing tonight?

SPEAKER_04 27:11

I'm doing great. I gotta tell you, um, before we even start anything, I am in awe of both of you. You guys are underground Division II heroes right now, and I'm amazed to be sitting here looking at you both and getting the opportunity to have this discussion. You guys truly are pioneers, pioneers. It's incredible. And I I gotta tell you, I'm enjoying every episode, and I'm talking to other coaches in the division, and they're and they're loving it too. So this is great.

SPEAKER_02 27:38

He must have talked to Coach Ryan before this.

SPEAKER_04 27:43

We talk we talk often, but you know, I told them all I was gonna do was rip on him on this podcast, and I and I may do a little bit. I mean, he's definitely not as good, he's not as good looking as me. Uh he may be a little taller than me, but that's here we go.

SPEAKER_02 27:56

This is great. Hey, Coach Tim Boyle from the uh Wingate Bulldogs, it's so great to have you on. We appreciate you uh taking the time tonight. Um I just uh have some things I have to say um as as regarding you as a coach, you know, just doing a little background, you know, this is your sixth season at Wingate, and you've am amassed a record of 53 and 18. But uh one of those seasons was shut cut short from COVID. But uh you've only lost uh seven conference games since you've been at Wingate. You've led the Bulldogs to three consecutive SAC titles and two NCAA appearances in your first three seasons there. And there's 16 years of dowling before Wingate. You had four NCAA appearances, two national championship appearances, and a national championship in 2012. You've been named National Coach of the Year three times. And this year, this past year, this 2021 season, you took the Bulldogs to the best record in school history. How the heck do you do it, coach?

SPEAKER_04 29:06

Oh wow, when you put it that way, I I I have no idea when you put it all that way. Um, but I will say this, it it's it's everybody that you're surrounded by. I mean, that's what does it. I I I've been blessed with great assistant coaches. I've been blessed with great kids that have come into the program, and and you know, they all seem to buy into what we want them to be. And uh we've been doing it the same way since I got here at Wingate and actually before I got to Wingate, we ran the program, the Dowling program very similar. So it really is about the people around you, you know, the people that you bring in to coach, the people that you recruit to represent your program, and then the the administration that's that you're surrounded by at the university and their buy-in to your to the program's vision and to you know where you see you want it to go. And it really, we've we've been very blessed uh at Wingate, you know, inheriting a great group of kids uh when we came down and they were looking and craving structure and organization because they had the talent. And uh we just we just put them in place, you know, just put the pieces in place and they did the rest of it. It was all them. And, you know, having being blessed with Joe Turner coming down with me, and then having Nick Culpitz come on board and couldn't ask for a better staff to start off with, and then uh having Sean Moran come over as a GA and uh Jake Omerod and keeping guys that graduated from the program in the program, in the family for a longer period of time, because you know, we never want them to leave. We want we want the best to stay forever, although we know they have to move on because that's their job to move on. But selfishly, we want them all to stay for as long as they can because they they bring out the best in us, and it's just great. It's been it's been a crazy ride, and I've enjoyed every minute of it. Uh, you know, being an being a Yankee moving down in the South, you know, was a scary, scary proposition at first. Uh, and I didn't I didn't want to be known as the Northern Invader, but then I started taking a look around, and there was a heck of a lot more northerners down here uh just where I'm living, and also in the lacrosse world. So I felt a little more like, oh, this is okay.

SPEAKER_00 31:10

But um, you know, Dan, Dan, funny, coach, that you talk about that, because it's the players too, right? Because like we talk about, there's a lot of players up north that are like, geez, it really would be nice to play lacrosse in warmer weather in January and February and March.

SPEAKER_04 31:25

Oh, without a doubt. And I gotta be honest with you, when we were at Dowling, I used to say, you don't want to go to school in the South. If college was supposed to be a resort, they would have named it Resort. That's what I used to use as a line. And now I say, you want to play in the snow? Why would you want to play in the snow? Shovel Fields? Come on now. It's crazy. It snowed one time in four years here.

SPEAKER_02 31:49

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 31:51

So going on what Danny said, Coach, um, first of all, I mean, I congratulate you for last season. Just uh incredible season. You know, not only did you get your first uh NCAA comp, you know, championship win for the school, but you made it to the Final Four. And as Danny and I have talked about before, that's not easy to stay at, right? To stay at that level the next year, the next year. If you look at what you did Dowling, right, you made it to the the championship in 2006. Six years later, you made it again and finally won. And obviously, I'm sure all your fans and and your players are are stoked, but how do you keep that up to keep at that level to maybe get back there next year?

SPEAKER_04 32:34

You know, it's it's about keeping everybody grounded. I mean, from the top to the bottom. And the one thing we say all the time is there's no guarantee we will ever make the NCAs again. And I say this all the time, and I truly believe it, there is no guarantee that we may, we may never get a chance to step foot in the NCA tournament again if we take things for granted. If we come back this year and just rest on, well, look how far we went last year. So obviously we're going to do something similar this year. Well, then we're sunk. So uh it has to be about staying grounded, staying humble. Humble and hungry was a big thing that we used to use at Dowling. And it's it's truthful. You you've got to remain humble and say, well, last year was great. The 2021 team was amazing, but the 2021 team is gone. And that's a memory, and it's a memory we'll all have, and we're gonna cherish that for the rest of our lives. But the legacy is you're the 22 team. What is your legacy? What are you gonna do? Because you can't rest, you can't rest on 21. It's it's you're the 20. Every year it's different. And now we're in a 22 season now, and we've got to say, all right, who are we? What are we about? Um, and you know, the the big thing we've been talking about this year is uh goals versus habits. It's something that we've been talking about since day one. And you know, if guys are gonna write goals down and say, hey, I uh we want to make the SAC championship, we want to make the NCA championship, well, what are you doing to make sure that those goals are attainable? What are your habits? Because if your habits don't match those goals, those goals aren't, they're not goals, they're just words that you wrote down. So it has been this fall, it's been all about habits. And we've had some great days where we've had some good habits, and we've had some bad days, we've had some really ugly habits. So, which, you know, is part of it, and it's always gonna be part of it. And it's it's you know, the part of the job that we love and the part of the job that we're scared of uh all at once, because you know, you you wonder, you know, who's gonna show up? Uh, are we ready? Uh, as a coach, I am uh I am a warrior by trade. Uh my Irish Catholic background has got me as a warrior. So uh I worry about every single opponent, I worry about every single quarter, I worry about every single play. And I wish I didn't, but I do.

SPEAKER_02 34:50

You know what it shows, coach. And there's other coaches that have come on with us and and have talked about Wingate and have mentioned you. And there's some of these teams, they aspire to be like you, and they aspire to be like your teams, especially on the defensive side. You were so you're so disciplined um on the defensive side. Um this year, though, uh you lost you lost two all-Americans, two big players and James Houston and Reese Orman. Um, that's a big, that's a big loss. And how how how do you plan on retooling that side of the ball?

SPEAKER_04 35:26

Yeah, when you when you lose two uh multi-year starters and all-American and all-conference, you you take a step back and you always say, all right, so what are we gonna do about that? And and it really comes down to uh the next guy up has got to be ready. And I believe, you know, in terms of our defense, we are gonna be a little bit younger. But, you know, we had kind of a two-pole system last year where Reese took 75% of the runs and and Mike the ledge took 25% of the runs. And now Mike's gonna be that guy who's gonna take 75 to 80% of the runs, and uh Matt James and Joe Carnage are gonna take the other runs. So uh we do believe we're we're able to put people in place, and you you're never gonna absolutely replace a kid like Reese Orman, to be honest with you. He was just, you know, not only one of the better players I've ever coached, but one of the better humans I've ever coached. So um, you know, that it's gonna be interesting. Mike is ready. Um, he's been doing a great job in the fall, taking on the leadership role that was vacated by Reese. And he he's ready. This is what he's wanted. You know, he's been preparing for this. So I'm excited to see how that goes for him. Um, down on the close defense, you know, we're gonna be young down there. There's gonna be, there's gonna be two guys, maybe three guys that don't have a lot of experience playing down there. That's just the nature of who we're gonna be. Um where our where our experience lies right now is at the the D midfield. So, you know, we have our two short sticks back that started last year, uh a pole that played, you know, 25 to 40 percent of the time. Uh, and we have a couple of other short sticks that played, you know, 30% of the time. And then down at defense, it's still up in the air. It literally could be three guys who got real sparing time sparingly time last year. And then in the net, you know, we had a freshman last year, and and and case he did a great job for us, Casey Carlson, and uh he was thrust into a role that you know not a lot of kids are ready for at that age, and he did a fantastic job uh handling it. And now he has um he has some he has someone pushing him. Uh, we brought in a transfer from Siena, Johnny Capone, who uh interestingly enough, I played college ball with his dad. Um that's where the relationship comes. And he's a great young man, and we're excited about it. And and Johnny and Casey are pushing each other to be the best that they both can be. And it's been fun to watch in the fall because you know, as a coach, you're looking to get the best out of your kids, and those two are pushing each other to give their best every day. So we're excited about whoever gets that job. Um, and we're always excited about how we're gonna handle you know, these offenses that are sprouting up in the SAC conference now with all the firepower that they have and the new rules with uh you know the faster pace and the shot clock. You know, I'm a grinder. I'll I'll win every game, I'll win every game 6'5, and I'll be perfectly happy. You know, when they started changing all these rules, I started sweating, you know. Um so yeah, and and and in the years past, I was I would control the offense a little bit more. Um, to to Coach Turner's chagrin, I'm sure when he was here, I'm sure he wanted to open it up a little more. I may have been a micromanager a little bit too much back then. Um I've loosened my reins a little bit. And uh I I think that Coach Grimwood, who came on board this year, who's an alumnus of the program too, he's done a he's uh came on board last year. He's done an amazing job. And I think it shows if you look at the stats. I mean, uh I don't remember the last team that uh I was involved in that was led so many offensive or was really high in offensive categories. It's been a while. Um Right.

SPEAKER_00 39:03

And you're you're returning a lot of your offense, your whole attack line is is coming back. Most of your middies uh are coming back as well. So it seems like, you know, and if you look at your stats, I don't have the top of my head, but you know, if you look at the your goal average was up around eight, 18 or something like that per game last year, which is just if you look in the sack itself, I mean, obviously one of the leaders up there was Lenore Ryan and being able to do that.

SPEAKER_04 39:31

Yeah, and I I think I think I'm I'm I'm changing my, you know, I'm changing my ways in my old age, which is not easy to do, but I I understand that the game evolves and we all have to understand that. So uh everybody wants a faster-paced game, everybody wants more scoring. So uh we're gonna try and get on board with that. And uh I may cringe a little more, I may sweat a little more, I may sleep a little less, but uh, but I'm game for it, you know, because I you you never want to be the old coach who never changes because that that's never a good that's never a good look. Uh I've learned that.

SPEAKER_02 40:06

It's an exciting brand to lacrosse, no doubt. I mean, to watch the offense because Wingate primarily in the past has been a grind. Use all of that time, clock up, you know. You it's been a grinding team, and and it changed last year. It just changed. It seemed like overnight. And like Kevin said, you guys are putting up 18 points a game and only giving up eight. I mean, it was quite the year offensively for Wingate. And to have all those kids coming back on the offensive side has to make you feel pretty good, Coach.

SPEAKER_04 40:37

It does. I mean, when you have three returning attackmen that were all pretty much all American caliber and uh they put up so many points, you you're excited about that. And you know, it does make you feel um a little more uh safe. Uh and then when you bring back middies that have strong experience from last year, some putting up some good points and some putting up, you know, the type of points we thought they'd put up, and then you know, they could have that breakout year this year, you know, you're excited about that. Uh, and you know, that's that's something that we we know that we have to make sure that we can't just rely on our attack because if we do, and somehow that isn't working during a game, which kind of happened to us at the end of the year, we could be a little bit more one-dimensional. So we know we have to be a little bit more multidimensional, and we know we we have to win more face-offs, which was kind of a key to the end of our year last year. We were we were trending downward, we'll say, from April 7th on uh in the face-off category, even though we did win the statistical face-off award for the conference. Uh, we were trending downward from April 7th through the end of the year. So we know we have to kind of button that up. And uh uh we've been a little snake bitten at the face-off spot last couple of years in terms of injuries and things happening. So um we're hoping that that that that trend will end and we'll get a little more consistency there, which if we can be consistent there, uh that means that attack unit uh and those dangerous minis are getting the ball more, and that means uh points can be going up a little bit easier uh than if you're not getting the ball. So we're excited about that. And it also takes a lot of the stress off the defense.

SPEAKER_00 42:20

So exactly. Danny and I have talked about that, right? I mean, you have a good face-off, you win that more often. It it takes the pressure, like you said, it takes the pressure off your defense of having to get the ball to your offense because your offense already has it.

SPEAKER_04 42:35

Sure. I and it's great. I mean, with the shot clock era, you know, it's not necessarily the the end all. Um I I mean, in 2019, we we we lost 22 of 24 face-offs in that SAC championship game, but we won the game 12-9. So you can still win. You can still win, but if you're not winning the face-offs, then you have to do what we call manufacture possessions. So that means you you need to really kind of maybe junk it up on the face-off a little bit and try to get those 50-50 ground balls and then really turn it, turn into a press somewhere right off the face-off draw and and try to, you know, manufacture some turnovers and get the ball back to your office.

SPEAKER_02 43:11

Right.

SPEAKER_04 43:11

So you'd rather not have to do that uh to make sure you get the ball. But if you have to do that, you have to do that. And we're we're prepared to we're prepared either way. Um we're preparing to counter better, we're hopefully preparing to draw better, and we're hopefully preparing to be able to press a little bit better.

SPEAKER_02 43:29

I coach, I think a lot of teams are struggling a little bit at this the numbers might not look that way, but you know, you're you're you're getting kids that have been on their knee with a motorcycle grip, you know, their whole lives, going through face-off camps and and and doing tournament teams just on their knee their whole lives. And now you're asking them to change their entire technique at faceoff. I'm sure it's tough for other other coaches too. I mean, it's tough.

SPEAKER_04 43:54

And you know what it's it's and you know, we're just the coach. I feel bad for the kids that have trained all that time, and you know. You don't want to get me started on what happens when the NCA changes their rules because I'll start saying the wrong things and all of a sudden the NCAA mafia will come in.

SPEAKER_00 44:08

Well, coach, coach, we're still underground. Take my car away. So we're underground. It won't get out there to everyone. Yes, yes, the underground.

SPEAKER_02 44:15

So let's let's talk about the SAC. I um are argu arguably, you know, the best conference in the country, top to bottom. Uh the NE10 guys might say something the opposite of that. But um, you know, with the addition of Anderson and Limestone, it's a big conference now, you know. So the conference, it's a tough conference. Uh I've always felt that Kataba was a tough team, you know, Scrappy and Coker. Now Coker has a new coach coming in. He's got pedigree. Uh he's never coached at the NCAA level, but he's got a lot of coaching pedigree. Um, how do you how do you see the SAC? Tell me what your thoughts on the SAC.

SPEAKER_04 44:56

You know, it's it's funny, you mentioned the coaching changes, and that's the biggest thing that I see this year is that we've got a conference where you've got Tusculum change coaches, Mars Hill change coaches, Coker change coaches, limestone change coaches. So you've got four teams that are gonna look completely different. Um their systems are gonna be completely different, their discipline is gonna be completely different. You you you none of us are gonna know what they're gonna be about until we get them on film this year. So as the warrior, that's got me worrying even more because now I really can't, all I can do is go back to last year's film to look at players' tendencies because all the schemes are out the window. So right there, you've got some things that everybody's got to be worried about because they're gonna be all new. Um, and I I think you know, when you talked about the COCA coach, I mean, wherever you win, if you win, you win. So NAIA, NCAA, MCLA, high school, if you're a winner, you're a winner. So that guy's he's coming in knowing how to win. So everybody's got to take notice of that. Uh and the coach of Tusculum has done a great job at at Newberry and knows what he's doing in terms of recruiting, and he can recruit north of the border very well. So you've got to, you know, you've got to take notice of that too. We know, you know, I know Joe very well, so I know what he's gonna bring to the table in Mars Hill. And I know what Brendan Storyer is going to do at Limestone. I I I I anticipate that they'll they'll be much better this year. Um I anticipate Mars Hill will be much better this year. And I anticipate Coker may, you know, he was mentioning in the podcast that he's got low numbers. But you know what? If he stays healthy, I anticipate him being very strong too. And, you know, and then you start to get to the top end, the so-called top end, which to be to be honest, that that could start fluctuating very soon. Um, we all know what LR is, and you know, we had an opportunity to see them briefly over the fall because they played right after us in a Barton scrimmage, and they looked really dangerous. I mean, really, really dangerous. And, you know, they could be spreading the ball around a little bit more than they have in the past, and that could make them even better than they were.

SPEAKER_02 46:59

Right, right.

SPEAKER_04 47:00

And the with the change, you know, the addition of a of an associate head coach that was at LR and was at the division one level over at Queens, that's only gonna make them even more dangerous. And they've also got um the fact that their season was kind of shut down on them last year, you know, that battle. So that's gonna be that's gonna be a chip on their shoulder big. And they're they've got a they've got talented, talented players. And um limestone's gonna be talented, LR is gonna be talented, Queen's gonna be talented, uh Kitaba's gonna be talented. Uh, but I will say uh the one team that I think could take the biggest jump in my mind, um, from where they have been in the past is Newberry.

SPEAKER_02 47:40

That's what I think too.

SPEAKER_04 47:41

I think people people better be taking a close look at that.

SPEAKER_00 47:44

Uh you're not the you're not the first coach that has said that. And and Danny and I have talked about that. And I wrote a note down here when we started to talk about you know the SAC as a conference, and and there are no rest days when you're playing a conference game. And especially in the SAC, especially, coach, when you just said it, um, and from your inside as a coach with with new coaches. Sometimes you say, well, it's gonna take them some time to get going, but like you said, they're gonna be bringing new schemes that the other teams, including Wingate, are not used to. So, how does that look when it comes game day, right? Maybe they have an advantage. Yeah, without they have you on film, but you don't have them.

SPEAKER_04 48:30

No, not right now. And if you play them early, you know, you you you you're gonna have uh limited opportunity. So you're gonna be you're gonna be doing some things on the fly on game day to make some changes, make some uh you know, schematic changes to see uh, you know, what's gonna work. But um, you're right, the conference from top to bottom is getting stronger. Uh the universities within the conference are supporting their lacrosse programs better now, more than ever. And that's from from from the from the team that finished first to the team that finished last. They're supporting them better and they're giving them the resources they need. So it's it's going to get it's gonna get even more muddy, I think, you know, coming up. And you know, teams are getting all, you know, teams that didn't have turf now having turf. They're putting new lights in, they're doing this. There's more scholarships available, you know, all this kind of stuff. They're adding full-time assistants, they're putting more money into a head coach. All these things are gonna pay off. They're going to pay off for them. And, you know, the conference is, you know, it may seem just slightly top-heavy right now, and then in the middle they're all clustered, but I do believe that's gonna change. And and all the teams that feel that they're at the top, we they all should be mindful of what's gonna be happening underneath. And again, I'm the worrier, so I'll worry about uh game one through game 14, worry about a scrimmage, worry about everything. But I I I enjoy playing in the conference. I like the the feel of of that, of having uh no days off. I think it's good for the kids. I think it it it sharpens them up and it and it prepares them for what they're gonna have in life, which is there might not be any off days in life. You know, and when you get out of here, you may be you may be grinding for 20 years before you can take a step back and rest because you're in a in a real stressful job, and then you get married, and then you have children, and there is no downtime, and you've got to be ready for them.

SPEAKER_03 50:27

You've got to be ready for it.

SPEAKER_00 50:29

Well, it's interesting you say that, coach, no rest days, because looking at your schedule for next season for 2022, talk about no rest days. I don't know a stronger strength of schedule than what you have because you're in the first five or six games, you basically are playing the Division II tournament from last year. Again, you're playing Mount Olive, you're playing Mercyhurst, you're playing Lemoyne, and then you're going into your conference games. I mean, I how I mean personally, I love it. I love it. I mean, I'm I'm excited to see what Wingate does, especially against those uh those teams from the north, because I think that it's great. You know, Danny and I have talked about this. Northern teams playing southern teams more would just it would just be phenomenal. But how is your team and your guys embracing that?

SPEAKER_04 51:26

They're they're super excited for it. And you know, uh my worry wart guy you know is gonna come out again. You know, uh our first game is Barton. And to be honest with you, um, our score last year may, you know, be one very lopsided, but that was their first game. And if you look at what they did from then on, they went on a tear and almost knocked off two ranked opponents by the end of the year. Uh, and we got to look at them in the fall. Uh, they have a brand new stadium. So, I mean, that game to me is is huge for us, you know, to open it up to see where we're at. And I I love what the guys are doing at Barton. They're doing a fantastic job. And, you know, then move on to Mercier from there. Now, Chris and I, Chris and I have been playing each other every year, barring like one year here, one year there, because of something since 2001. We've been playing each other. So I think we lost like three years due to something. Uh just couldn't work for scheduling, couldn't work for budgeting, whatever. And but there was also two years in there where we played each other twice. Once in the regular season and once in the NCAA semifinals. So we've been we've we've had this long-standing relationship with Mercy Hurst. We love playing against them. We have a healthy rivalry, a very respectful rivalry. Um, and and it's been it's been a great relationship for so long that we just love doing it. Um, Lemoyne, I used to play Le Moyne when we used to play Le Moyne when we were at Dowling, um, and you know, came down here. And it's it is always it's sometimes hard to get to play the far north teams unless they decide to come down south because you know, we only have the opportunity to play those non-conference games when you think about it because of the the size of our conference. We only have those opportunities in February. Um, because once you get into March in a conference of our size, you've got games every Saturday, and then you've got three or four weeks where you've got Wednesday games. So you really don't have the room. So, I mean, just to have the opportunity to play against Lemoyne again, I think is going to be great for our program. And the and the fact that it's it's gonna be in the Baltimore area and and homewood field is is an amazing experience for the kids. So, I mean, that's fantastic.

SPEAKER_00 53:38

Without a doubt, without a doubt.

SPEAKER_04 53:40

And then you go Mount Olive coming to us, which is a game we were supposed to play last year that didn't happen because they had a COVID issue. Uh and there'll be they they'll be a ranked opponent. So we always enjoy playing them. And then we shoot into the the Crown Classic, which, you know, yeah, that was going to be our home game against Limestone. And then the Crown called and said, Hey, do you want to get involved? And we were like, heck yeah, because these are experiences that your kids, you know, you don't normally get these opportunities too often to be involved in maybe two or three marquee games in the early part of the season, and two of them being at pretty cool neutral sites.

SPEAKER_01 54:17

Really cool neutral sites. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 54:19

So I mean, we're pretty excited. Plus, we have a, you know, that that gives an opportunity for a lot of alums to fly into Charlotte and just come right to the game and not have to scoot down, even though it's not far to get to Wingate. But, you know, it's it's a it's more of a cool setting for them. Uh, I think going to Maryland, it really opens up the opportunity for all of our Maryland, you know, kids, Maryland and families, Maryland alums, and the northern families, a much quicker ride down. Much quicker down to see the game.

SPEAKER_00 54:46

Yeah, you'll have a lot of fans there without a doubt.

SPEAKER_04 54:49

Yeah, we we couldn't be more excited about it. I mean, it's it's a challenge. Uh, you know, I look at I look at the Le Moine game, uh, you know, and you know, it's it's a it's a it's a daunting task whenever you put Le Moine on your schedule. And the NE10 guys will talk about it and and everybody will talk about it. It's a it's a daunting task because they are such a you know, have been such a powerhouse the whole long so long, and then they never seem to um have they always just reload, you know what I mean? So but it's but it's fun to play, it's fun to play teams like that. It's exciting to play teams like that. And I know our guys, I you know, when I was asked about the game, um, I brought our seniors in and I said, here's an opportunity we have. I want your feedback. Because I wanted to see what they would say.

SPEAKER_03 55:37

Right.

SPEAKER_04 55:37

And it was it was from top to bottom, it was you know, smiles and excitement, and you know, they started getting all amped up about it. And that to me says, Oh, yeah, we want to play this game.

SPEAKER_00 55:48

Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_04 55:48

If you if you if you're a coach and you see any apprehension, you're like, ah, well, maybe we don't want to play this game. You know, no, they were they were super excited uh about it, and you know, so we we're we're we're pumped for our season in general. Uh we're we're generally excited and and know what's in front of us at the first part, and we know that uh there's no room for error in the entire conference schedule, but now you talk about the beginning of the year. But those games, the Merciers game, the Le Moyne game, they're gonna prepare us.

SPEAKER_01 56:23

Exactly.

SPEAKER_04 56:24

They are gonna prepare us to get ready for LR, to get ready for Queens, to get ready for Limestone. They're gonna prepare us. So that's what we really want. You know, you you wanna you want to challenge yourself. Um, and it's an important thing, you know. And I I our the guys, our guys want to be challenged. They they do want to be challenged, you know. So we will see how that goes, you know.

SPEAKER_02 56:47

No, I I think it's gonna be great. I think it's gonna be great. I mean, you get you got like a big part of your team coming back again. Like you said, we will you lost James Houston and and Reese Orman on the defensive side, both all Americans, but you got all those guys coming back on offense. Uh, I expect to see 18 points a game again. Uh you know, for the most part. For the most part, I do.

SPEAKER_04 57:11

Oh, you guys are you guys gonna be like, you know, knocking down, you're gonna be like texting me if we don't have 18 points? Am I gonna get like death threats? Because I'm gonna go to the city. No, no, no, no.

SPEAKER_00 57:19

But I'm gonna pull that off on Coach Greenwood, then you know. That's right. Give us his number. We'll we'll text him.

SPEAKER_02 57:26

Well, we're no, I mean it's exciting. No, we'll we we'll definitely eat our crow. We've we've eaten crow on the show already before. So so if we're wrong, we'll definitely admit it. But coach, thanks so much for coming on tonight and taking the time and of your busy schedule. Um, really looking forward to seeing what the Bulldogs can do in 2022. Um, been a great team. You've you've been phenomenal since you've been there, and I wish you continued success.

SPEAKER_04 57:53

Thanks. I appreciate it. And you know what, again, it's it's it's about everybody that surrounds surrounds us, and that's where we get all of our success from. I mean, from uh the families of the kids that are in the program and all that they do, to the administration, to the coaches that come back, to the alums that come back. You know, we've got alums that the alums that want to volunteer to coach. We've got alums that want to help with the networking for them after they graduate. It it's just it's just amazing. We have one alum that has eight wing, one alum who's uh a partner in a boutique accounting firm in Charlotte, has an office in Baltimore, has eight Wingate LAX alums working in that boutique firm right now, and two of our fifth years are interning for them right now.

SPEAKER_02 58:33

That's great. That's fantastic.

SPEAKER_04 58:35

It's amazing. So it is kind of cool when you think about our programs only been around since 1997. Our oldest alumni are 41 years old. So, I mean, we are 80s. We are so uh we're hoping that you know sky's the limit for this place, but again, being grounded and understanding that you know, nothing is ever guaranteed, nothing's ever handed to you, and you gotta earn every single thing every single day. Um, and you know, our kids do that, and the school is really supporting us. Uh, we're they're they're redoing our turf field right now, and on December 1st, they start the football stadium, and Wingate Lacrosse moves back into the football stadium for the 2023 season.

SPEAKER_02 59:15

That's awesome.

SPEAKER_03 59:15

That's awesome.

SPEAKER_04 59:16

You know, although we had great memories on Graham Gill Field, you know, um, the opportunity to play inside the hedges uh with the the jumbotron and everything like that. That's something that I think is going to even expand the experience for uh our guys.

SPEAKER_02 59:31

Wow, very cool. Very cool. Yeah, coach.

SPEAKER_04 59:34

I will say that you guys are, again, I am in awe of what you're doing. This is amazing. We don't have an avenue like this in Division II. Um, and it's fantastic that coaches get the opportunity to come on here and talk about their program. Uh, and like you said, you're learning a lot about the programs. I learned a bunch about some of the programs that I didn't know too much about because I've now listened to all of your episodes. I haven't subscribed yet. I don't want to be, don't, don't be, don't be mad at me. I haven't subscribed yet. I've been going through the Facebook, you know, the old man way. I've been going through the Facebook way. But uh, I plan on subscribing, but it is. It's truly a great outlet for Division II that deserves it. And and you guys are really the pioneers in this, and it's fantastic. And I know you guys mentioned that um you you you like to listen to people's feedback and and and any ideas and things like that. I know you guys were talking about doing possibly doing an episode about Jack Haley.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:26

Yes, that's right.

SPEAKER_04 1:00:28

Do you mind if I say, could you maybe think about adding Tommy Postel to that?

SPEAKER_02 1:00:33

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_04 1:00:34

Not that Tommy, Tommy was a kind of a Jack was a great mentor to me. Tommy was a great mentor to me. So I mean, I in in the early days of my coaching career uh in the ECC, I had to walk into meetings with Jack Cayley, Tommy Postel, and Sandy Cappados. And I had to sit there and they'd just be like, kid, just shut up. When we want to talk to you, we'll let you know. When we want to hear your voice, you know, that we'll tell you when you're allowed to talk. And uh those guys meant a lot to me, and Tommy meant a lot to me. And uh he passed recently, and and I and I've seen him a few times over the years, um, sparingly, conventions, things like that. And he was always so gracious to come up and talk to me. And uh Jack was always so gracious and always so helpful with everything. And those guys, the loss of those two guys is is a it's just unbelievable for our division because they were absolute legends of our division. And you know, being a young division, you know, when you lose two people like that, it hits home. It definitely hits home.

SPEAKER_02 1:01:32

Wow, that's interesting, coach. That's really, really good stuff.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:36

We will we will definitely do that, coach. We appreciate that feedback. That's what we love hearing, getting ideas like that.

SPEAKER_04 1:01:41

So once there's a lot of guys who will come on and talk about Tommy. There's a lot of guys who will come on and talk about Jack. You guys will have a you you'll be beating them off with a stick. That's how many people will want to come on and talk about.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:52

I'll just have to practice my editing skills, maybe, to get it down to a reasonable uh uh time frame.

SPEAKER_04 1:01:58

That's why they pay you the big bucks over there. That's right. That's right. You know, you're the editor, you know. Mr. Moran's over here, he's looking like he's ready to bust out in song. He's got the studio version. Uh, you know, but you're you're the you're the behind the scenes, you're the editor. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:14

Right. He's the guy. He really is. I'm just riding his coattails with with the with the special effects.

SPEAKER_00 1:02:23

All right. Thanks, Coach. Appreciate it.

SPEAKER_04 1:02:25

No problem. Thank you guys. Love seeing you guys.

SPEAKER_02 1:02:28

Coach Tim Boyle, Wingate Bulldogs. Thanks so much, Coach. We'll see you soon.

SPEAKER_00 1:02:32

Thank you. Yeah, it was great to have him on. I loved what he said. It brought me to the the phrase, no rest days when you're talking about playing in conference. I mean, he went down, as he said, he's a warrior, but he just didn't stop at you know, the limestones, the LRs, Queens, right? He went down the list and he started off with something that I hadn't really thought about. Four new coaches that they have no idea how to prepare for.

SPEAKER_02 1:03:05

Well, you know, yeah, he's gonna have to get the film, like he says, you know, like, you know, there you have four new coaches, they're gonna bring in their offense, their defense, what they do, what they know. Uh the good coaches will be able to say, hey, listen, I really can't do that with these types of players, but I can do that. I can be this with that these types of players. So the good coaches can kind of adapt on the fly with the players that they have, and then the other coaches want to slowly bring their system in. So each one of those teams is gonna have a new look. Like again, limestone's gonna look different from the what they looked like last year. You know, uh Coker is going to look different from what they looked like last year, as well as Tusculum. You know, the the there just are, they're just gonna have different looks, and Mars Hill as well, with Joe Turner down there. So it's gonna be a really interesting year. It's gonna be fun to watch.

SPEAKER_00 1:04:00

Like we always say, you know, we always say it's gonna be fun to watch this conference play in the 2022 season, not only in conference, but out of conference. And so I think with that, Danny, that's another wrap for In the Crease. Sounds good, Kev. This is a good one. I'll see you soon.