Conference Previews for the 2023 season - Conference Carolinas

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 one-stop shop of D2 Men's Lacrosse Info, Danny Moran. Hey, Danny.

SPEAKER_01 0:29

Hey, Kevin, how are you tonight? How's it going?

SPEAKER_00 0:32

It's going well. I was debating whether to call you the Walmart, but you're more like a Nordstrom's. You're like on the high end, but a one-stop shop.

SPEAKER_01 0:39

So I'm a typical guy. In and out. Bang. Know what we want. Get it, get the point across, and on to the next one. There we go. There we go. How's it going in Northern Virginia this evening, my friend?

SPEAKER_00 0:52

It is going just fine. Just fine. I'm really excited about this episode, Danny, because at this point we have reached the halfway point for our conference previews. And now are in the final stretch heading into the 2023 season.

SPEAKER_01 1:06

Yeah, man. It's been fun so far. I like going down these uh these conferences and giving them a little preview for what's coming up this season.

SPEAKER_00 1:14

Yeah, so why don't we get started and talk about Conference Carolinas?

SPEAKER_01 1:18

Yeah, Conference Carolinas is a really, really good conference, uh, Kevin. Been around a long time. A lot of pedigree in this conference. And you know what? It's uh a conference that has teams that are usually nationally ranked. Yep. And uh super, super duper competitive conference, top to bottom.

SPEAKER_00 1:39

Yeah, so let's get into it. Let's start off with last year's conference of champions, uh Belmont Abbey, the Crusaders.

SPEAKER_02 1:47

The Crusaders. Yeah, Belmont Abbey went.

SPEAKER_01 1:54

They went 6-0 last year and 10-5. They lost their first four or five games in the season last year, but they wound up playing pretty well towards the end. Yeah. Um coach Coach Chris Barrett does a great job with the Crusaders year in and year out.

SPEAKER_00 2:10

It's it's funny you say that. So I I wrote as my first note that it was kind of a weird season looking at Belmont Abbey's play, and I got a chance to talk to Coach Barrett, and he told me that that was the probably the toughest February of his career. Because just as you said, they lost the first four games. And if you look back at it, what he also told me was they they went in scrimmage wingate before the the season started, and they had 70% of their starters were out because of COVID. And that's just not just for one game, right? That they're in the protocol. They're in it's like at least seven days, ten days back then.

SPEAKER_01 2:51

At that point, I think it was 10-day protocol. So COVID was still a thing a little bit in the beginning of last season.

SPEAKER_00 2:58

And so then you got to go right into your season, and who did they play? They went limestone, Florida Tech, Florida Southern, Lenore Ryan. All ranked. All ranked. Now, at that time, I will tell you, I remember watching these games, and I talked to Coach Baird about this. You really thought when they lost to Florida Tech and Florida Southern, who weren't ranked at that time, you were kind of scratched. I was scratching my head of, geez, how did Belmont Abbey lose to him? It wasn't until you started watching those teams continue to play well throughout the season and then get ranked and stay ranked that you realized if you look back at their record, going 0-4, you can almost understand why, because that was a stacked schedule to begin with.

SPEAKER_01 3:43

But totally. And then, like you said, they had you know, 70% of the team had COVID the week before the season started. So now you're losing 10 days of practice with these guys. They lose the sharpness. You're not you don't have the same guys on the field at practice that you're gonna you know roll with to start your season with. So, you know, they ran into a couple of stumbling blocks in the beginning. But you know what? They turned it on, you know. Barrett, they found their legs. Yeah, they found their legs and they came back at the end of the season. They went six and oh in conference, which is not an easy thing to do.

SPEAKER_00 4:17

Not in conference care on exactly right. And then in the championship, you know, they held off Barton in the semis, and they beat Mount Olive in the conference championship. So you got to put your hats off to that team and coach for what they they did.

SPEAKER_01 4:33

And they had two studs on offense with Austin Hayson and Noah Haas. Those guys, Noah Haas, we were calling his name every week last year.

SPEAKER_00 4:42

Yeah, well, and that's what's interesting. Let's talk about that. They lose, those are both gone at their top two scores, and they also lose number three and number four in Bailey Williams and Eric Solgren. So talking to Coach, he's like, yeah, we got to totally retool on offense, and we're really young, and offense is probably the biggest question for them.

SPEAKER_01 5:05

Well, when you lose four studs, but you know, Austin Hayson, Noah Haas, man, that kid is a beast. He's just a great player.

SPEAKER_00 5:13

Both of those guys, all Americans, and went into the NLL. Yeah, there you go. So there's the caliber that you're dealing with that that they lost and they have to rebuild with. Now on D, on defense, a little bit better story. They've got uh on Close D, two seniors returning. Well, they're seniors this year, Pat Doring and James Booker. And they have some underclassmen that got some quality minutes last year. So they're pretty well set, at least on the close D side, and then their goalkeeper, Thomas Sullivan, who was only a sophomore last year, is coming back. Sully Sully was 6.4 goals against average and a 62% save percentage.

SPEAKER_01 6:02

Yeah, he's pretty good. And only a sophomore last year. So, you know what? I they're they'll struggle a little bit offensively, at least in the beginning of the season, it looks like, you know, being so young and losing all those guys on offense. If they can keep the you know the goals down and on with that stout defense that Chris Barrett has over there, maybe they'll do all right. I I expect them on average to be a pretty decent team, Kev.

SPEAKER_00 6:26

Oh, yeah. They and they've got their face-off specialist returning who was at 60% last year, Caleb McCahy. So they've got some pieces. I think I would not be surprised if you see their season start much like last year. If you look at their out-of-conference, it's Mars Hill, Newberry, Cotaba, Colorado Mesa, Lenore Ryan, Lewis, Embry Riddle, and then they play limestone May 5th at the end of the season. But they they have a tough out-of-conference schedule and offense to gel. Yeah. Getting their offense to gel. We may see some stumbling blocks in the out-of-conference schedule, but I bet you anything by the time conference play, they'll be they'll be raring to go. I I agree with you. I agree. All right, so now let's talk Mount Olive. The Trojans. Yeah, I know. We may have to take that away from you. Ten and six in 2022.

SPEAKER_01 7:33

Having one in conference.

SPEAKER_00 7:35

Yeah, so not their usual year that we usually would see from them. They obviously lost to Belmont Championship, but they also lost to Queens and Wingate. Not that that's totally unusual. They played them close before, but they lost by larger margins than they usually did. Those games were usually like a one-goal game. Uh Wingate has struggled with Mount Olive in the past.

SPEAKER_01 7:57

They beat him last year, but in the past, they've struggled. Mount Olive has always put out a good team, but they got a new coach this year, Kev.

SPEAKER_00 8:03

That's right. Dylan Price comes back. He was at William Peace for a year. He comes back, takes over from Mike Murphy. But he knows the team. And he has an assistant, Will Forrestall, with him, so I don't see them really skipping a beat yet this year.

SPEAKER_01 8:18

No, they'll be pretty good. They'll be pretty good. They got junior Aiden Lalon coming back. He had 38 goals and 10 assists last year. You know, that's a that's a solid year. Yeah. And we have senior Chaz Goodman. I don't know if he's coming back. He had 14 goals and 14 assists. Now they had two real big studs last year, Lucas Shine and Braden Hickey. Yeah. But I'm not sure if they're coming back.

SPEAKER_00 8:41

I don't either. They're neither their 2023 roster or their 2023 schedules out yet. So we'll have to see if they do that. To me, it looks like they may need to reload on D again. I couldn't really see with some of those guys leaving or could be leaving. That's my question. Do they need to reload on D or not?

SPEAKER_01 9:02

Well, yeah, you know, I'm not sure because again, their their schedule, uh their schedule and roster is not up yet. But, you know, looking at last year's statistics, you know, there's there's things that they can improve on. They could improve on their man um their man up. They're only at 40%. You need to be up at 50% and higher on your man-ups, man. You know, 40% is okay, but you know, they turned the ball over too much. They've turned the ball over way more than their opponents last year. Yeah. So they were throwing the ball away and losing possession, but they were really good at the face-off at 65% last year. So their problem last year was turning the ball over.

SPEAKER_00 9:46

Yeah, yeah, I I I agree with that. Uh it'll be interesting to see with this transition to Coach Price. I think, like we said. It'll be a good thing. I don't see much of a difference. I don't see much of a difference now. Just cleaning up those mistakes and see how they go.

SPEAKER_01 10:05

You know, I just want to see how what their freshman class looks like. Again, they're their schedule and their roster's not up. You know, Mount Olive, you know, Coach Price has been there before and uh with Murphy, and he's gone through a lot with them, knows how to recruit, knows the school, knows the AD, knows a lot of those young men that are playing still. So I don't I don't think there's gonna be much of a difference in there. There might be a few little nuances, changes here and there, but I expect the the the Trojans to be a pretty, pretty formidable squad.

SPEAKER_00 10:38

They're gonna be competitive. Oh, without a doubt, without a doubt. They'll still be near the top, fighting for the top and the and and be in the tournament, their conference tournament, and just see where they go. You know, here's the difference. Here's the difference from what happened two years ago with them to last year and see where they go this year. It has nothing to do with how competitive they are in the conference, because they will be competitive. It's where they stack up ranked nationally.

SPEAKER_01 11:06

Well, I was just gonna say that Coach Murphy's always got them ranked. They're always in the top 20, in the top ten. You know, they flirted with the top ten. Oh, without a doubt.

SPEAKER_00 11:18

I don't think they were the last year, but I don't know where they ended up. I forgot where they ended up last year. But I forget.

SPEAKER_01 11:26

I don't have it right off the top. I don't either forget either.

SPEAKER_00 11:28

But I'll tell you what, I think that's the difference. I think that's what they aspire to. They aspire to being in the NCAA tournament, not just the conference championship. And we'll see if they can do it this year with with Coach Price. Yeah. We'll see.

SPEAKER_01 11:46

We'll see.

SPEAKER_00 11:46

2023. We will see. That's right. That's right. Okay. How about we move on to North Greenville? Another Crusaders.

SPEAKER_02 11:57

Crusaders.

SPEAKER_00 11:58

Two.

SPEAKER_01 11:59

Two two Crusaders. In the same comic. Uh somebody took that button away from that guy. Yeah, the North Greenville Crusaders. Uh nine and eight last year overall, and four and two. You know what? Pretty good little team, Kev. They've been growing. They've been improving every year. Um, coach, coach has them working pretty good there. They they got a good number of kids on their roster. They're they're they're very poised to kind of make that next step, aren't they?

SPEAKER_00 12:36

They are. I will tell you, I've used this word, usually at least for one team per conference, and North Greenville's a dangerous team. If you look at them last year, they had a lot of tight games. They lost to Lenore Ryan by five goals, but I watched that game, and it was a heck of a lot closer than five goals. It wasn't until the end of the fourth quarter where Lenore Ryan just lit up a few goals and it and it was over. But it was close to the wire. It wasn't like they were out of it.

SPEAKER_01 13:05

Uh, but Lenore Ryan stacked with all Americans. North Greenville is a scrappy squad with no all-Americans. You know what I'm saying? And these kids are playing really competitive.

SPEAKER_00 13:18

That's what I'm saying. You've talked about this before. Don't give a team hope. That's right. And they almost stole that game from Lenore Ryan. Not, and not when I say stole because no one expected it, but they played to Lenore Ryan's level and they made it close. Now, they were a little inconsistent, I thought, a little bit last year, depending. I mean, they beat Lander but then lost to Montevala. They they couldn't seem to stack consistent wins all the time. But uh, like I said, they're dangerous. They can win any game they play. And if you look at their out-of-conference coming up, it is stacked as well. You've got they're playing teams like Lenore Ryan, Limestone, Lander, Lewis, Seton Hill, Anderson, Coker, Young Harrison, Alderson Broadis. I mean, they've got a tough out-of-conference that if they can get above 500 in those games, watch out.

SPEAKER_01 14:19

Like I said, I believe that the Crusaders of North Greenville are poised to take that next step, Cap. You know, they were above 500 last year, and I don't think anybody expected that. And uh, and then that included a lot of teams that they played. And and this year, I think that they're going to improve again. You know what? They're pretty decent on man up, close to 50% last year. Yep. They're really pretty decent on face-off, close to 50%.

SPEAKER_00 14:48

Yep.

SPEAKER_01 14:49

And you know what?

SPEAKER_00 14:50

Clear's at 86%.

SPEAKER_01 14:52

So Yeah, but they gotta stay out of the box. They can't they can't afford to be in the box and and go man down.

SPEAKER_00 15:02

Yeah, I'd agree with that. Now, the good news for them is their top four scores are returning in Thomas Asari, Kyle Bowman, Hayden Moffitt, and Alex Brooks. Uh so they've I think on offense they're gonna be fine. On D, they lose Britton Weems, but still have a lot of people. You know where Alex Brooks is from?

SPEAKER_01 15:22

You know where you know where Alex Brooks is from?

SPEAKER_00 15:24

No.

SPEAKER_01 15:25

Houston, Texas. There you go. So here we talk about coast to coast, man. That kid comes from Houston, Texas to play to play lacrosse at a high level in North Greenville. Good for him, man.

SPEAKER_00 15:38

Yeah. Yeah. So like I said, I I think they're stacking up to make a run. Maybe not only in the conference, Danny.

SPEAKER_01 15:49

They're right there, Kev. They're poised. They're poised. If they can stay out of the box, maybe even improve that, you know, that man up, get it up to 52, 53, 54%, they're gonna be tough to beat.

SPEAKER_00 16:04

Yeah. Yeah. The other team that's right on their heels, and as a young team, the Barton Bulldogs. A Bulldog.

SPEAKER_01 16:19

I'm silly tonight. Yeah, yeah. And I I I didn't even have a drink. Not one. Not one.

SPEAKER_00 16:26

I'm gonna have one right after this because of you. That's all I'm saying, Danny. Uh they were nine-and-seven last year and three and three in conference.

SPEAKER_01 16:38

Yeah, Barton's pretty good, man. They're pretty good. You know, they usually play a tough out-of-conference schedule as well. That's one they're one of those up-and-coming teams in the conference, Carolinas. You know, they're they're they're looking to put a good season together. Hey, man, nine and seven, they're above 500. That's a good squad. That's right. Well, I'll tell you what.

SPEAKER_00 16:58

I'll tell you what. They, like you said, are a very young team and they're improving drastically. And I think that's part of it, once again. If you look at their man up, they were at 45%, but that was a big improvement from the year before. And if you look at what they're returning, they're returning nine of their 10 starters from their 2020 season. They've got first team Conference Carolina attackman Mason Cheney, along with four second team all Conference Carolina members, including Matt Calarey, junior attacker Mark Crawford, and JJ Mitchell, and then a junior defender, Ryan Santos, all coming back. And they've got two-way middies that they're going to use because they like to push the ball. They like to push the pace in Logan Wheeler and Jake Sorracco returning.

SPEAKER_01 17:46

Yeah, Matt Matt Calary was a wing gate transfer, Kev. Yeah. Um, he had 36 goals and 25 assists for 61 points. That's a good season for Matt. Yeah. That's a good season. I mean, that kid, that kid's a baller.

SPEAKER_00 18:02

Yeah, and I only see that going up this year.

SPEAKER_01 18:06

Yeah, Mason Cheney put up 60 points, too. These kids are they got some ballers there, man. They really do.

SPEAKER_00 18:14

Yep, yep. And then defensively, they're, you know, they their three-year captain, uh Colton Riyot, has moved to the LSM position, while fellow 2023 seniors Ryan Santos and former Juke All-American Ryan Stapleton look to anchor their defensive unit. So like I said, they're they're stacked up like we talked about with uh the uh coach Lapore. They're at a point where actually now their players that came in as freshmen are upperclassmen and ready to take on take on the rest of the conference and any team they play.

SPEAKER_01 18:50

Yeah, and these kids have minutes under their belts. They're not, you know, they they they got some games under their belt. I Barton's gonna be another competitive squad in that Conference Carolina as a game. Yeah, I think I think, you know, again, improving each year above 500, a lot of starters coming back, like you said. So I expect them to be a pretty competitive and formidable squad. I do. Yeah, so I think just to let Barton's got the you know, they have a chance to have a really, really good season.

SPEAKER_00 19:18

They do. They without a doubt, they do. And just to let people know, they're out of conference, they're playing Wingate, Rollins, Lander, Palm Beach Atlantic, Coker, and Kataba. So if you look up that that front side, especially, uh even the back with a Kataaba, which you can't, and even Coker, all of them. They're all tough. That's a tough schedule. That's a good schedule for them to get ready for Conference Carolinas. One last fun fact uh that the coach gave us. Their team has four sets of brothers playing together this season. Attackman Matt and Nick Callary, Nick and Sam Lord, midfielders Bryce and Justin Washington, and then Logan and Drew Wheeler. That's awesome.

SPEAKER_01 20:05

So the legacy's legacy's keeping it in the family. That's awesome.

SPEAKER_00 20:10

There you go. There you go. So that's uh that's really great. I think they are going to be a tough team to reckon with this year.

SPEAKER_01 20:18

Yeah, I I totally agree.

SPEAKER_00 20:20

All right, but let's move on. Let's talk about Emmanuel.

SPEAKER_01 20:25

Emmanuel. Hold on, I've got to get my paper out. Where am I?

SPEAKER_00 20:35

There you go. There you go. Now they were on the other side of the ledger. They were 2-12 last year in 0-16 conference. They've got a small roster. Looks like they've got a and they're young. It looks like they've got 19 of them are freshmen or sophomores out of 29.

SPEAKER_01 20:54

Yeah, there's only 29 on the roster, and 19 freshmen.

unknown 20:57

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 20:58

They're gonna be young. Well, they're freshmen and sophomores is what I counted. They're not all freshmen, but but still, that's most of the team right there. So, you know, they're out of conference schedule this year's coker, lander, Tuskelum, Lincoln Memorial, and and Shorter. And I think the rest of the schedule may not be out yet, from what I've got as a note. But, you know, they've got they've got some work to improve this year.

SPEAKER_01 21:23

They do. They have work. And their their leading score is gone, Shamas Taranty's gone. And he, you know, they don't score a lot of goals, Cav Emanuel. But Jared Weiss is coming back, Gildebrand's coming back. And you know what? They're gonna get they're gonna look to lean on those two guys for leadership and uh hopefully coach and uh get them, at least get them a win in conference. It's not gonna be easy. Conference Carolina's tough, man.

SPEAKER_00 21:52

No. No, and I think the other thing is with such a young roster, it and we've talked about this with other teams. It's mile markers or milestones you're looking throughout the season to get to. It may not be just wins and losses. We've talked to so many coaches talked about improving. You got to improve. And if they can show that and and be competitive, and I think that's one of the things they really need to do, is close the gap in some of the scores would be a great a great goal for them. Not that they're going to win more games than they have than they did last year. I'm sure that's our goal. I think if they can close the gap on some of the teams, and especially some of the teams in conference, that would be a winning season for them as they have such a young roster.

SPEAKER_01 22:37

You know, as youth lacrosse and high school lacrosse continues to grow in that state, I expect them in the future to grow with their roster. I think that's a big problem with them at right now. They just don't have a lot of guys on their roster. And, you know, that's tough at practice. And then all it takes, like we talked about, it takes one one kid to get banged up, you know, you know, be out with a tweaked ankle or banged up shoulder or something like that. And you know, you're taking one of the better kids off the field. It could really hurt a team. So again, with with youth lacrosse and high school lacrosse in the state of Georgia just growing like leaps and bounds, perhaps Emmanuel can start ending roster depth, and it's only going to help them in the future. And I think that's where they're headed, but they're going to need some help.

SPEAKER_00 23:27

Yeah, that's exactly right. And that's the same thing for the next team, Lees McCrae. They also have a small roster at 29 with 16 freshmen. I think a lot of that has to do as you know, new head coach Josh Singleton comes in. He had been an assistant, so he's got the consistency there, and he's trying to bring in the right guys to get them to the next level. Now, they were 3-12 last year, and like we talked about Coach Dunn trying to build something, only one and five in conference, but I think they've got the bones, they've got the framework there at least McRae to start to build. The problem, once again, is roster size that they're going to have to continue to build on.

SPEAKER_01 24:04

I agree with that. You know, it's hard. Again, when you're playing in the Conference Carolinas, and you have the Belmont Abbeys and the Mount Olives of the world, and in your region, you have some of the better teams in the country. Um, your Wingates, your Lenor Lines, your limestones, you know, see this, these are some of the better teams in the United States. And these guys are playing teams like that in their outer roster because then they're within region out of conference schedule, by the um I mistakenly said. But I like Lees McCrae. It's up in Banner Elk, North Carolina, it's up in the mountains. It's got a cool kind of, I don't know, what's the word I'm looking for? Like, yeah, it's like a got a great vibe up there. It really does. And you know what? They play, they play their heart out at Lees McRae. These kids, these kids play hard. I've watched a few games last year with Lee's McCray. Yes, they struggled a little bit, but you know what? Kids played with heart. They hustled after ground balls, they got after it. You know what? Yeah, just need some kids to go up to Banner Elk, man.

SPEAKER_00 25:12

Well, and I tell you what, we've talked about this before. It's very unique in some of the majors they've got. And if you're an outdoor kind of person, I'm telling you, that school and Frostburg State are two you got to look at for what they can bring. At least we know from their end. They've got a lot of stuff on the outdoor management stuff, which is great. And now, if you look at their out-of-conference schedule, let me tell you, Coach Singleton has not backed off. This is a tough out-of-conference. Catawba, Lander, Lincoln Memorial, Mars Hill, Malone, new team. Anderson, Colorado Mesa, Tusculum, Montevallo, and Lewis. Wow. Wow. That's a tough out-of-conference for a team that wins most of their games.

SPEAKER_01 25:59

That's a crazy out-of-conference. That's crazy tough out-of-conference schedule. And hats off to Lee's McRae to putting those guys, the big dogs. You know, you might get pushed around, but your kids are going to learn how to play really good and cross.

SPEAKER_00 26:15

Those 16 freshmen are going to learn what they're going what they can become.

SPEAKER_01 26:19

That's right. They'll see programs that are pretty, pretty well put together, and they'll say, okay, okay, that's what I got to do. That's the way we got to be. All right. Next practice, let's get after it, Coach.

unknown 26:33

Yep.

SPEAKER_01 26:34

That's crazy out-of-conference schedule. That's awesome. That's off to Coach Shingleton. I give him a lot of credit for even having the balls to put that out-of-conference schedule together. I love it. I love it. That's a ballsy out of conference schedule. That is.

SPEAKER_00 26:50

Now, here's the other thing. They we talked about a lot of the freshmen coming in, but they do have their top, their top score. JP Galloway is gone, but number two, Ryan Bird returns. And it looks like their D is returning with Tyler Woolridge, Casey Zazzaro, and Logan Ryan. So, you know, their D can improve because they were there last year. You know, they need some help there, obviously, and they got to work on some team staffs, man up at 21%, face off at 35%. But they need to improve. They've got some, like I said, they've got the bones. They've got the frame, I think, to really build upon.

SPEAKER_01 27:28

Yeah, you know, you you play that tough schedule. They struggled to score last year. They only average about eight goals a game, you know. Yeah. Again, depth, uh, you know, roster size. That's a problem, I think, you know, in the conference Carolinas. I think when you start playing in conferences like that that are so skilled and have such great programs, lacrosse programs, in within that conference, it's going to be tough to win games in Game City.

SPEAKER_00 27:57

They're playing teams that have double the roster.

SPEAKER_01 27:59

Yeah, absolutely. So it's not an easy thing. It's an uphill battle. But again, I I like the Bobcats. I like what they do up there. I I I dig the vibe big time. I think they're trying to do really good things there. I think Brad Dunn really tried to do the best he could there. And I I think he laid a decent foundation. I think it's good. I just hope Coach Shingleton can get them around that next corner.

SPEAKER_00 28:26

You know what I'm saying? Yeah, exactly. Exactly. Well, let's move on to Choan.

SPEAKER_02 28:36

The Hawks. The Hawks.

SPEAKER_01 28:41

Hold on. That's me slapping myself.

SPEAKER_00 28:49

Yeah, I can't reach through the screen. We don't have that kind of technology yet on Zoom. I'll tell you what, though. The Hawks. Hold on. There we go. I think they're a little more treacherous than that in their sounds. They tell you what's the right thing. That's all I got, kid. They were slow budget here. Yeah, that's right. That's right. I I I just haven't put it, we haven't put enough money in the budget yet for new sound effects. Six and eight last year in 2022 and four and two in conference, which was a huge improvement from 2021. Huge.

SPEAKER_01 29:27

Yeah, Coach Sisi did a pretty decent job last year.

SPEAKER_00 29:31

Conference Coach of the Year. Yeah. Tell you what, he's got this team going in the right direction. This is this is a school that has been trying to build for a while. Fairly new program at Chihuahua. And and it seems like in his fourth year, Coach Cease is really actually in his third year, when he did last year, is really starting to turn the corner. His roster's now at 35. Getting better. They were the leader in D2 last year. That's phenomenal. So, you know, they and their top two scores are returning. Eric George and Jackson Downs, with Eric Dosey returning. They have their entire attack line, third year starting together, are coming back. That's a big plus for the Hawks.

SPEAKER_01 30:31

A big plus. You know, Eric George put up 72 points as a sophomore last year. That kid's a baller.

SPEAKER_00 30:39

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 30:40

He's a baller. He's a handful, man.

SPEAKER_00 30:43

Yeah, so just imagine that. Him, all three of them now coming back, their third year playing together. So Eric George played his freshman year, his sophomore year. He's coming in with these two other guys. They are going to be tough to handle on the uh as an attack line. And then you would add that in with their strong set of long stick middies and D middies, returning in Jalen Pierre, Alex Waldeboro, Cameron Snow, and Carlos Pasula. Tell you what, they've got strength on both sides of the ball.

SPEAKER_01 31:16

Yeah, they're not a bad team at all. I mean, with those guys coming back, I think, you know, like again, Coach C C is doing a really good job there. Like you said, conference coach of the year. The Hawks are improving every year, Kev. Every year they're improving. So you know what? I'm I'm looking forward to seeing what Chawan can do this year. It should be interesting then this year.

SPEAKER_00 31:40

So another stat Coach C sent to us, because he was another coach that helped us out. They scored 100 out of their 195 goals in unsettled situations last year.

SPEAKER_01 31:55

So they so they look to get out and fast break.

SPEAKER_00 31:59

They love to transition, and they could be about to transition here from a team under 500 to threatening in the conference. 100%. They are looking to outpace everyone they play. And let's talk about who they play really quickly in out-of-conference. Anderson, Tusculum, Shorter, Coker, Wheeling, Alderson brought us Young Harris on Lincoln Memorial. So they've got another great out-of-conference for them. Yeah. Yeah. I could easily see them going above 500 in that out-of-conference.

SPEAKER_01 32:35

If they can grab two of those wins, two more, they're above 900, you know, above 500. Yeah. Yeah. So it's a doable thing. So I think, you know, other other schools in that conference need to watch out. Yeah. Especially when conference play starts, because they're playing a pretty tough out-of-conference schedule. And when conference play starts, these guys are going to be pretty honed in. And again, a lot of starters coming back.

SPEAKER_00 33:02

Yeah. Coach She had them going, like you said, going in the right way. So it is going to be a lot of fun to watch them play this year along with the rest of the conference. And that's really our roundup there, Danny.

SPEAKER_01 33:15

Yeah, I like the Conference Carolinas. It's a good conference. It's been around, like I said, a long, long time. Produces some really good teams, nationally ranked teams in Mount Olive and usually Belmont Abbey. But now, like you're saying, we're seeing North Greenville grow and become a really good team. And we're seeing Barton, you know, be you know above 500 and being competitive in games. And now we're seeing Chawan, you know, close to 500 and putting together a sick, crazy out-of-conference schedule. It's only going to help these teams, Kev. Yeah.

unknown 33:50

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 33:51

It's going to be a battle. The teams that they play out of conference are in region. And you know, you're playing the Newberries and the Catavas and the Wingates and the Limestones and the Lenora Rhines and the Mount Olives. And when you play teams like that in region, you're playing good teams.

SPEAKER_00 34:10

Yeah. Yeah, it's going to be a real competitive conference this year, I think. And it's going to be, I say this probably too many times, but like most of them, I'm enjoying watching them play. But now it's time to talk with a coach. This one is another coach that has been at this school and this program since its inception and has really been building it incrementally. They could be right at the cusp of being a top contender in the conference, like we just talked about. So let's see what Coach Corey Struss of North Greenville has to say about his team in the conference. Hey coach, how are you doing tonight?

SPEAKER_04 34:55

Good doing good.

SPEAKER_01 34:56

That's great. Coach Corey Struss from North Greenville. We are so happy to have you on our program. What a great little school you got going on down there. Tell us everything about North Greenville that we should know.

SPEAKER_04 35:09

Um, so we had a program since 2014. Um I started the

Coach Struss of North Greenville

SPEAKER_04 35:15

program uh nine years ago. Christian University, uh private, you know, located about 20 minutes from Greenville, North Carolina or South Carolina. Probably, you know, one of the best kept secrets in the Southeast.

SPEAKER_01 35:27

And um not anymore.

SPEAKER_04 35:29

Not anymore. But I mean, it's uh it's a great little city. Um, you know, the the university definitely, you know, has uh invested in athletics. Baseball just won the national championship this past year. Um soccer team's doing really well, football competes at a really high level in the Gulf South Conference, and uh, you know, we're really fortunate to just have great support and you know be in a hub of lacrosse in the southeast. You know, we we we can throw a stone, you know, an hour away and place really, really great teams. So we're very fortunate for that. The weather isn't half bad either.

SPEAKER_00 36:05

You got that right, coach. Got that right. So you mentioned it. Tell us what it's like or what it's been like to start this program over the past eight years, to start it back then and see it build the way you have. That's gotta be gratifying. Tell us a little bit about that.

SPEAKER_04 36:25

It's very, you know, when you when you can take a step back, um when my wife makes me take a step back, it's it's very awesome. Um, but you know, in the in the moment, you know, it's hard to see kind of big picture. It's it's you know, we're here in the day-to-day. We, you know, every day's a grind. Um, I think it's been a process, you know, starting a program. Essentially, I got hired in January of 2014 and had to have a team by um August. So the pickings weren't too um abundant. So, you know, kind of coming from that and also just kind of finding, you know, we're we're a unique fit for some kids, you know, and I think that's that that that has kind of helped us with recruiting and um finding the right kid, um finding a kid that, you know, obviously wants to be a student athlete, but like also thinks about some other things during their college search process, you know, you know, the potential of not just working after their degree, but you know, setting themselves up for the future, whether that's you know, as a husband, as a father. And I think, you know, the Christian principles of our of our school really kind of bleed through with the way that I coach. And so I think it's been great, you know, and I kind of always tell our guys, you know, back back in 2014, 2015, we didn't win many games. So we really really doubled down on relationships. And um, you know, now that we've gotten a little bit better, that relationship side's still really intact. And I think that's that's part of the that's part of the equation as to why I think um I think we're doing okay, and we're excited about this year.

SPEAKER_01 37:54

So well, ever ever since I've been part of D2, I've watched North Greenville grow each year and just get a little bit better, a little bit better, and put every year. It's like a building block, you know. You you you started it from zero, and it takes a little while to build that to make that cake to get the ingredients. But I I saw you play a really good limestone team a couple of years ago. Was that two years ago? And you almost damn near beat them.

SPEAKER_04 38:19

Yeah, that was uh COVID year.

SPEAKER_01 38:22

Yes. That was a great game, man.

SPEAKER_04 38:25

You guys played phenomenal that game. I think we dressed 22 guys that game. So I'm unbelievable. I don't know. That that was a stretch of three games where we had the COVID thing, and um we we somehow beat Kataba with like 18 guys, and then we got like four more back and played limestone. Um we thought we could we we were gonna take them down too, but um no, you just that would have been that would have been pretty cool.

SPEAKER_01 38:52

But you played such a high level, you guys were so pumped in that game. I saw something in North Greenville at that night that I hadn't seen in the past from North Greenville. I saw a team that had hope, you know. And well, I coached football for a long time, and one thing we always said is don't give that team hope, you know. And you had you had hope in that team, and I saw that those boys were getting after it that night. You came up just a little bit short at the end. But I said to myself that night, I said, wow, this North Greenville program's come a long way.

SPEAKER_04 39:26

I appreciate that. It's uh like I said, it's it's hard to keep that in perspective, but you know, from where we were to where we are, it's been awesome. And we just had our alumni weekend, and that's when it really kind of comes full circle, you know, getting to connect with those guys and you bet. Seeing them not just, you know, employed and getting promoted, but you know, starting families, like that is that is really cool. Um, so I think that at the end of the day, you know, us for for us to be be more competitive than ever, but also not like lose our identity, which what which is what makes us unique. I think um I think we're doing it the right way. So but it is a process, like you said. Every year is different. And um, you know, uh but I I I'm really excited for our year this year.

SPEAKER_01 40:12

And how did recruiting go? How did recruiting go for this year?

SPEAKER_04 40:15

Pretty good. Um, we have quite a quite a few you know new faces, I think like 16 freshmen, probably six transfers, right? Some guys that are definitely helping out, you know, guys that are coming in right away. We also have a you know a group of sophomores that man, they they they are night and day from last year, you know, from when they were freshmen. Um, you know, kind of cliche, but I always tell our guys like in the end of year meetings, like the biggest jump you'll see in your in your game ever is gonna be from your freshman to your sophomore year because you kind of know what we expect, you know how things work, you know the speed of the game. Um, you know, so take advantage of that opportunity. And I think I'm really happy with the way that our saw our our freshmen from last year came back. So it's been fifth years.

SPEAKER_00 41:04

Yeah, well it's interesting, coach. If I if I look at your roster, it looks like your top four scores are returning, and one of those freshmen now is now a sophomore with Hayden Moffat.

SPEAKER_04 41:14

Yep.

SPEAKER_00 41:15

And then on D, you you lost Britton Wings, but you still have some quality guys in Colin Courtney and Cam Webb coming back. So do you feel you're pretty balanced on both sides with that core?

SPEAKER_04 41:27

I do. I think um, you know, I think we brought in we brought in uh Anthony Pacerero from Montebalo, first team all conference guy over there. And um, he's been awesome so far. He's been outstanding. And we brought in a you know junior college defender that's really stepping up to the plate. Like I said, some of our returners are really sort of emerging into the the role that's been put before them with you know, maybe some guys, you know, not returning from last year, so um, or graduating. Um so it's I think we're pretty balanced. I guess, you know, maybe I'm a little biased, but I've been a little more impressed with our offense than our defense so far this year. So uh we're working on it, you know, but um that's a really that's a good thing. It's like every day it seems like a different group of guys is stepping up. And again, we're only we're only about three weeks into our fall. We used we used August and September just for workouts like lifts and uh skill work, ton of skill work. Um, so that you know, by the time we hit the ground running with the whole team this this October, the rust was hopefully shaking off a little bit. It's it seems to be the case. That's good. How many are you addressing? Uh we have 53 on the roster.

SPEAKER_01 42:39

Um that's fantastic. That's great. Yeah, yeah. That's great. So you can really get after it have practice. That's awesome.

SPEAKER_04 42:46

Yeah, yeah. It just it seems like, you know, it seems like a good number for us. We could still travel with everybody, but you know, I think COVID probably pushed a lot of schools to have a little bit larger of a roster just because you you you never know when you're gonna have uh you know contact race or close comments. Like we fought that battle last year. We would have you know, we'd have practices with 15 to 20 guys out. So um it's really tough to practice with like a 20 to 25 man team. So yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 43:18

100%, 100%. So you sit on the RAC committee and the USII, uh USILA poll committee. What's like what's that like?

SPEAKER_04 43:28

The poll committee is pretty easy. I mean, like I said, I've been a D2 guy forever, and uh I love it. I I pay attention, you know, as much as I possibly can. So the poll comes pretty naturally. I'm already already kind of doing that in my head, anyways, every week. But um the rack is a lot of fun. You know, the rack is you know, we're we're always you know measuring, you know, RPI, it's performance index, and it really kind of gives you a perspective as a coach, like how important. important it is to create a great schedule, you know, but also some of the pitfalls and traps that you could get into as well. Like, you know, I I think it was like last year, you know, Florida Southern had to play Tampa three times.

SPEAKER_02 44:11

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 44:12

Because they chose to play them twice in the season. You know, obviously not winning any of those kind of hurt them in the long run.

SPEAKER_01 44:19

So it did.

SPEAKER_04 44:21

You know, for for some of these local games that we could potentially play, like we could play limestone twice. We could play Newberry once or twice. And um that could be a good thing or it could be could be a trap. So I think it's given me some perspective in in terms of like creating a great but balanced schedule.

SPEAKER_01 44:39

So you know for years I'd look at those polls and I'd say what the heck is going on here? Pace played three games and they're still number five in the country when other teams had played seven, eight, nine games already and played you know ranked against ranked and I never understood it until a coach explained it to me and now I get it. You guys are like right on target man. You guys really you really get it right. It's it's almost amazing to me.

SPEAKER_00 45:06

Dan Danny and I come up with our own and and we do it once. We can't do it every week because we we'd bail out quickly.

SPEAKER_01 45:14

We give what we give our top 20 in the beginning of the year. Then we always say we're done I'm spent I can't do that. We make some coaches happy and some coaches are like looking at us like what you know it's funny.

SPEAKER_04 45:26

The parody is making it even tougher every year. Yeah. I mean you have like you have Anderson beating Wingate last year and you know unbelievable big game.

SPEAKER_01 45:35

That was a big game.

SPEAKER_04 45:37

Yeah and it's like that can happen every week. So yeah you really got to be paying attention to it. You got to find you know sort of some trends within the within the numbers and you know from from an eyeball test it sounds like it's kind of easy but then you get into like the nitty gritty and it's like whoa this is you know there's marginal difference between team A and team B. How do they how do they rank this week?

SPEAKER_00 46:00

It's funny coach when Danny and I did it last year and I started to write it down we talked about this on the podcast it's very easy when you see someone else's top 20 to pick it apart but when you try to put your own together you're like all right I'm lost I don't know what to do. Even the top the top 10 and then if you split it up the the top 10 and then 11 to 20 there can be so much movement in those two areas I think that um it it's crazy. It's crazy. And you you you touched upon it the the parody so talk to me a little bit about what your out of conference schedule looks like.

SPEAKER_04 46:37

Has that been kind of fleshed out uh yet yeah yeah so um you know I when we first started the program you know we we really wanted to play everybody and anybody and I think that's sort of still partially our mindset. But like I said there's so many good teams here in the region that like we don't have to travel too far. Because when we started we didn't Newberry wasn't around Anderson wasn't around Lander wasn't around you know there were some teams that were just getting going but you know our out of conference schedule this year um I think we play five or six top 20 teams from last year you know Seton Hill, Lewis, Mount Olive, Belmont Abbey, limestone, Lenore Ryan um and then we got some you know some great you know I guess you could call them rivalries because they're in state you know we've got Lander we got Anderson Coker uh you know and we're going up I think on our Seton Hill trip we're playing Alderson brought us as well so a good mix we have some guys from New York that I've been promising we're gonna play up towards them so this is about as good as it's gonna get is more more for their parents than them right yeah yeah exactly exactly that's awesome that is a that's a packed out of conference schedule right there Danny it's awesome that that that's what that's what a program needs to get to that next level you know like coach said when you when you look at the numbers and the RPIs and all those little things if you want to get to that you know a shot at the national championship you you have to schedule teams like that.

SPEAKER_01 48:08

Right.

SPEAKER_04 48:08

Especially with no AQ yet you know you have to you know you you you you want to win your conference but it's not a hundred percent necessary so um and we've got some really really high end teams in our conference.

SPEAKER_00 48:20

Yeah. So let's talk about that with Conference Carolinas I I I saw you kind of when we were talking about your team to begin with you're you were being very either very modest or you're like you said you're in the grind. And if you look at the past two years you you're at 500 ended up 500 both the last two seasons but I'll tell you Danny and I talk about North Greenville and I don't think there's a team out there that really wants to play you.

SPEAKER_04 48:44

They're all a little because if you look at the stats look at your team stats from last year coach you against your opponents are leading in most categories look at man up you were at like 47% on man up goals I remember I remember when I think it was like our third season and we had we had back to back losses to Lyndonwood and Tampa and they were both in overtime and I remember I remember Jimmy Lang on the road that summer was like I never want to play you again that's a very high compliment thank you exactly you know what you're you're one of those teams you know when people look at the comp you know they look at the schedule like they say oh damn North Greenville man they're a scrappy team they're a scrappy team they come to play they get after it look at what they did they almost beat limestone in the COVID year that was you just you play a good brand of ball i i've been watching you guys for a couple of years now i i I went to the campus um I'm gonna say it's about three or four years ago now I was at the campus and I thought the campus is really beautiful nice I love the just the layout of it and it's in a beautiful section there it's just absolutely gorgeous and what you've done in the eight years that you've been there is just nothing short of remarkable. Thank you. I appreciate that it's uh it's I I have a young I have a daughter but I always used to say like this is my baby. This is uh this is it there's a lot of time and you know nurturing put into it and um it's just now it's a balancing act and now we're at a point I feel like you know we we can trust some of our guys. We got some great leaders in the in the locker room now and I feel like it's almost you know self s self-sustained. I don't have to look over my shoulder left and right to make sure the program is on the right track.

SPEAKER_00 50:37

I feel like it's you know it's more or less in the players' hands at this point and I just get to kind of steer it whenever needed and that's a good so just I just want to hear your perspective on playing in in Conference Carolinas and and the competition that is in your conference with you know Mount Olive Belmont Abbey Barton go down the list.

SPEAKER_04 51:00

Well Belmont Abbey um man they they just reload um every year they're just they're well coached they're you know you think they're losing some guys and then they have some some guys emerge um they're like a hydra they just have so many like heads and I mean it's just uh it's consistency for them I mean it's um coach Barrett's done an awesome job and I know he's got a great staff and but I do think I think it starts from the top they they have a they have a vision and every year you know it may take them a couple games to get their feet under them but they always finish so strong and make a make a pretty good run for it and it's it'll be intriguing this year. But Mount Olive's equally you know right up there too. I'm excited to see what coach price will do.

SPEAKER_00 51:49

He's he's proven he's he's better you know he was the right he was the right pick to to take over that program.

SPEAKER_04 51:57

Yeah and he knows most of those guys I'm sure he recruited a lot of them so um it's almost like a homecoming for him and I I I don't think they'll miss a beat. We we go we go up to bat against them you know in terms of recruiting quite a bit so I know what they're getting it it's uh it's a good thing. Barton's getting better every year. Like they're a dangerous team. Somehow we were yeah like somehow we were able to jump out on them last year but uh if we would have played five quarters we probably would have lost that game because they scrapped and they they they came back with with a vengeance um I think they it was an 11-1 game at half and I think they closed the gap to like 18 to 16. So yeah it was close. But they're that puts the gray hair in your your head there doesn't it's coming um yeah and I think you know they're also recruiting really well you know some of the some of the areas we try to target you know that Raleigh Charlotte you know Greensboro area they get some really good kids out of North Carolina. Chewan Chawan's got some dudes um they they've got some silky you know Canadian guys they've got they're very scrappy as well and coach sees has done a really good job there and you know I'm excited to see what what Josh does at least McCray again I think he's the right guy for the job and he he has roots to that program and played there. And you know we know some of the guys that are going there and you know they're they're good. And then Emmanuel as well like super athletic you know they they love to you know kind of just play up tempo and run and gun and I think they have you know coach severns is the the head guy and they've got a new assistant that's really kind of crushing the recruiting trail. So um I think it's going to be pretty balanced but um yeah man the the the it it's a it's a mountain um the the top is pretty high you know Belmont Avenue they're always the measuring stick.

SPEAKER_01 53:52

It's a good conference it really is they play high level across um two things about you that are I find very I I was reading your bio earlier this evening. Number one, you're a goalie so Kevin and I know that goalies are crazy and they're a special kind of people and that goalies that become coaches usually become very successful.

SPEAKER_04 54:14

For some reason I don't know why maybe you can help me explain that I don't know I've never heard that before but I smiled I want to believe it. No I I don't know maybe we most goalies that I know genuinely they they love the game they love it so much. I think that's gotta be that's gotta be you know point number one as to why you get into coaching because you genuinely love it. Through the good and the bad you know I think goalies just maybe have a different frame of mind. They see the game as a whole um not just one side but you know kind of as a collective and um I think you know most goalies are are are personable. They're you know they're they're upbeat um so maybe the recruiting side that helps you know I know the goalies that I have are they're funny they're weird um they're just they're great goalies are great man they're if I have recruits on campus I'm calling my goalies and I'm saying you know you gotta host this kid because we don't need to I don't like that's great.

SPEAKER_01 55:23

The second thing that I read in your bio that I found super interesting is that you got your degree in creative writing. I do where a lot of coaches are you know business majors or sports management majors you went into creative writing let's talk about that a little bit do you like to write coach I I do and I I did I I I don't get to write much anymore.

SPEAKER_04 55:46

I I read a lot um but originally I wanted to you know write for a magazine get into journalism you know digital media um but I just I loved lacrosse so much that you know I also got a certification in education so lacrosse and education it was just a perfect marriage um so coaching was it and I'll be honest I I don't think I really I didn't go to college to get a degree I I really wanted to play lacrosse so um I had to choose something and I guess all things there's there's a goalie being honest for you Danny imagine I love them. You gotta love them. I learned to love I learned to love the education side of it. I think you know Seton Hill helped me find that because of the I see a lot of similarities between just like the the kind of like the intimate classroom setting that that I had at Seton Hill. I see that a lot at North Greenville so um kind of kind of helps me market what I'm selling when I really believe in it too.

SPEAKER_01 56:46

Well coach you've been a phenomenal guest tonight we really appreciate you coming on tonight um I learned so much about you just tonight and it was a you know you're in the conference Carolina is a tough conference but you're a scrappy bunch you've gotten better and better each year. Um the campus is beautiful you're a goalie uh you're a creative writer there's so much going on there I I love it. I wish you nothing but success coach I really do. Um we we look forward to watching you guys this year and hopefully you come back on the show and and and we'll talk again. What do you say about that?

SPEAKER_04 57:21

I'd love to man like I said I've been around D2 lacrosse for I don't know uh since since I started playing really so uh I I'm a big advocate for for anything that you guys are doing and to promote the sport especially at this level I mean I think now more than ever Division II is given opportunities like crazy and it's so cool to see you know when I played I think there were 31 teams in D2 and now there's pushing 80.

SPEAKER_00 57:47

So it's just exciting and I'm I'm super grateful to uh have the opportunity to talk to you guys and to talk to you know about what I really love is Division II lacrosse coach and we really appreciate you coming on so thanks.

SPEAKER_01 58:02

Thank you guys I look forward to the next time all right Danny that was some great information that Coach Struss passed along to us about his team in the conference yeah he's great I wish him all the best of luck this year tough conference man tough conference I I'll tell you no the South is really really becoming quite a lacrosse um Mecca yeah man they're they're really producing teams down in the South now man they're really becoming very very competitive and the Conference Carolinas man you know when you look top to bottom there's some pretty good squads in that yeah it's it's interesting when you look at it probably in years past you would probably be looking at Belmont Abbey and Mount Olive and you can't say that anymore.

SPEAKER_00 58:56

You cannot say that anymore and I still think if you even look at Emmanuel and Lise McRae give them a couple years like we talked about build their roster see what they can do.

SPEAKER_01 59:08

But the other ones are already knocking on the door 100% Barton's there Chawan is there and North Greenville man. Yep I just I just think they're doing a great job there and and I just think they're the team to really watch out for you know that that next step team I think they're very poised very poised.

SPEAKER_00 59:30

I agree I agree but before and before we go Danny I know you would join me in thanking all the coaches that have responded to us to help us out for these conference previews. I can't tell you how many emails we got from coaches not only with their information but willing to get on a quick call with us and talk with us for half hour even if they weren't going to be on the podcast they're like hey I want to help you guys out this is important stuff. You know I talked about it Coach Baird was willing to get on the call other coaches have done the same thing reaching out I can't tell you how much that has helped us in our research for these previews for these podcast episodes and it's humbling it's humbling to I know you feel the same way.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:15

It's humbling to have that kind of support from the coaches again I I'm always I'm I'm I can't believe one coach came on. I still can't believe it. But you know what Kevin we're offering here in our podcast a chance for these coaches to talk about their schools and talk about their conferences and and and you know getting the word out about their program. You know people don't talk about Division II as much they're beginning to a little bit I think because of our podcast. We're the only boat in the Bay still still we're the only boat in the bay and you know what and I I think these coaches realize that and you know what though when they they come on with us I I you know they do their homework too they'll call hey did you go on that podcast? What would they like? You know I'm sure that they call each other and like should I be scared? Like some coaches who haven't been talked to anybody they were like a little nervous with us. But the other coach is like no I listened to your podcast and you know or I spoke to coach so and so and you know they they they understand what we're trying to do here.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:21

But yeah but even those that that we have had on and then have helped us for things like this I'm amazed at their generosity to provide information and be honest and candid with us and I I I love it. I you know they they do it when they're on the podcast and they've done it when they're off the podcast either through emails or talking to us directly and they're they're really we've talked about this the coaches in D2 are kind of like salt of the earth kind of guys.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:55

They really are they've been really good guys you know at the end of the day they're guys you know what I'm saying they're just they're guys I mean when your kid is getting recruited and you're like oh there goes coach so and so I saw coach coach and so and so at the games at the youth games today. You know at the end of the day they're a regular guy he's eating a you know uh a subway hoagie you know yeah you know he's he he's drinking a Diet Coke he's at a lacrosse game he's he's got getting he's getting mayonnaise on his hoodie. But you know what I like about these coaches is that they're just they're willing to talk lacrosse. And once once they realize that you know we've been a really positive force we don't really get into the the negative parts we don't really get into X's and O's and why did you do that and how come you didn't call a timeout we're not about that we're about just talking lacrosse just talking lacrosse about Division II.

SPEAKER_00 1:02:54

And I think these coaches realize that hey we're not we're not bad for two knuckleheads well that's because they're smarter than us Danny that's just face facts.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:03

Yes that's true that's true that's but you know what it's been a lot of fun but now now's the time Kev where we have to ask our listeners to get our podcast to the high school level whether you turn a coach on say coach you got to listen to this podcast it's about Division II you know if you have you know a family member that's got a son playing youth lacrosse or high school lacrosse or you know club lacrosse in the summer looking to get recruited don't ever overlook Division II don't ever overlook Division II because they play competitive lacrosse in every single one of the conferences all 10 conferences there's 75 teams that we can choose from you know some some are tough going to be tough to get on there's the there are tough squads your Tampa's and you know your your limestones your wingates your you know your your Lenore Rhines there's your Lemoines your Adelphis tough schools you know to to to get on and and to get and to get playtime but there's 70 more schools to go you know and there's and they're out there and it's division two and it's time to let our listeners to get them to to the high school level get these podcasts to the high school coaches get them to the high school parents I know there's listeners out there that have friends that have coaches that hey there's even coaches that listen to us.

SPEAKER_00 1:04:34

Start spreading the word man we really we really got to get it to the high school level I I agree and it's not only the parents but and I know that kids of that age probably aren't really podcast listeners but if they want to if they're interested in a in a coach or a parent here's about here's a good coach on that they're think that you know player X would be willing maybe interested in I try to put the chapters in our show notes so people can go right to that portion of the podcast to listen to that coach or that player talk about his team as we do during during the season. Right. And so I I couldn't have said it better Danny than what you said is I really think not only for those people that have players in D2 and players in D2 to listen to us and coaches in D2 that listen to us, but let's get down another level so that we can really start building up those teams like Lise McCrae and Emmanuel who could have players playing today. Have a bigger answer.

SPEAKER_01 1:05:36

That's 100% you know my intent when I said that is to get to the high school level coaches who you know might not know as much about Division II hey listen to this podcast it's about division two and again you can listen to all our podcasts if you go on Spotify or Apple Music or wherever you get your podcast it has all our episodes you can go back a year and a half hey I want to listen to this on recruiting I want to listen to this on mental health I want to listen to this on you know the NE10 conference I want to I want to hear what Coach Barrett at Belmont Abbey has to say. He sent us a letter you know that type of thing and it's time to get it to that level especially those coaches at that level I could not have said it better Danny and with that I think for tonight that's a wrap.

SPEAKER_00 1:06:32

That's a wrap tonight was a good one