DII Coaching Insights

SPEAKER_05 0:10

Welcome, welcome, welcome to another episode of In the Creek 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 the man, the myth, the legend, Danny Moran.

SPEAKER_06 0:29

Kevin Stenstrom, how are you, my friend? How's things going in northern Virginia tonight?

SPEAKER_05 0:34

We're, you know, we're just getting ready this uh past weekend. It's a lot of moving. You know, my son, uh, the graduate student up in BU, we helped him move. And now this next weekend, helping uh our daughter move into college at Hostern, right near you. And you had to do the same thing this past uh a weekend or so ago, right?

SPEAKER_06 0:51

Yes, I took a trip down south, got my youngest uh into school, got started. They had their first uh conditioning runs and stuff. He's been shooting with the team, he got his number today. So, yeah, things are going on. Yeah, so things go on. It was it's it's an exciting time of year. You know, lacrosse is starting again, and and school is starting again, and the kids are coming back. So this is you know what we do. We we talk about lacrosse and college and division two, and this is the time of year when all those freshmen that got recruited start start going to the colleges for the first time.

SPEAKER_05 1:27

Yep, and and with that, you know, there were some uh schools that still hadn't named their head coaches based on uh coaches leaving and whatnot. And since our last episode, there have been several schools who have made that announcement. First off, Brendan Geldert is now the new head coach for Young Harris, uh, took over for Coach Herring. He was an assistant at Barry College the last two years, which only is two hours away in Georgia as well. So he knows that that area for recruiting. Okay. Before that, he was an assistant in Oberlin College in Ohio. So he's got D3 experience and now uh gonna be uh coaching D2. And he was uh he graduated from Frostburg State. He was a four-year uh player at uh Frostburg. Now, when he played, it was D three at the time. Right. But you know, he's got I'm sure he's still got connections there. He's he'll it'll be it'll be interesting to see. Um I'm sure he'll do a great job as young Harris is moving into really their second year as the reboot and see how still young, still young, still young at Young Harris.

SPEAKER_06 2:31

So we're gonna have some work, but congratulations, coach, on the on the head coaching job, and we wish you luck.

SPEAKER_05 2:36

And we'll try to get him on like with the other coaching changes when we do that episode uh later in the fall. Another one though, Mike Murphy, the head coach of Mount Olive, he left that position to take over the head coach position at his alma mater at Kataba. So he's moved from Mount Olive to Cataba. Now, what's interesting about that too, obviously that leaves kind of like we saw the whipple ripple last year. Right. It leaves a vacancy at Mount Olive. Well, they didn't waste any time, and they brought back their former associate head coach, Dylan Price.

unknown 3:08

Right.

SPEAKER_05 3:09

He left last year to take over William Peace as the head coach, a D3 school, and he actually brought them to seven and eight last year, which was the most wins ever by the program in one season. And we knew Coach Price when he was at Mount Olive before leading the defense there, and what he brought to that program. So he's definitely gonna be able to bring continuity to the UMO program there.

SPEAKER_06 3:32

Yeah, and Coach Murphy's a good coach, been there a long time, and he'll do great things at at Gitava to sure. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_05 3:40

Yep, and without a doubt, I think that's going to make the the sack even more competitive.

SPEAKER_06 3:51

No, you're bringing in a coach that's you know, he he he's got Mount Olive ranked every year, just about. You know, Coach Murphy's done great things at Mount Olive. It's a small school. I've been out there, it's it's in the middle of nowhere out in North Carolina, um closer to the beach. And um, it's a tiny little school, but he got players to go there and they did well, and I'm sure he'll get to do the same thing at Catawa.

SPEAKER_05 4:17

Yeah, exactly, especially as uh as an alum. All right, Danny, that's enough about head coaches. You have always said, and a lot of the head coaches that we've had agree that a head coach is only as good as his assistant coaches, and so tonight we are going inside the minds of some of the most established assistants in D2 to find out what it's like to be an assistant coach and what it takes. You ready?

SPEAKER_06 4:44

I'm excited. Yes, this is gonna be good.

SPEAKER_05 4:47

So tonight we have we have four guests with us. First, we have Austin Grimes from U Indy, Ryan O'Hagan of Mercyhurst is with us, along with Ryan Sullivan from Tampa, and bringing in at the end is Brian Volpe of Adelphi. Welcome, guys.

SPEAKER_00 5:05

What's up, guys? How are you?

SPEAKER_03 5:07

Good to be here. Excited beyond.

SPEAKER_06 5:09

Yeah, thanks for having us. Wow, but Kevin, you you outdid yourself this time. A distinguished panel of guests tonight, a multitude of uh minds of lacrosse and things that they do. We're gonna find out a bunch tonight. So fire away, Kevin.

SPEAKER_05 5:25

Okay, yeah. So, and across all the uh several of the conferences, which is awesome. Um, so let's just start off and kind of like each of you, just give a little background of maybe your playing days and how you got into coaching. So, why don't we start with you, Coach Grimes?

SPEAKER_01 5:43

Yeah, uh so I grew up actually in Wisconsin, so you know, not the hotbed of lacrosse um back in uh graduated in 08 and went to Wheeling Jesuit University. So another D2 school. Um played in the EC uh ECC um back then. Um so enjoyed my time there, had to finish up school, was a volunteer assistant coach, um, fell into a good spot where got uh promoted to graduate assistant for two years. Um, loved my time there, loved E2. Um got kind of after GA, I had to find another coaching job um after I graduated. Um spent a year in Division III at uh Oberlin College outside of Cleveland. Um, very high academic, uh definitely different than what I'm you was used to. Um and then when this opportunity at UIndy um popped up because the former assistant uh Spencer Wims got the head coaching job at Ember Riddle. Uh kind of knew Coach Stocks during my playing career when he was at Lake Erie. During when I was coaching at Wheeling, we coached against each other. So we kind of had a little bit of background. Uh came here, interviewed, kind of got to know Coach Stocks a little more. Fortunate he gave me a chance. Um, love my time here, love the opportunities that he's given me. Um, so it's nice to just have kind of the support and allow me to do more things each year.

SPEAKER_05 7:13

That's awesome. That's awesome. Thanks for that. How about you, Coach O'Hagan?

SPEAKER_03 7:17

Um, I grew up on Long Island. I grew up I grew up on He's not another one. Yeah, exactly. I grew up in Raffle, I grew up in Raffle Center. I ended up going to play Kenesius, and that's a funny story in itself because Coach Mearns, when he was up there, was actually recruiting my twin brother, and the whole conversation when it came to commitment, talked to my brother for 45 minutes and ended with a oh yeah, Ryan can come too if he wants. But uh, I ended up playing up there for four years. Um after after graduating from Kenesius in 2012, I got into high school coaching while I was kind of waiting to take the MYPD test. So I took that and you know, kind of through that process. My dad was a cop, my grandpa was a cop, all working in the South Bronx. And I thought that was the route I wanted. Kind of realized after taking it, I didn't know if I wanted to go the route. So I made a bet with my dad saying, if I if I got one coaching job, I got you know one graduate assistant job, I'd be able to go. And he said, Yeah. I mean, the funny story with that was my assistant coach at Kinesha is Brendan Burke, he had previously worked for Coach Ryan and he was already helping me get the GA job. So I got to live with the a coach who was pretty much the the quintessential division two guy in Ryan Sullivan for two years. So I got the whole D2 experience. Um, after you know, a good stint as a GA, I went up to Colby College, as you know, in Nescaq School, ridiculous academics, yeah, up in Maine. And you know, after two years up there, you know, the full coach Ryan was able to get a full-time assistant job again after having two GAs for six years. And since coming back in 20, so I've been back in Erie since 2018. So, you know, what I like to tell people is I guess I just like being cold living in Buffalo Erie.

SPEAKER_06 9:11

Well, that's quite the story, and you bet your dad with that little inside information is like inside trading. Yeah, exactly.

SPEAKER_05 9:18

That's all exactly. Okay, Coach Sullivan. Since you've already been introed a little bit by uh Ryan O'Hagan there, why don't you go next?

SPEAKER_02 9:26

Yeah, thanks for that warm-up, O'Hagan. Um I uh I grew up in uh Pittsford, New York. It's a suburb outside of uh Rochester in upstate New York. Um got recruited to play at Merciers from 2011 to 2014. You know, I didn't really know I wanted to be a coach until I really didn't know. Well, I didn't really know what I wanted to do, anyways. So maybe in the fall of my senior year, I talked to Coach Ryan about what the process uh is of possibly um being a grad assistant. I didn't really want to be at Merciers, I kind of wanted to go somewhere else, but uh nothing really felt or nothing really opened up for me um once I graduated, and Coach Ryan was uh was gracious enough to ask me to come back, and I so I spent uh a year and a half there, and then in January of 2016, I got uh asked to be the defensive coordinator, um, which was a full-time position at Ohio Wesleyan, and I was there for kind of a cup of coffee. Um and I came down to Tampa um in July of 2016. Um, Coach Whipple at the time, his nephew was my high school coach, so that was a good relationship there and my neighbor growing up, so he's one of my good friends, and so then he retired, and then uh Coach Clark uh retained me, and I was uh obviously very, very thankful about that. And here I am.

SPEAKER_05 10:58

It's a good story, man. Uh, and and Coach Clark definitely talked about that when we've had him on before, and we'll get to that in a little bit. But uh, how about you, Coach Volpe?

SPEAKER_00 11:08

Uh grew up in a town in uh Nassau County that they when I was in seventh grade, Lawrence High School, the Lawrence uh middle school, they just introduced lacrosse to the community, so it's pretty wild. I had no idea what lacrosse was. Uh went in a goal, played for uh Coach Pasuelo, who was uh great mentor to me.

SPEAKER_06 11:27

I know Coach Pasuelo. He was a really good coach, too.

SPEAKER_00 11:30

He was he was the best. Uh he's phenomenal. He's a great coach. Um, and I'm I'm happy that I had him as a coach. Uh he really taught me a lot. I went on to National Community College, and then I was fortunate they had to be on a great team. We won a national championship, and then I came to Adelphi. Uh there was a coaching change later on at Adelphi in 2010. Coach Purdy uh gave me a chance. I was a goalie coach for a while, defensive assistant, and then uh I got hired by the New York City Police Department in 2011. So I left for a little while and then I got hurt, and I came back in 2018. I took back over the goalies, and uh last year and I was with the defense as well. And last year was my first year as a DC. So it was uh it's been a good ride. Uh I left coaching, came back. Uh it's it's it's it's rewarding. It helps it it's nice. These kids are uh they make it for you.

SPEAKER_05 12:24

Yeah, that's that's awesome. So you I didn't realize that, uh, Coach Volby, that you had a had a break. I know that you worked for the NYPD, so you weren't there, you broke and you came back. Was it uh specifically you want to come back to Adelphi?

SPEAKER_00 12:39

Yeah, I so I got hurt in 2008. I got hurt just as as 2017 uh ended. I got hurt in mid-December, and uh my schedule kind of changed, and I was gonna work steady nights. And I'm like, you know, I could probably coach lacrosse again. I'm like, let me see what's going over at Adelphi. And I called them up and they welcomed me back with open arms. So it was great. It was uh it was a good transition. Helped me get back into it.

SPEAKER_05 13:04

That that's awesome. That's awesome. So, Coach Grimes, I got a question for you. You like you said, you played D2 at Wheeling Jesuit, and then you went and coached at Oberlin, but then you came back and coached D2 again. So, what in your mind makes D2 lacrosse so special?

SPEAKER_01 13:24

Yeah, I think it's just different kind of attitude of players, um, kind of the mindset. Um, didn't there's a lot of guys that didn't get the D1 looks that they were hoping for, so they have a chip on their shoulder. Um, they kind of want that D1 experience, um, a little more than kind of that D3. There's a lot of time off and everything. Um, and as a coach in the fall, that was a little boring at times uh for me to not have practice all the time, um, be coaching the guys, and I that's what I enjoy is being around our guys, coaching them up. Um so I think just being able to kind of be around our guys, always coaching them um has drawn me to D2. And just like I said, that chip on the shoulder, um, being from a non-hotbed area, it just kind of fit with me, um, kind of always trying to prove ourselves and kind of going to a small college out in West Virginia, um, playing against a lot of the best teams in uh on Long Island, uh, Mercier, C and Hill and everything. We were always kind of the underdog, um, and that's just kind of the way I try to coach and the way I kind of live.

SPEAKER_05 14:36

That's great. That's great, and yeah. Well, you guys at U Indy have certainly uh shown what you're made of over the last several years. It's great to see. So, Coach O'Hagan, can you just kind of walk me through what a day in the life of being an assistant, or now you're an associate head coach, but what an assistant coach, what that's like. Maybe it's maybe more a year in the life because you go through different cycles. So, whichever you want to handle.

SPEAKER_06 15:01

Well, I was I was thinking, you know, they they gotta wear a lot of different hats. Yeah, you know, you're doing a lot of different things first. Somebody's gotta make sure that these kids are in the spots. Coach, you know, head coach has got to do his job. So somebody's got to do all these little things, you know. And I think the assistant coach, like when a good assistant coach who's got his eyes dotted and his T's crossed, find that those teams kind of work better. The the flow seems to go better. Would you agree with that, Coach O'Hagan?

SPEAKER_03 15:32

I'd agree. I mean, first of all, you're you know, I think it doesn't matter where you are. You're first when you first get in the morning before the head coach, you know, you're doing a lot of the I don't want to say grunt work, but a lot of the paperwork. You know, I do a lot, I I do all the the social media stuff, whether it's the editing, the videos, and stuff like that. And usually when your head coach comes in, the first couple minutes you're explaining to him what technologically deficient deficiency he has, but you're not knowing how to open up the email. I see Grimesy and Sullivan Sully laughing about it.

SPEAKER_04 16:05

Because coach we can confirm on all on a couple of those.

SPEAKER_03 16:11

It's usually can't open my email, you gotta change your password. But uh no, I mean you do wear a lot of the hats. Um for a lot of you know a lot of division two schools, you know, whether it's just Tampa, it's an Indy, it's an Adelphi, you know, we are a lot of the smaller schools. It's not like we're a big state school like a like a like uh Alabama and Auburn. And we're we don't have the largest athlete uh you know support staffs at our athletic departments. I mean, I I monitor study halls, you know, we're we're checking the kids' grades, we're we're constantly making sure they're eligible, you know, we're we're being intermediates between you know the kids and you know, if they had a bad grade in the class, trying to figure out why they had a bad grade, you know, and then you know the biggest thing for an assistant coach is you're kind of the you're kind of the branch between the head coach and the players. You know, a lot of guys, you know, a lot of assistant coaches are younger than the head coach. So, you know, I don't want to say we were a late better to the guys, but at the same time, but I don't know if you know there is a little more comfortability. So I'd say that's pretty much you know what you're typically doing. And you know, the best thing to happen to me was when I first became a full-time assistant at uh Colby, I mean, coach, I was I was able to work for a legendary coach, guy Ben Ardisdale, and his whole thing was you need to learn how to work social media. This is how kids care about recruiting. And at the time, I mean, I was you know, 25, 26. I'm like, there's no way this is gonna help. And needless to say, a lot of this stuff, especially in this day and age, is driven by what how many clicks you get on Instagram or how much you see on Twitter. I'm still never going into the TikTok stuff, but you know, it's it's very important.

SPEAKER_06 17:53

And Coach Volpe, you you wear a lot of hats. Tell us about your typical day at a Delphi.

SPEAKER_00 18:01

Um so a typical day at Delphi, you come in, turn the computer on like everybody else does, check our emails, uh, start game planning and figuring out what's going on. Uh, you know, we're fortunate enough where our kids meet with advisors and stuff uh and know what they're doing. But you know, we're uh we're checking in on grades and stuff and making sure they're right, and then facilitating between what's going on with the team and making sure everybody's going to lifts and making sure, you know, if somebody's hurt, they're getting the treatment and and and that type of stuff. Uh and you know, dealing with our captains and having conversations that you know they're more comfortable having with us than they are with the head coach. You know, uh coach the coach just said uh before, we're we're that buffer, you know, in between. And there's sometimes there's things that they trust telling us that we're not gonna go back and say to the head coach. And it's not that it's wrong and we're hiding something from the head coach, it's just something that they rather tell us, and we could reword it and you know, speak to that to the coach and say, hey coach, this is what's going on with the team, and they're seeing this this way. You know, maybe there's a way we could adjust it so they're more comfortable in that aspect.

SPEAKER_05 19:08

Yeah, I would assume that they look at at you guys as kind of confidants, and they look at you know, the head coach as the authority figure. And that's a little daunting, especially for an 18, 19-year-old. Maybe a senior can go with it a little bit more, but I'm sure with the younger student athletes, it it makes a difference. So, so Coach Sullivan, let me ask you this. I know you also have the title of recruiting coordinator. We're kind of talking on that before we started this podcast. Now, you obviously kind of walk me through that because it's not just the summer and going to um the the tournaments, it's a full year responsibility.

SPEAKER_02 19:45

Yeah, absolutely. And uh it's it it it it's it's fun, it's rewarding when you when you land the kid, but at the time there there's a lot of a lot of work because you got not only you at Tampa are we competing with the Adelphis, the uh Undies, Mercyhurst, um, you know, Lemoyez, you're also we're also competing against the uh the Jacksonville's the high points, the Richmonds. So you had kind of it's really a full team effort uh within the the assistant coaches here. I'm I'm actually kind of fortunate here at Tampa because we have another full-time and Mark Penn, who obviously used to be a head coach at uh FIT and put together put together some pretty tough teams there. So he does a good job with that as well. And then and then we kind of collaborate. I mean, we just had a staff meeting the other day, um kind of or last week, ranking ranking our ranking our guys, and so we kind of split it up and and uh sometimes be tag team kids. But um, no, it it's tough, especially as fallball gets in, because a lot of those Fridays, Saturdays, you not only do you have a cross practice, but you also have visits. So right, um, you have to be organized, and then when Coach Clark uh named me that position in his first week or two here, I kind of had to get more organized uh really quick. So it's a lot easier now than it was uh this time last year. Now that you're organized, more organized, I shouldn't say organized, more organized.

SPEAKER_05 21:21

Well, let's go with that because we talked about this a little bit. I'm I'm really curious from your side. Coach Clark told us several times that how crucial you were in the success last year of Tampa keeping you on as kind of that con not only that continuity, but also I think just knowing where Tampa had been the last several years. So I'd like to hear from your side what that transition was like and and how you saw your role as Coach Clark came in.

SPEAKER_02 21:51

You know, it's funny, and I and obviously I've heard that before in Coach Clark. We've we've discussed, we've discussed that um when he when he first got Here, but I think what's it what's important, and for anyone that's listening to this, whether you're an assistant coach or a player or a parent or whatever, um, I think what really helped me really was when we were in 2021, we were playing at Lenorein um uh for the fret those fret that Friday playoff game and Sunday quarterfinal game.

SPEAKER_05 22:22

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 22:23

And uh Coach Clark just happened to be the the site rep. So not only did he get to uh watch the teams that were there practice, but he uh but he uh obviously got to see um how how we coached on the sideline and how the players uh reacted to each coach and um for each team. But uh, I mean, obviously at that time he didn't know that that coach Whipple was was going to retire, and you certainly didn't know Coach Clark was going to be to leave limestone of all places, right? With the success that they've had to come to Tampa. But uh I think it just goes to show no matter what your job is, there's someone always watching, and you just never know. And then when Coach Clark uh I'll never forget where I was, I was in the cafeteria working at camp uh here at Tampa, and he called me, or Coach Reesman actually kind of gave me the heads up because him and I used to work together here. Um and uh Coach Clark called me and we had a great talk. And I I obviously love it here. I mean Austin and and Ryan know that um I love it here, and I was really happy to be retained.

SPEAKER_05 23:31

That's great. That's great. So let me switch to you, Coach O'Hagan. You last year got a new title as associate head coach. So I'm just curious, did how did that change and did that change your responsibilities? How did that really really affect what you do? Do you get more more things piled on your plate besides giving the the new password to Coach Ryan?

SPEAKER_03 23:55

Well, it's it's essentially assistant to the regional manager at this point. If you can you're on one today, buddy. I'm around you, that's what happens. But uh, I guess so. But uh no, I mean the price, I I'd say within the team, uh, nothing's really changed. What's changed a lot is just you know, I'm in a lot more meetings with the athletic department. It's not like head coaching meetings. Now I'm allowed, I can be there. I get to, you know, I I guess I get to learn more about the school from and perspectives of other coaches, you know, other other other members of the athletic department, and I should say more a lot more got people from uh the academic side. I guess what the biggest thing it's done is it's it's show it's shown a lot more trust. Obviously, you know, Coach Ryan's been here for 22 years and he pretty much knows everyone on campus. So if if he trusts me, then a lot of people feel that they can trust me as well.

SPEAKER_06 24:56

Right, right. Now, Coach Fulpe, let's let's talk about like the recruiting side of an uh being an assistant coach. Let's talk about the travel and some of the things that you have to do on the recruiting end.

SPEAKER_00 25:11

Um, travel is, you know, up in for us, we're really up and down the east coast between uh you know, Maryland, uh, we're up in Connecticut and up and down the East uh up and down the East Coast. Uh we're starting to go down to Tampa with uh the coaching convention and stuff. Uh previous prior to Corona, we were actually trying to make a push to actually go into U Indy territory and like hit out in the Midwest and stuff like that. Uh ball boys out there that uh that are pretty good. Uh and uh over at Mercy Hearst, they're getting a kid, uh big lefty attackman out of Illinois, I forget his name. But yeah, I mean there's players out there, so we're trying to make a push, and uh, I guess this next year we're gonna try and get back out there and stuff like that. Uh it works well, and I also coach Club Lacrosse too. So I you know, I I put that in there as well. So it I get it kind of like for me, it works for both. I get to coach my, you know, I have 24s right now, so they're like in the thick of getting recruited and stuff. It's pretty funny. Like, I'm going up to coaches to get my guys recruited in the club game. I'm not recruiting them, and uh, but it works, it works out well. Uh, and uh, and with our coaching staff now, you know, we speak about it and stuff, but Google Sheets is great. We use it and we all write notes and stuff to each other. And that and if we're not in the office, you know, you can communicate that way.

SPEAKER_03 26:34

I'd appreciate it if Coach Grimes stayed in the Midwest and out of Rochester.

SPEAKER_06 26:39

No, he's he's coming to the he's coming to the yeah, he's he's gonna be all over it. He's taking plain rides, he's coming out here looking for players. He's trying to come to Long Island, try to get them Long Island players out there. But they what U Indie does, they get those Canadian box kids to come down and wreak havoc all around the crease, you know. So this has been great so far. Um, how's your summers been? Uh Coach Grimes, how's your summer been? Because we're talking about lacrosse all the time, you know. Like, how was your summer?

SPEAKER_01 27:10

It was a lot, a lot of traveling. Um, Coach Sox uh had his first kid uh last fall, so his wife went back to work right before summer started. So I was fortunate enough or unfortunate enough to have to go out all the time. Uh a lot of the Midwest tournaments, so logged a lot of travel. Um, but I enjoy it. Uh like we were talking about before. It's nice to kind of you're out in the sun a lot, but it's really rewarding kind of getting those guys that you see, and you know, seeing your kind of coaching buddies, um, guys that you met over, kind of just sitting on the sidelines and stuff like that. Um, good seeing that. Um, but yeah, it's just like we we have to travel all over the place. Um, I know all these guys are coming into our neck of the woods, but we're trying to get out to theirs. Um kind of draw kit. Um, you know, it's it's a little easier to get guys to come to the East Coast, trying to get East Coast kids to be like, hey, you want to come to the Midwest? Um, and trying to teach them that it's not just a bunch of cornfields uh here. Um it's definitely been a struggle, but I think getting our name out there has been definitely helpful.

SPEAKER_05 28:22

Uh I I will tell you something, Coach Grimes. I've been to Indianapolis several times, and it is a gem of a city. Uh, it's uh I think a great size. Um I'm not gonna I'm not trying to recruit just for you, India, on the on this podcast, but it is it is not like just cornfields uh uh of any place out there. And my parents grew up in Illinois and Iowa, so I know what it's like to be out there in the cornfields. But you also just had you were telling me that the freshman just showed up, so walk us through that. That must be just a whirlwind as you're trying to get them integrated.

SPEAKER_01 28:55

Yeah, just uh we have fortunately off our we have a bunch of our returners um already back. Um, they have houses off campus apartments, so they want to get back, see their uh buddies again. So we have a lot of guys, returners here to help kind of the freshmen. They have like three days, four days here this week of just kind of freshman orientation presentation. So um we've all been through it. It's not the most fun. So being able to be with our guys, um, having upperclassmen going out to shoot. Um, but yeah, it's just kind of been the last two days a little crazy getting the locker room last minute, get their names, name tags up there. They're always eager to get their stuff in the locker locker room. Yeah, lucky getting out there. Um, ran before I left um earlier today, ran into a couple of them and their parents um right outside our locker room. Moms were taking pictures of their sons of their moments.

SPEAKER_05 29:51

I was just about to say the parents, because I remember when my son was a freshman asking, so what's your number? Did you get your number yet? Do you have your locker? I remember I mean we're probably worse than the kids sometimes.

SPEAKER_01 30:01

Yeah, and then I like the a bunch of them were going, and I think the families had plans, and the kids were like, No, I'm gonna go with my new teammates and go shoot. So it's just it's good kind of seeing them. Um, like a couple of them made it out to games, but a lot of our guys are from further away, so they weren't able to come out to games in the spring. So we really haven't seen them face to face since their recruiting visit back almost a year ago. So it's good to kind of get them back to campus, and it's always that start of the school year that eager of like what is our team gonna look like? Get them out there for the first practice, first meeting, just see how the team's gonna gel. So it's an exciting time.

SPEAKER_06 30:40

Now, Coach Volpe, I know um a lot of returners coming back. I think the team is gonna be strong again. What do you think? On down like two weeks when we step on the field. You're not losing that many guys, uh, you know, from what I understand. And um, you had a great season last year. It was fun to watch a Delphi. I know if you've heard the uh podcast a few times in the beginning, we didn't talk about a Delphi very much, you guys. It was COVID. You guys are playing in in conference, and we felt like you really, you know, didn't deserve like the rankings that you got. Like we were a little hard on you, I gotta admit. And this pet this this past year, I I was able to go to a couple of Adelphi games, got hugged by a few coaches in the rain, but um um I had a good time watching the Delphi play. What a team they were this year, they really were, and I expect them to be pretty strong with tech up.

SPEAKER_05 31:40

Yeah, but you know, Danny, what we we talked to Tampa last of our last last episode of the season, and they've got some players coming back. So, Coach Sullivan, I mean what's that like from your perspective as as an assistant coach with the guys you're coming in, and and then like Coach Grimes said, trying to integrate in the new guys. What what's that like and and to try to get them into the culture?

SPEAKER_02 32:04

Yeah, I mean, we yeah, we we return uh a majority of our team as well, but I mean you it's you start the process all over again, you know, it's it's a completely completely different team. You have some guys that um remain in leadership places and spots, and then you have guys that uh were leaders as juniors that need to step up, and it's uh you just start the whole process all over again. And it's not like um, and you get and if you're a player and a coach, you got to respect it as well. It's not like you're gonna show up one day and it's gonna be the first game. You have to you have to respect the process again, and uh as corny as that sounds, it drives me nuts hearing it in professional sports. You do what you do, especially at the collegiate level.

SPEAKER_06 32:52

What I like to also talk about is uh we you know, you talked about that the the relationship with the kids, and sometimes you get these kids that you recruit. And Coach O'Hagan, once you get that kid onto your campus, you guys come you guys become friends almost, don't you, in a way.

SPEAKER_03 33:13

I mean, the way I look the way I look at it, you know, an assistant coach is essentially a big brother. Um, you know, you're you're the old like you've been through it. You've like I can attest, I've made a ton I made a ton of mistakes when I was a freshman, and even as a sophomore junior or senior. But you know, the big the big thing is when you get these freshmen on campus, and it's funny because I'm looking at you know, Coach Volpe, Coach Grimes, Coach Sullivan. I mean, what all four of our teams have in common is you know, you know, we're it we're all all four of our teams are very disciplined. And it's you know, I think the biggest thing at our level, and I should say all of college across is just getting them into a team culture and having them understand it. Um when you're able to get a kid on campus and yeah, you're excited. Like, you know, there have been some years that you're like, holy crap, how the hell did this kid fall through the cracks?

SPEAKER_06 34:04

And right, right.

SPEAKER_03 34:05

It happens and you get him on campus and you realize like you know, this, you know, maybe this was not a good idea to bring him in. You know, he he's he he's not a good fit. And it, you know, maybe sometimes it's not because of what he's doing off the field, but you know, he wants to be closer to home or you know, he came too far. And there are other kids who you know we we had an all-American D Mitty, Nick Bartone, a couple years ago, and we actually had coaches telling us at the time, why are you recruiting that kid? And you know, it I'll be honest, Nick came on campus because he wanted a specific program Mercy just offered. So we brought we, you know, I I we recruited him a little bit, you know, he committed. I there wasn't a lot of contact, and sure enough, Nick, you know, because Nick had wanted to be on campus, because he wanted to do these things, like he was willing to work hard. So I think the biggest thing when you get some of these guys on campus is just making sure they're a right fit for your culture.

SPEAKER_06 35:01

Yeah, yeah. It must be hard to do, like you only get to meet him or see him play a couple of times, talk to him, and must be a difficult thing, maybe sometimes like a crapsheet in a way, you know.

SPEAKER_03 35:13

I mean, it it's it is tough. I mean, it to be honest, I feel like you know, as as you get older, you do get better at it. I mean, and again, like because I coach with Sully for two years, he can attest when we were GAs, like we're like I laugh about some of the kids that we started talking about stuff because again, you see how great they're doing on the field, how great they are doing on the stat sheet. And you know, maybe you bring them up and then you see, okay, it's not a right fit. And then there are other kids that you're like, I don't want to recruit that kid. I you know, the there's something off about him. You get them on campus and you're like, wow, this is a fantastic kit, but uh you know, it I wouldn't uh a lot of the stuff we're doing now, I think we're focusing more on the type of kid we're bringing in rather than the stat sheet kid. And I think it's paying dividends and it is helping the program out.

SPEAKER_05 36:03

Makes sense, makes sense. Okay, so I I got I got one last question for you guys if you're willing to to uh answer this. Obviously, you guys have been assistant coaches for a while, but if a head coaching opportunity came up, what would it need to be for you? One, would you want to take it, or what would it need to be for you to take that job?

SPEAKER_06 36:26

Any coach, any coach, anybody?

SPEAKER_02 36:28

Would it have to start snowing in Tampa?

SPEAKER_06 36:38

Oh, that's that's that's phenomenal.

SPEAKER_05 36:40

That's that's what we'll call a sports center top 10 answer for this evening.

SPEAKER_06 36:44

There you go 100, man. 100 that was great. I don't think anybody can top that right now. Yeah, it starts snowing in Tampa, then it's maybe time to go, right? What about you, Coach Grimes? What would it take, you know, to get you?

SPEAKER_01 37:02

Yeah, I think it would have to be the kind of perfect situation. Um, I'm fortunate enough here that um like the city university is great. Um, working for Coach Sox is awesome. Um, he gives me a lot of responsibility. So I have um kind of a lot of the roles um a head coach possibly would have. And um there's we're supported well here. So it just kind of has to be that kind of right fit. Um I've obviously looked over the years. I've been here for five years, so I've looked over the years at jobs and everything. Um it's especially at D2. Like I think I may be a little spoiled living in a city um now. Um, and trying to a lot of schools that are popping up are out there in the country. Um, I don't know if I could make that transition. Um, but I think just like any a lot of assistant coaches, like our dream is kind of to be a head coach, but we're all fortunate enough to be at good programs and supported by good head coaches that it's gonna take a lot to kind of go there and like I want to win. Um, I had more rather win and be an assistant coach than um just have that title as a head coach.

SPEAKER_06 38:15

That's cool. That's cool. What about you, Coach O'Hagan? He looks so chill. Nobody see nobody in the podcast world can see how chill Coach O'Hagan looks right now. He's he's all comfortable.

SPEAKER_03 38:31

Well, the other three guys look like they're they're in their their offices. I'm in my apartment right now. We're working, yeah. Oh, you're working. So you're you're waiting for the Bills preseason game this weekend. That's what you're doing. I am probably I am, I am. So, but no, I mean, for in terms of head coaching jobs to go off of what Coach Grime said, I think a lot of it's gonna come down to comfortability and support. You know, you see a lot of these head coaching jobs open up, and you know, you you do poke around them. You know, I I'll be honest, I have thrown an application out here or there, but then you talk to some guys and you know you find out like, okay, maybe that program's not set up to do some of the things that you know indie or Delphi, Mercy Earse or Tampa are able to do. So again, I think it comes down to how much is the school willing to support. I mean, there are a lot, as Coach Grimes said, there are a lot of schools adding lacrosse right now. It is a you know, it's a great sport to add. I mean, division two, you know, we're here like in the Midwest. I guess you can consider Erie in the Midwest.

SPEAKER_06 39:35

Yeah, absolutely.

SPEAKER_03 39:36

But you know, you do hear about there is a lot of growth coming, I think, out here, whether it's in the GMAC, the GLVC, but you know, at the same time, too, like how how are those schools willing to go all in? Like talking to Coach Peruzi at Lewis, it sounds like Lewis went all in on it. You know, then you hear from other schools and you're like maybe not, and you know, it's a big risk. I mean, especially in today's day and age. Like you don't you don't want to move out to an unfamiliar an unfamiliar area and then find out like, hey, like you're doing everything by yourself.

SPEAKER_06 40:10

Yeah, yeah. Well, gentlemen, this has been a great night. I really appreciate you guys coming on and sharing some of your stories tonight. Um, four great programs in Mercy Hearst, Adelphi, um, UIndy, which is a great offense. I love watching you guys' offense, and and Tampa, you know, you guys were remarkable this year, 21-0, and just a really fun team to watch, uh, dangerous at all positions. And you know, I always said, and and Kevin can attest to it, I think, I think good teams have really good head uh assistant coaches. They're the guys that really kind of glue, keep the glue together. And I'm so glad you guys came on tonight. I really got it, I really appreciate all the stories and all the insight. It was interesting. Thank you.

SPEAKER_01 40:58

Thank you guys, appreciate it. Yeah, thank you for having us.

SPEAKER_05 41:03

Danny, that was so much fun with those assistant coaches. They obviously know each other well. They they go on as uh Coach Grimes says that they're buddies, they see each other on the recruiting circuit in the summer, but they brought it tonight.

SPEAKER_06 41:15

You know, they were good guys, they're funny guys, you know, my kind of guys, guys that I know that I can hang out with. They're just you know fun loving and down-to-earth kind of guys. And you know, uh again, Kevin, a good coach, a good team always has good assistance. Exactly. And and these guys, you know, all four of those teams are NCAA tournament teams. So yeah, they're not just assistants, they're they're assistants on great programs and with Division I type caliber players and playing at a high, high level of lacrosse. And um, to be an assistant is not an easy job. It's not an easy thing. It's it's a you wear a lot of hats, you know. Uh kid threw up in the dorm and he didn't want coach to find out. So, you know, the assistant kind of has to take care of that. They're monitoring kids at at study hall.

SPEAKER_05 42:14

Like they said, they're they're the interim, they're the the go-between, the liaison.

SPEAKER_06 42:18

Right, right. They're doing the paperwork, and then they got to recruit. Now they're getting on a road, they're getting into a hotel and they're renting a car, and they're sitting in the hot sun at these tournaments that you and I have been to many, many, many times. Yeah, they're doing it three, four days a week. Exactly.

SPEAKER_05 42:38

Exactly for like a two-month period, right? And then and then they get a short break in in maybe August before they've got to get ready to bring in the the the freshman and and get that team culture going again across. Yes, it's it's a big job. And and like you said, it's a grind. It's a grind. You know, you can tell all four of them they had that coaching pedigree that they wanted to do it. Yeah, it's in their blood. Even Coach Volpe, um, and Coach O'Hagan, both who kind of went were gonna go down a different path. Coach Volpe, who did and and was uh in the NYPD, but you know, he knew he could go back, and I don't think he's looked back since then.

SPEAKER_06 43:19

No, a hundred percent. And again, these teams are all great teams, but and they're great coaches, but they're good guys, you know. Like they genuinely like each other, you know. And they like you said, they see each other on the road, they see each other, and they're going after the same kids a lot of times, you know what I mean? They're like, Did you see that kid? Yeah, stay away from him. No, I can't believe you know, yeah. So I imagine it must be pretty fun on there at on the road, too. Yeah, but you know, Coach Grimes has it a little bit difficult. It's you know, because those the other guys are on the East Coast, right? Where a lot of these big tournaments take place North Carolina, Florida, Maryland, Long Island, you know, Boston area, a lot of the big ones. But it's growing out in the Midwest, Minnesota, you know, Denver, Colorado. It's growing out there. So now there's more big tournaments in the Midwest. And you heard Coach Volpe saying, we want to go out to the Midwest and start getting some of those players. Because they see you Indy and the players that these, you know, they're playing at a high level. They're going to the final four, final six last couple of years in a row. You know, so these they're good teams and they're group, they're looking into each other's areas to recruit now. You know why, Kev? Because the game is growing. Exactly. The game is growing and growing and growing and growing. And we're seeing it in Minnesota now. And now you're seeing it in Georgia. Georgia's starting to pop up with teams and and and now we see it in Alabama too.

SPEAKER_05 44:54

And then you go out west and you look at where the growth is in GLVC and GMAC. And then that makes them want to expand where they look. Because as Coach O'Hagan said, they're not always looking for any more on the stat sheet, but they're looking for the right fit. And it could be a kid from Alabama or a kid from Illinois. That's right. So yeah, it was they they were phenomenal. So let's I've got one note I think we need to share with our podcast listeners. The lacrosse community has recently suffered the loss of a student athlete. Matt Frankel, who was a St. Rose senior and goalie for their team, passed away on August 17th of natural causes, which is so tough. So tough for the team and obviously the family. But I think one of the things that we need to realize is what he actually meant to his family and his team and his community, because there are some really great quotes on the St. Rose press release that they did. I just kind of like to share it. First was from the head coach Alex Williams, who said, We are all devastated to hear of the passing of Matt. Matt was a leader for this program. His passion and the love he demonstrated for his teammates is unmatched. While he will be missed dearly, we will continue to celebrate Matt in everything we do. And then from the associate vice president, director of athletics of uh St. Rose. Matt had a larger-than-life personality and a smile that brightened everyone's day. He was loved and respected by all of us. Our hearts are broken. But we will hold tight to the love, joy, and pride Matt gave to his teammates, coaches, and the entire St. Rose community. He and the Frankl Frankel family will forever be in our hearts. And I think the most poignant one was from his parents, who said Matt exemplified dedication and commitment to his education and to his place on the team. Even though he wasn't a starter, his presence left an indelible mark as a leader. So it just kind of shows you at such a young age what an imprint he made on his school, his community, and his family. And I just think we we just want to let Matt's family know, his parents, Jeffrey and Lisa, and his brothers Jason and Justin, and really the St. Rose team, that we at In the Crease are keeping them in our thoughts and our prayers. And I know the whole lacrosse community is as well.

SPEAKER_06 47:32

100% my condolences to the Frankl family and and just God bless, you know, it's always tough when we lose somebody, but when we lose somebody that's so young, Kev, makes it even harder. And my can my condolences and may God bless the Frankl family.

SPEAKER_05 47:49

And with Dan, that Danny, that's a wrap.

SPEAKER_06 47:53

That's a wrap, Kev.