DII Lacrosse Coaching Changes of 2023 (Part 3)

Intro

SPEAKER_05 0:11

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 Stentrum, and with me as always is our agent of change. Wish we could do the James Bond theme right now.

unknown 0:27

Danny.

SPEAKER_04 0:32

I'm your musical uh director, you know. I can do it, man. I I love your introductions, man. They get better and better each one. And uh you make me laugh, you bring a smile to my face every single time. I appreciate that. And I have to ask you, how are things in Northern Virginia this evening?

SPEAKER_05 0:51

Oh, they're good. You know, that's changing. It's fall. It's uh we're in October now as we record this, and uh funny today though. It was like a it was like an early summer day, it was like low 80s, no humidity. If I couldn't have that for the rest of the fall, and then through the winter, I'd be a happy man, but I know that's not gonna happen. See, you're starting to show your age that old days you want the warm weather. Then you know why why old people go to Miami, you know, because it's warm down there. Exactly, exactly. I I don't like the humidity, but I'll take the rest, you know.

SPEAKER_04 1:22

So and you're doing well? Doing good, man. Plugging away, as they say, you know, day in, day out, one day closer to retirement. Every day is one day closer.

SPEAKER_05 1:34

So you're a busy man in your day job, as I've seen recently. So I'm glad that you could come on and help me out tonight as you always do on these uh podcast interviews. Yeah, work has been extremely busy in the last couple of weeks, but busy's good, keeps me out of trouble.

SPEAKER_04 1:51

You know what I mean?

SPEAKER_05 1:52

That's right, keeps you off the streets. Hey, so let's talk about this episode. This episode truly is an episode of Coaching Changes, which incorporates a lot of changes. It features three assistant coaches that have now elevated to become the head coach of a program. But not only that, all three coaches are taking over programs whose former coach was only there for one year. So it's going to be really interesting to see that dynamic as we talk with them. It's interesting, right? That's interesting. And it's that's why I say it's kind of dynamic. It's changes for them as the new head coach, it's changes for the program. They've got new responsibilities as a head coach, but it's changes for the program that they've seen with only one year and bringing another new head coach on. Although, if I look at these, I've looked at these three coaches coming in and I've looked at what they've done in the past and where they've been. I think for all three of these programs, the changes to these coaches will be really good.

D&E

SPEAKER_05 2:54

So let's start off with the first one. Let's talk about Davis and Elkins, the senators out of the GMAC. Coach Lee Tester, he has taken over the program. He takes over for Michael Zadroga, who was left after one year to start a new D3 program. He was the assistant, though, at Alderson Broughtis last year, AB. He was the assistant at Davenport for two years before that. So he comes with a lot of D2 background and knows how to run those things. So why don't we just bring him in and talk to him directly and see how things are going? Hey coach, how you doing?

SPEAKER_03 3:30

Doing well, doing well. How are you guys? Coach Nestor, how you doing, man? Head coach at DE. How you doing?

SPEAKER_04 3:37

You look great, you look healthy and ready to rock and roll. How's it going?

SPEAKER_00 3:43

Oh, yeah, I'll just living the dream day by day. Even though I think these 6 a.m. practices are starting to kill me slowly here.

SPEAKER_04 3:50

You know, my son, he complains about those 6 a.m. practices, too. You guys in your early morning practices.

SPEAKER_00 3:58

It's tough, man. Yeah. I mean, it's tough on the guys. Actually, surprisingly, I think it's more tough on me than the get and the boys. They are the ones who wanted it this year, to be honest. Really? Yeah, they, especially the senior leadership, because I guess in the past years there's been some issues with the guys, you know. Sometimes guys they don't wake up for their 8 a.m. classes and everything. But our guys have kind of gotten to it where, you know, they're waking up, they're already down by the field by the time I get there, because I have a nice little 30 to five-minute drive in every morning. They're down there with by the field already, they have the music blaring, turn the lights on, get the partner passing going, and they're they're off and running. And the big joy of it is the fact that I know they're all going to their 8 a.m. classes. I know they're all going all going to get breakfast after after practice, so they're all fueled up for the day. And I think that uh it's showing, you know. A lot of our freshmen were a little skeptical of at first, but they've all bought in. And when I suggested going to an evening or night practice for honestly for my own good a little bit, uh, they all said, absolutely not, Coach. We want to keep this going. And I was like, All right, by all means.

SPEAKER_05 4:59

I love it. I love it. So let's talk about that senior leadership. You know, it looks to me, if I look back at what the roster was a couple years ago with DE and what actually Coach Zadroga was able to do in recruiting, and and I think you've got a fairly, and and actually Coach Buzzard even before that, the year before that, what they were able to do to build up the roster. And now you're talking about that senior leadership. Tell us what it feels like to what and what you inherited, what you think you inherited it, and do you feel like you've got the building blocks right now and the foundation that you can just go from?

SPEAKER_00 5:37

Absolutely. I mean, so this this roster coming in, we have uh we have seven seniors currently on roster. We have one undergraduate assistant coach, uh Coach Wiz. He has a senior who is no longer medically eligible to play, but he's an absolute weapon for us on the coaching staff, um, along with our assistant coach Jake. But we uh but yeah, when it turns the rest of the senior leadership, I I inherited a great class of seniors. I mean, these guys have been from day one, they already had their traditions, they had a lot of their lot of their culture that they already had inputted. Um, like I said with those 6 a.m.'s rolling in every single morning, and they're already there. They they know how to they're they've been trying to drive this young freshman core that we have here that Coach Z and Coach Bell has brought in over the last few years prior to my arrival. And it's it was really easy to come in here day one and really get to uh and really kind of ease my way into head coaching a little bit in that regard.

SPEAKER_05 6:33

That's great, that's awesome. That is well, let's talk about the players and having to deal with that change. I mean, they had Coach Buzzard, he was there for uh uh I think over a year, but then Coach C, like you talked about one year, and now you how have they dealt with that change? Because that change is tough for everyone. It's just that's uh reality. So I'm just curious on how that's been for them and and then buying into what you're you're doing.

SPEAKER_00 6:58

Yeah, so there was definitely a little bit of um attrition with all the coaching change. Um looking at some of the roster from previous years, uh, especially looking at the you know, when you look at the stat sheet from last year, we lost a good bit of the offensive production through graduation and through and through transfer. Um guys, you know, rightfully so were not quite happy with the turnover of coaches and the fact that there was a little bit of change, there was some change going on. Um, and that was to no fault to the current players on roster either. Right. There were some extreme rank circumstances with Coach Buzz, from what I understand, and Coach Mikey got the opportunity that you know he was kind of looking for. Um so you know, it was to no fault to the players on roster. And right but to that extent there, I mean what I did inherit is a nice quality core ready to begin with. Um, and you know, from that senior leadership, uh it's definitely defensive heavy on the under senior leadership. We do have, you know, with with Mac and with Scala and with Rob, you know, we have three great senior defenders right there. Josh and Cage, he's an absolute fifth-year weapon for us. Um, and uh, that's right there is a couple guys who had all who had postseason honors in the GMAC. As you guys well know, the GMAC is one of the better conferences in the case. Absolutely. It's an absolute gauntlet with the with the top heavy with the programs at the top of the of the uh conference. But yeah, I mean the senior leadership is right there. They they've really helped kind of in that transition. Um and with the Canadian influence that we currently have on roster, we'll be able to do a lot of things that I want to do here with this program, year one. You know, it's in the past years, this has definitely been a smaller roster. I think last year, through some academic ineligibilities, we had some guys who were, you know, it was definitely a smaller roster on paper in terms of guys. And you look at the puddle film of getting the game film and the streams, you know, you'd see I think it was I think they were down to 20 kids last year who were eligible. Wow. Oh, damn. But you look at the roster right now, I'm here in practice, and we're pushing 38 guys, 39 guys right now healthy. Uh, I think we have like one or two guys who are out for the fall right now with with severe injuries. I think actually now three, uh one of our freshmen had a had a collarbone injury the other day. But we're at a spot now where we could scrimmage and practice. So going back to our first day on September 1st, uh, we had a returners versus new guys game, which is a tradition that I I had back when I was in college up in New England college. Coach Gilbert, head coach down and now Barry as well, um, down in Georgia. Uh he always did a returner versus new guys game because you know you get the you get those freshmen who are coming in who are uh have the high school hero syndrome a little bit. It was a joy because they all, you know, for two weeks in the lead up, I gave them the first two weeks to kind of get settled and established in the school, and they were down there practicing, they were drawing up plays what they wanted to do, and then lo and behold, my seniors rolled out with three poles on the face off at the opening go of the uh retransuring guys game, and they let the freshman have it for four quarters. It was uh but it was an awesome, you know, that whole night was an awesome scenario because we had advertised it to the school, we had a good crowd out actually for the game. Oh, that was awesome. They all loved it, except my freshman who didn't, you know, they all they got a nice little dose of reality of what college across is and little humble pie, little humble pie.

SPEAKER_04 10:34

That's that's a great idea, Coach. I love that idea. That's really awesome.

SPEAKER_00 10:38

Yeah, maybe let one priest dive go in the uh fourth quarter to make sure the freshman got a goal. It was definitely a good, but uh yeah, had to let it let it let it slide there so they didn't get scumped.

SPEAKER_04 10:50

That's awesome. That's awesome. So how are the freshmen doing? I'm sorry, Kevin. How are the freshmen doing? How are they uh buying it in so far?

SPEAKER_00 10:59

Oh, they're I mean, that's one of the things that Coach Mikey did and Coach Buzz did prior to my arrival, and give him a little bit of uh Coach Pomeroy as well, too, with what he had inputted as well too in the class. We had a director of lacrosse with our girls' coach who was kind of overseen a little bit in some of the transitions, and I give him some credit, I give him a lot of credit for kind of that bridge in between Mikey and myself because he kind of helped keep a lot of the program together. Although he was very happy to go, thank you very much. My hands are free as a cross team once I got on campus. Um, but in terms of this freshman class, like we have we have a lot of quality in it. You know, we have a couple good Canadians from up north, border. Um, we have on the attack side of the ball. Defensively, we brought it in, like we brought in a whole handful of poles right now with all of them with different good skill sets that we can build off of. Um and with the with the upperclassmen uh at defense to begin with, excuse me, with the upperclassmen on the defensive side of the ball, they're gonna be able to kind of develop and learn under them this year and really have a nice smooth transition. Um in the midfield, we brought in a handful of guys who can as well who can kind of learn this year too. You know, that's one of the great things with this roster is we're not having to throw too many freshmen into the fire day one. Um named off my previous employers, and you know, sometimes we are putting freshmen into some tough situations, and 18-year-old is trying to play against a 22-year-old early February. Usually doesn't go your way very often. But we're uh we have enough depth that's in and enough uh we have enough depth that guys who have it who have age right now to I think really have really ease the freshmen in instead of having to throw a freshman to the fire right away.

SPEAKER_05 12:40

Right. So let's talk about what your priorities, your immediate priorities this first year really are for this program.

SPEAKER_00 12:51

Uh so this first year, um number one is retention, I think, because we have a great nucleus of freshmen who are in here right now and kind of keeping them all together, keeping them all keeping everyone happy, keeping everyone at a spot where they can develop. Um, you know, because in the past there's been that fluctuation of coaches, and there's been that fluctuation of the program and a little bit of instability in that regard. That's one of the things that I'm hoping to add here is a little bit of stability. Um so number one is retention on that front, you know, to help kind of build up this roster to get it to that healthy, you know, somewhere between 40 and 50 guys on the roster. Uh nice large where you can let the freshmen develop and you can let the upperclassmen really grow into their spots on the starting lineup. Um so retaining this great freshman class that we currently have in here and getting them and developing them as well, too. Um also encouraging these guys to play free and play fast. Um, those are kind of the two things I told them right away. You know, I want them to play free and I want them to play fast. I don't want and I also want them to play fearless. Uh when it comes down to it, I don't want them to be afraid to throw that over-the-head check. I don't want them to be afraid to throw that BTB. I want them to play loose in how they play so that it's not too stringent and too, you know. A lot of times coaches will tell kids, you know, oh, don't throw it over the head, and they'll pull them off the field for throwing an over-the-head check.

SPEAKER_04 14:12

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 14:13

I saw a great quote with Jack Roulette a couple years ago to the top of my Twitter bio, and it stays there pinned ever since I saw, you know, he's like coaches need to teach kids how to do things and telling them not instead of telling them not to do things. Um, so it's one of the things where my guy, I I had a defender today who threw that over-the-head check and uh, you know, young freshman, and he landed it, and I was all happy for him. And I was told even though it was right in the middle of the field, and probably not the greatest spot to throw it. I want him to get comfortable throwing that in practice so that come game time he might be able to make that big play, uh, have that big play, and then push and transition and play fast out of it.

SPEAKER_04 14:49

Without even thinking about it, just you know, being instinctively, you know. That's awesome. Yeah. I I always felt that the best teams played loose and free anyway. You can always tell a good team when they're loose and free, they play well, they move the rock, they slide, they communicate, and they're all they're having fun out there. It's a thing of beauty, right? When it's done right.

SPEAKER_00 15:10

Oh, absolutely. I mean, kind of where I come from, you know, I'm a product of New Fairfield, Connecticut. Uh, Coach Morgan over there, you know, 35 years or I think almost 40 years now, at the helm of that program from the youth all the way through high school. And just whenever I go back to that my hometown and see the games that Coach Morgan's you know got going there at New Fairfield High School, and they're they're pushing transition and they're always looking for that one more pass. They're always hitting the back door, they're always in the back. Like it's when you're when your guys are playing free like that, and they're not even thinking it's just it is an absolute thing of beauty. And when my guys do that practice, I'm just jumping around ecstatic because it is that's what you want to see is coach. You don't want to see you don't want to see stringent, you know, nervous players, kids hitting themselves in the head with their sticks or anything. No, you want to see them having fun, you want to see them pushing the ball and really taking those chances.

SPEAKER_05 16:04

100% I agree. I love it. And that leads me to this question, Coach. Because you talk about playing free and and fast. What do you think the keys to success are at DE for you? And and really how do you define success, first of all, for your program? If you you know, I I almost look like that's what you just said about playing free and fast is kind of the stepping stone to success for you, the way uh the way you talk about it. So I'm just curious what you think success is for your program.

SPEAKER_00 16:39

Um I think for this year with the core we have, so I'm not sure if you guys talked about with the GMAC, but now the GMAC is now switching to a six-team playoff format. Um, really. In the past years it's been four teams only. So, you know, you've your two big dogs on top with seeding, of course. And then there's been rotation of other programs like Wheeling, Lake Erie, Walsh, all the other kind of good programs in our conference that have been there in the past. Um I'm I think a successful season for Davis and Elkins is getting into the GMAC playoffs at the end of the year. Um, where that seeding may lie, that's kind of to be to be determined a little bit. But um I think highly enough of this senior class that we currently have here that they'll be able to lead this bunch to actually getting that kind of success. And I think with a young freshman class, like they'll see that, they'll experience that this year and really build off that and um as well too. Uh we'll establish for some peop for some recruits in the future as well too that hey, Davis Elkins is a very viable option to go play at Leite Lacrosse as well.

SPEAKER_05 17:49

Right, right. Excellent. I I love that, coach. I I love that goal and uh kind of that measure of success for your first year. That's that's just awesome. And all I can say is thanks so much for your time coming on tonight. It's been great to hear what you're doing at Davis and Elkins. And I loved when you said that you're here to bring it stability. I didn't want to put those words in your mouth. I know there's always, like with Coach Z, there's something that may come up, but I think what you're trying to set there as a foundation, to take the foundation you have and build upon it and provide that stability as the head coach over the next few years. DE is a good place with you. So I really thank you for coming on tonight.

SPEAKER_00 18:31

Thank you. Yeah, I appreciate the time as well you guys just gave me here. You know, it's uh Elkins is a beautiful place, and I'd love to get more guys out here at Elkins and continue to build off what what's been established here already. Proud of my arrival.

SPEAKER_04 18:44

Well, Coach Tester, I I couldn't wish you more luck in the world. I think they're getting a good guy there. Again, stability is a big thing, and you got a good number out there. You sound like you got good senior leadership to help these young guys along. And I wish you all the best of luck in your new job and and and everything going on out there. And uh we'll be watching Davis and Elkis this year, you know. In the crease, we'll be watching DE and seeing where the program goes. Because I think it's gonna go up. I honestly do. I think, you know, you got the numbers there, you can start, like you said, getting good practices, getting good, you know, getting after that practice and stuff like that. And it's only gonna sharpen the irons, you know what I mean.

SPEAKER_00 19:27

Absolutely. And if I may say one more thing about Davis Nelkins, you know, it's in regards to have being a great education, it's also a very stable institution. Uh, as you've known, my previous employer is actually no longer around anymore after they closed late in the late or early August. Um Davis Nelkins is uh honestly the uh complete and polar opposite when it comes down to financials. The school is as a whole. You know, we just got an A plus rating from Forbes in regards to fiscal security for an institution. And you know, I look around campus and talking with talking with the higher ups, talking with our vice president, talking with our president, and you know, they're as well as our AD, you know, the school, they're they're investing in this program, they're investing in this athletic department. And you know, the school is in a great financial situation right now where you know if a kid comes here in 15, 20 years, they'll have an alumni game. I can tell them that.

SPEAKER_05 20:23

Wow, that's awesome. That's awesome. Well, what a way to end it. Thanks, Coach. Appreciate it. Thank you.

Caldwell

SPEAKER_05 20:30

All right, now let's move a little east to the CACC and the Caldwell Cougars. Coach Blaze Mantinio has taken over that. Alex Lopes was the head coach last year. He was there just for one year until uh Coach Mantinio took over. Mantinio, though, comes with some really good background. He first was the assistant at Caldwell last year, which I think will really help bring stability and keep stability at that program. But he also coached for five years at NJIT, so it comes from a really good background. So why don't we just bring him on right now and hear what he has to say about the Caldwell Cougars and his program? Hey coach, how you doing?

SPEAKER_02 21:13

Good, how about yourself, Kevin?

SPEAKER_05 21:15

I'm doing well, I'm doing well. Really glad to have you on tonight. Thank you so much for coming on with us tonight. Uh, let me just ask you, so you were an assistant at Caldwell last year. How does that feel now to be the man in charge?

SPEAKER_02 21:28

Uh, feels good, feels weird. Um, first two weeks uh definitely took a little bit of adjusting, but after that, you know, I settled in and kind of figured out how everything works behind the scenes there because obviously every school you go to is a little bit different. So just kind of finding out, you know, who to talk to about certain things to get things done um took a little bit, but now that we got there, we're we're feeling good about it.

SPEAKER_05 21:52

So that's awesome. W so what did you learn about the team last year's assistant that excites? You taking over as the head coach?

SPEAKER_02 22:02

Uh so basically the biggest thing that I learned is this our guys want to be there and they're all very committed. Um been around some teams that like you got some flaky guys who are there, but then they're really haven't bought in. But the guys we have, they're all very, very bought in. They're up with me early in the morning. We practice at 6 30 and they're excited, they bring the energy. Um, you don't really see anybody taking reps off. Like, we have a really tight-knit group of guys, and they just want to be there and they bought in. It's awesome to see.

SPEAKER_05 22:31

That that is great to hear. Let me ask you this. Yeah, I assume you were one of the main recruiters. So, how did recruiting go this past year for you and as you move in as the the head coach?

SPEAKER_02 22:42

So we brought in nine guys for this year, and then moving forward, we have a bunch of guys we've had on campus, guys who've been applying. Um, it's been going pretty well, honestly. Um, we'll kind of see once admissions starts doing their uh app like they can start going to the applications, yeah. Um, how things work out. But we got a bunch of guys on campus, a bunch of guys applying, so feeling good about it.

SPEAKER_05 23:04

That's good. What what's your roster gonna be at this year for your 2024 season?

SPEAKER_02 23:10

This year it's gonna be 29, I believe.

SPEAKER_05 23:12

Okay, that sounds like a little bit of growth from last year. You get a little more depth on what you can do there. Well, what does that feel like as you as you're going forward? Is that kind of one of your top priorities is try to build uh your your roster there? What are your top priorities this year as you go forward?

SPEAKER_02 23:30

Yeah, I mean, building the roster is huge. Basically, last year with the numbers we had, like it was hard to go full field all year round. And you saw that during our games without clearing our in-between the lines game just because we weren't able to practice it really.

SPEAKER_01 23:44

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 23:44

So growing the roster and getting to a point where we're able to do those full field drills constantly is definitely a top priority for us.

SPEAKER_05 23:51

Yeah, so let me ask you this, Coach, how do you think your past coaching experience, both as an assistant last year and that at NGIT is going to help you in your position as a head coach now?

SPEAKER_02 24:06

Yeah, so when I was at NGIT, Coach Johnson and Coach Lopes, who I coached with there, did a really good job bringing me through the process of not only being a volunteer coach, but kind of through their daily conversations. So instead of just kind of pushing me to the side, being like, go set up the field, you know, go do the little stuff, they had me in on scholarship conversations, budget conversations, practice planning. Wow. Like they really took me through the whole nine yards, and they did not have to. And I know coaches who don't do that with their younger assistants. They really built me up kind of from nothing and taught me every aspect of it, which when I when I got the job, like it made me feel very, very comfortable in the position. And like I'm pretty young, I would say, to be head coach. Um, but like I feel comfortable with all the behind-the-scenes stuff that like you wouldn't think of.

SPEAKER_05 24:57

So yeah, that makes a lot of sense. I mean, obviously, even coordinators uh of other programs, they obviously have some say in the recruiting side, but not all the administrative stuff from a budget standpoint and other things you're talking about. So that seems like it made it a little your transition a little bit easier to head coach because you already have that in your in your portfolio say.

SPEAKER_02 25:23

100%. 100%. It was uh they did they did a really, really good job, and I'm really grateful. Like I'm talking to other systems, like they did not have opportunities that I did, and they really put in a lot of work for me to kind of build me to where I'm at now.

SPEAKER_05 25:39

Well, that's that's fantastic. So Coach Loops brought you, did he bring you from NJIT to underneath his wing here at Caldwell? Yes, he did. Yes, he did. And now he's handed you the reins.

SPEAKER_02 25:52

Yes, he did. He set me up very nicely.

SPEAKER_05 25:57

So how is fall going for your team? Can you give us an early assessment of your team right now?

SPEAKER_02 26:03

Uh it's going good so far. I mean, we just started practice last week, so we're what six, seven days in at this point of full full team practice. Yeah. Um practices have been good though. Uh sticks looked a lot better this year than they did last year in the beginning. Um, and it's kind of the flow of things. Like when me and Coach Lopes came in, we have like faster up-paced practices. Yeah, one drill to the next. You know, we're not giving water breaks, the water bottles are with guys in line, so they can get a splirt in between reps. Um, it's just kind of go, go, go. So, you know, it's been the ball's been good so far. Guys have been just getting after it, and uh the energy's been there, and practices have been getting better and better too, which is nice. Um the first week was really good, so I was kind of worried this week, you know, things are gonna die down, the excitement was gonna go away, but they've just been coming out every day and grinding. It's been awesome to see.

SPEAKER_05 26:54

That is awesome. That's awesome to hear when you've got that kind of buy-in, you know, especially at 6 30 in the morning. We were talking to Coach Tester uh earlier, and he was saying the same thing, almost to the point of where his players have all the energy, and he's driving 35 minutes to get there, and you know, they're the ones that pick him up. It sounds like you kind of have the same scenario. I don't know how far you have to travel, but you actually have uh guys that are uh leading the program and and getting things going early in the morning.

SPEAKER_02 27:25

Yep, absolutely, absolutely.

SPEAKER_05 27:28

So let me ask you this. And I've asked this for some of the other coaches on this this episode because of the kind of the turnover, and you know, change is always a difficult thing, and you're the third head coach in four seasons. How are the players handling that, you think? And what was your message when you took over after Coach Lopes decided to move on to other opportunities after a year?

SPEAKER_02 27:54

Um, I mean, my main message was kind of just stay the course. Um, so between me and Coach Lopes, nothing, I mean, there's no big changes just because he taught me most of what I know in coaching. So, like as far as day-to-day practices and stuff go, like we got that through last year. So the guys have done a good job adjusting just because the adjustment itself wasn't that big of a like change for them, at least on a day-to-day basis. Obviously, coach-wise, you know, they loved Coach Lopes and they were really, really sad to see him go, but at least I definitely think brought them comfort that I ended up getting the position just because they knew me and they, you know, they knew kind of how everything that I do works.

SPEAKER_05 28:35

Yeah, and I I said that in the intro, and uh, I assume you agree with me. I mean, you taking over as the assistant, and obviously having a lot of coaching experience and bonding with Coach Lopes, seems like that is an easier transition. The the players see the stability in the program because nothing there isn't really a huge change. It's not a huge different coaching philosophy, different training philosophy. You're bringing the same kind of thoughts uh that you had when Coach Lopes was under the helm, running the helm there. And I I would assume that that the players see that as well from a stability standpoint.

SPEAKER_02 29:15

Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. I mean, if they had to go through, you know, two month-long process not knowing who the head coach was again between co the first coach and coach Lopes, and then if they do that again, that would have been a lot. You know, it's a high stress thing for guys having unknown, but it's a pretty smooth transition overall.

SPEAKER_05 29:34

So yeah, that that's great. So what it going back to just your fall, do you have any scrimmages planned? What is what's your plan for for the this fall?

SPEAKER_02 29:45

So we're still in talks of the scrimmage, and that talks those talks have been progressing pretty rapidly, at least the last few days. It's still not a hundred percent concrete, so I don't want to give it away yet. Yeah, no worries. But um we are in the talks of for one right now, and that would be towards the end of October.

SPEAKER_05 30:01

Oh, good, good. And then transitioning to the season, can you has your out of conference schedule been been solidified? Can you talk to that at all? I know sometimes you got to wait till it's actually posted, but I'm just curious if if you kind of and and and if you can, just tell me what how you feel about the out-of-conference if that started to solidify.

SPEAKER_02 30:22

Yeah, so the the c the schedule is solidified. Um, not to go too in depth, but the teams we're playing out of conference are good teams. Um, you know, our philosophy kind of with out-of-conference games are is they matter a little bit less. They're more for learning experiences. So play the best teams possible, really find out what you're made of, and then the thought is once you get to conference play later on, um, you're used to playing high-level teams, so hopefully you're playing better or at a higher level than you would be otherwise. Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 30:51

Yeah, kind of setting you up for conference play. Yeah, exactly. So, and then what do you think about? So, this is your second year in the CACC with Caldwell. What do you think of the competition and kind of what are your goals in the conference play when you get there?

SPEAKER_02 31:06

Um, I mean, I love the conference. I thought it was really, really fun. All the games, there's a lot of energy, you know, both sides brought it. Um for the most part, I thought we did a decent job of competing. There was definitely a few of the higher-level teams in the conference that we could have done a better job against. But there were even in those games, like there were glimpses where we're like, we can hang with these guys, you know, get some more guys on the roster this way, number wise, guys just aren't exhausted. Um, but then moving forward, kind of with the other games that we're really close, like we've got to be able to win those one goal games, those two goal games. Yeah. But we were in a lot of games, and basically we were in all conference games at some point. So we just gotta be able to kind of take that and just put together a full game, really. But I I love the conference. I think it's a really fun conference to be at.

SPEAKER_05 31:51

Yeah, it is. It's it's got some great, great competition, and I think there's some good parody uh across, especially, you know, I think at the top there's some, you know, it's you know, you look at GCU and and Wilmington and Chestnut Hill, they they kind of have been atop it. But then you got a whole bunch that are just clap, you know, they're scratching, you're all scratching and clawing to get and and get to that top of that that mountain against the others, which is exciting to see. So when you talk about the depth and being at 29, and do you think really one of those things you're looking at and maybe will turn the tide a little bit in in in games is now being able to practice those things you couldn't practice that well with a smaller roster when you're talking about transition game, you're talking about clearing, which believe me, you know, I I don't have to tell you, right? Clearing is a huge part of the game that if you can't do it right, you you're just always on defense.

SPEAKER_02 32:47

Absolutely, absolutely. Um yeah, definitely having the numbers will put us in a better situation just because you know we were we would get stops in games against tough opponents. It's just we would get stops, turn the ball over, and immediately be right back on defense. Right. Yeah, like multiple times to it sometimes, and it was just like it's a lot. But you know, the transition game is way too important to not be able to practice it.

SPEAKER_05 33:11

Yeah, and your your your defense gets tired, and that you know, that's that's a long time on D. Your your offense can get frustrated because they're they're not getting the ball on that side, and it really, really helps. And I think, you know, you're practicing, I would assume when you're practicing trying to be up tempo, that in some ways, even with a small roster, can create more mistakes on the field when you're playing until you get used to that speed. Am I correct in that?

SPEAKER_02 33:41

Yeah, no, absolutely, absolutely. But um with the shot clock and stuff, like the game's so much faster now. Yeah, it's kind of a standard to be able to play at that speed.

SPEAKER_05 33:50

Right. Right. You got and and I'm a huge uh I was there. My my son started playing D2 lacrosse right when they started the shot clock, and I was on the fence before they did the shot clock, but I love the shot clock. Not so much that it just speeds up the game, I think it takes it out of the hands of the refs, it makes it easier for them when they used to have to call when it was, you know, you know, when it was time to to to put teams on the clock. I just think it just makes so much more sense. Uh and and I think it it it evens the playing field. You don't have you don't have parents, and as soon as the the uh uh the opposing offense has the ball, they're streaming like you gotta put them on the clock, right? It just doesn't work that way.

SPEAKER_02 34:33

Right. Right, right. It's definitely cleared some things up in that aspect 100%.

SPEAKER_05 34:37

Yeah. Yeah. So you were a uh you played at Montclair State, you were an NJIT as a coach, but now you're a D2 guy. Yep. So talk to me what you think about D2 and what that brings to the table for kids that are looking to play in college.

SPEAKER_02 34:57

Um, so the one main benefit D2 obviously has is the financial aspect, being able to offer kids assistance in that aspect, um, and just also kind of the support behind the scenes. Like we have people helping with academics and people who care a lot. Um seeing the difference between all three conferences or all three divisions, I should say, it's definitely big, but every division has something to offer. Um D1 kind of has it all, D two has the money aspect, and then D three kind of has usually facilities and bigger um bigger schools themselves.

SPEAKER_01 35:31

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 35:31

That makes sense. Um but obviously D three can't give money, we can. Um, so it's kind of been my biggest uh the biggest thing that I've noticed throughout the three divisions. Yes.

SPEAKER_05 35:43

So when you're looking at recruits and you're talking to recruits, what do you tell them about Caldwell to to to sell your program? What are you what are you talking to recruits about? If you could do if you're on this podcast right now, we get a lot of people listening. Uh, what would you say to those recruits that are out there to look at Caldwell?

SPEAKER_02 36:03

Um, I mean, I would say come to campus, meet our team. Um, the team is really what I push. Like our guys are really, really great together. They're a tight-knit group. Um, they love to be around each other, and they're all really good kids. Like so last year we had 100% retention, at least from the kids who were supposed to come back. The fifth years um didn't, but that was optional. But everybody who was an undergrad and still had that another year normally, they all came back. Like that does not happen at most places. Um, and I think a big reason for that is just there's such good team chemistry between everybody. Like they truly care about each other um and they push each other. And you don't see that everywhere you go. Um places usually tend to have like clicks within teams, you know, groups of guys hang out with certain groups of guys, and that's kind of it. But our team is really one whole unit, and it is it is an awesome thing to have.

SPEAKER_05 37:01

That's great. I think that chemistry coach will transcend and translate onto the field as well as they play more and more together and you get more of the recruits in. Would you agree with that? Absolutely. Absolutely. So I just want to say, coach, it's been great having you on. We really appreciate your time. We're excited to see where Caldwell goes in the CACC and even out of conferences, but especially in the CACC and seeing how once you get in conference and can muck it up with those other teams and see how you guys can compete and flip some of those one or two goal games to your in your favor, I think will be a lot of fun to watch. So thank you so much for coming on, and we wish you all the best in this next year.

SPEAKER_02 37:43

Thank you so much for having me. It's been a pleasure.

UDC

SPEAKER_05 37:46

All right, Danny. Our last one for this episode does have another coaching change after only one year of a head coach being there. But I this one is really interesting because I think it also embodies stability in the program. And we're talking about the UDC Firebirds. Coach Matt Merritt has come in, taken over for Joe Stanilos, who was only the head coach last year, as you remember, we had him on. Players who took over. Yeah, but he took over for Roger Colbert, who had been there since 2016. But even more important than that, there was stability, obviously, with Coach Colbert. Stanilos in for a year. Coach Merritt, he not only volunteered coach for eight years before becoming a paid assistant. 38 years. 38 years volunteered. Look so young for Dick. Yeah. He also played at UDC back when the bucket helmets, I'm sure. If it was that long, I'm just kidding. Yeah. It was a while ago. Yeah, so let's just bring him in. Hey coach, how you doing?

SPEAKER_04 38:52

I'm good, man. How are you guys? Oh, great. Coach Matt Merritt from the UDC Firebirds. Thanks so much for coming on the show tonight. The two knuckleheads from Indy Greece. Two uh two lacrosse dads that never played the game but love it, man. Um, we're really happy to have you on, you know, knowing your story, being a volunteer for so long, a former player, um, watching two coaches go by. Now you get your shot. How does that make you feel?

SPEAKER_06 39:19

You know, um, it makes me feel great. You know, I want to appreciate you guys for reaching out to me and and getting me on here, but uh I feel I don't want it's like the feeling of of you know, you you reached a goal that you never saw coming, but then you feel accomplished at the same time. Like you started up a program as a player, and then now you're continuing it as a coach. It just it's a full circle moment, and you just take that time. I actually had a conversation with somebody yesterday, and I'm like, I still it still hasn't kicked in yet that you know I'm in this position. I'm just doing all the all the work and making sure that everyone is is good around it, like the players, uh the the administratives, you know, everybody making sure the classes are good, they feel welcome, they feel good. And you know, I'm still not at that point where I'm just shocked that I'm here. Probably because I've been here for so long, but now I'm just yeah.

SPEAKER_05 40:21

It's the the environment's the same for you. Yeah. And but we talked about, like I said in the intro, I see you as being that stabilizing force for this program. What do you think about that? Am I on track with that? No, how do you feel about that?

SPEAKER_06 40:35

I I definitely couldn't agree with you more. I feel like the program has had a lot of great coaches along the way, starting with Urick, and then having uh Colbert, then Joe, and then now having myself there. And and for me, you know, the stability factor for me is I've been there from day one, you know, right, right, yeah. From 2013 to 2023. So I'm I've been locked in for 10 years now, which is kind of crazy. But you know, I know the the ins and outs of the school, the program, you know, the conference, and just what it takes to just get people to see like this is something that is serious for me. So there has been a lot of coaching changes, but for me, I'm I'm I'm home in a sense. So I'm not leaving home for a while. Well, let's let's just call some mess.

SPEAKER_05 41:39

Let's let's talk about yeah. Danny and I talked about this before you got on. You, out of anyone at the UDC lacrosse program, are totally bought in. Like you said, you started it as a player and you're in. And you said you know all about the school. So obviously, part of the challenge of UDC over the past couple years post-COVID has been recruiting. I can't think of someone better to sell this program to recruits than you. How was that going, and how do you feel about the uh of doing that?

SPEAKER_06 42:14

So, right now it it's great because I can pull so many people from a local area and then people kind of on the outskirts like Baltimore, uh, Philadelphia, Virginia, um you know, West Virginia, just places all around in New York, just being so familiar with the areas and familiar with, you know, everybody that I've come across within being in this program, being out of the program, being a part of Team Jamaica. It's just like the bond of of being the bond of being able to reach out to everybody is has just been like the greatest amount of love that I could ever ask for. Like if I need to reach out to some former coaches, they're like, I got a kid for you. And I think that for me, like the recruiting factor that goes into and you live all the way in New York. Let me tell you how much I've got to learn about DC and UDC within these 10 years of being here.

unknown 43:16

Right.

SPEAKER_06 43:17

That is amazing.

SPEAKER_05 43:18

Yeah, that's great. So let me switch to this, and I'll start off with this question and move into a few others. Define for us what a successful program looks like for you. You've been there for 10 years, but what does it look like for you? What when you define success uh at UDC for your team, what is it?

SPEAKER_06 43:39

So for us, it is I'm big on who really wants to play. Who really loves the game lacrosse, who really uh, you know, understands the game, but then more importantly, I'm a big person on. A closed mouth doesn't get fed. So for there, I need to understand who you are, your wants and needs, whether we can provide it or we can't provide it. And if we can't provide it, welcome in. If we can't, let me help you get somewhere who can possibly provide that for you. You know, and then for us, it's we want the open communication, stability, you know, the drive to want more. You're gonna come in here and and get a college education. And then from there, for us, we want that, we want them to know like our most important thing is we're a family. We we have a uh you know, a closed mouth doesn't get fed type of uh program. Um like very open communication, we work hard, we we love where we are, we are a very get it out the mud type of program because we're so small.

SPEAKER_01 45:03

Okay.

SPEAKER_06 45:04

You know, you can you can build off of that to be successful if you understand how much work that you're gonna have to put in, but then also the the gain after the fact.

SPEAKER_04 45:17

Right. You know, sometimes, coach yeah, sometimes, coach success isn't measured by wins and losses sometimes. It's not, you know. Um, you can be successful by graduating fine young men that are gonna be productive members of society and go on and get real good jobs and become good husbands and fathers and uncles and what. And that's that's important too, you know. I I find that the culture of some schools get away from that. And there it is. Just just to get wins, just to get wins. But how many let me ask you this? Um I know last year there was a small roster. What's the roster number this year?

SPEAKER_06 45:58

So right now, um we are totaling 2526 for the sprint. Okay. Oh, well, that's an improvement, then, isn't it? Yeah, that's that's all I can ask for. You know, last year, last year, half the team was was was soccer guys, and I'm grateful for those guys because we were able to steal the team, you know, and that kind of helped save some of our programs, um you know, longevity. But teaching about like eight to ten soccer guys how to play lacrosse in a matter of and and play games in division two in division two is is a challenge within itself, but it it gave me more purpose and and gave me so much more patience to be like, wow, like lacrosse is is one of those sports that you can really take someone and just show them the ropes, give them a little bit of of an understanding of how it works, just so that they can gain like the basic concepts to a point now in the spring, you know, there's a couple guys that are coming back, and they're guys that are from the soccer team that may actually start because they got so good really fast.

SPEAKER_04 47:24

That's great.

SPEAKER_06 47:25

Yeah, that's great. So it it it it is an eye-opener to see that, but it is a you know, a life lesson that things are gonna come at you a little fast.

SPEAKER_04 47:36

Yeah, yeah, especially in the conference, you know, Mercy, Frostburg coming at you. Those boys are good, man. They can play.

SPEAKER_06 47:44

They definitely are, but then you know, last year a couple of those soccer guys stood out against the guys, and it you just had to sit there and be like, wow, you just kind of taught these guys out of nowhere how to play lacrosse, and and half of them didn't even know how to pick up a what lacrosse was, but then how to pick up a ground ball. Right.

SPEAKER_04 48:06

Right, right, right. Now, coach, what what position did you play when you played?

SPEAKER_06 48:11

So I played midfield and I also played close D.

SPEAKER_04 48:15

Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_06 48:16

So I'm a I'm a jack of all trades. I I played they call me the Swiss Army knife.

SPEAKER_04 48:23

Swiss Army knife. There you go. So now you have pedigree on both sides of the ball. Yeah. And you can show these guys, these young guys, and these soccer guys that are awesome enough to come over and put the stick and the helmet on and run around for another couple of months, you know. And that's uh that those kids are special, if you ask me. I think that's pretty cool.

SPEAKER_06 48:46

I agree. I agree. They just built something so fast. So actually, one of the uh soccer guys, he was so happy to learn it. By the time the end of the season came, I think he was talking to someone in Spain, and he went back home to Spain, and they had um a lacrosse either tournament going on in Spain where Spain was actually a part of the program, part of the tournament, and he got to play. He called me. He called me and he was so happy just to just to like be able to know that lacrosse is out there and then know that he can go back home and play lacrosse. He's he's gonna be on the Spain national team. Yes, 2028 Olympics. Here he goes.

SPEAKER_04 49:35

That's what this game does, man. That's what this game does. It really it's different from the other games. It really is.

SPEAKER_06 49:41

Yeah, he calls me, he calls me now to even say, Coach, if you go to any PLL PLL games, take me. And I'm like, that that is is major for me, you know. Yeah, the game, like you want that feeling that somebody else wants to be out there and learn lacrosse. So that's that's a happy feeling for me.

SPEAKER_04 50:02

Now, now let me ask you, who's your assistant now? You have to have one.

SPEAKER_06 50:06

So I do have one, and my thing is they actually just put the news out, I think Friday. They did.

unknown 50:14

Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 50:14

Just recently. Yep. And he is a former teammate of mine at UDC, and he played with me on the first inaugural team, and then also like a really good friend of mine. He knows the game, and he also plays for the um NLA program, or you know, NLA Pro. That's like another pro divisional cross league. And his name is Steven Skadet.

SPEAKER_04 50:41

Awesome. Awesome.

SPEAKER_06 50:43

Very great guy, man.

SPEAKER_04 50:44

Coach Cadet gets a shout out. All right. Yeah, for sure. For sure. So is he gonna take the defense or is he gonna take the offense?

SPEAKER_06 50:51

Uh he's taking the offense right now. I'm gonna take the defense. You know, I I like the that's my realm. I'm a founded coach, but defense is my thing. I love it, man.

SPEAKER_03 51:04

Okay, cool, cool, cool.

SPEAKER_06 51:05

I love that.

SPEAKER_05 51:06

So now let me let me ask you this. Uh, what do you think about Virginia State joining the D2 lacrosse ranks and having another HBCU?

SPEAKER_06 51:18

I I'm like, what took you guys so long? Where have you guys been? Like I everybody everybody is so excited about it. Like, even uh UDC and our team, we're just like about time. We can have like an HBCU classic sort of thing. Oh, 100%. 100%.

SPEAKER_05 51:42

We already talked to Coach Church. Yeah. I'm coming down to the game February 3rd. Oh, yeah. You live in Virginia, I'll be down there watching, watching the the first Division II lacrosse HBCU classic.

SPEAKER_06 51:56

Yep, yeah. And that's that's what we want. Like we want that type of love and that type of support. It's it's just like weird.

SPEAKER_04 52:05

That's gonna be history.

SPEAKER_06 52:07

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 52:08

And you're at the helm, man. You're wearing the top dog hat, you know, for UBC.

SPEAKER_06 52:13

I'm excited because Church is a good friend of mine, too, and I'm excited that he's in that position and we're gonna be like a part of making this possible.

SPEAKER_04 52:24

Right.

SPEAKER_06 52:25

It's major for us.

SPEAKER_04 52:27

Oh, we think it's major for lacrosse and college lacrosse at all in period. Yeah, I don't care.

SPEAKER_01 52:33

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 52:34

I don't care what division or you know, I don't care about that.

SPEAKER_06 52:38

This is this is a big, big thing. I think that might actually be the first men's head-to-head NCAA HBCU game ever.

SPEAKER_04 52:47

Lacrosse, yeah, lacrosse for sure. I gotta go. I gotta, I gotta make it there. Danny, I gotta do it.

SPEAKER_05 52:53

Danny and I, you do. Danny, we'll do a live podcast. Danny and I talked about you know growing the game out west when you bring in all these new teams from California and Missouri. And but the other part of growing the game is diversity. And when you now you have a powerhouse of two HBCUs, and it you and Coach Church knowing each other, yeah, it's almost like you two can help spur this on from an interest level together.

SPEAKER_06 53:22

For sure. For sure. It's something like it's something special to even like even when you guys talk about it, I'm just like, wow, this is this this is major. Like even being in this setting is major. So I'm just I'm excited, man. Like it it it's a it's a beauty of the game that that keeps growing every time you you know you step onto a field or just you get to meet somebody new every time you play this game. And I think that for me is is is major.

SPEAKER_04 53:52

Oh man, I I couldn't agree with you more. Again, I didn't play the game, nor did I coach it, but I've been around it with three boys all in Division II. I've been around Division II since about 2009. So I've been around it a lot. You got more years than me. I got some years in, man. Uh my oldest went to St. Leo and my middle guy, you know, he was there in 2009, 2010, so and I didn't know a thing about Division II lacrosse. I didn't really know a whole lot about college lacrosse, you know, just just from watching TV and just being my kids being from Long Island, but man, just what the opportunities that Division II gave to my kids.

SPEAKER_06 54:33

Yeah. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 54:34

With with academic scholarships as well as athletic scholarships and just just what they had to offer lacrosse-wise and school-wise and everything, just what Division II was able to do for my kids is is personally. I think it's amazing. I think it's an amazing thing. I I do. And I love the game of lacrosse, but having new DC and Virginia State play in this monumental game is gonna be something that's all of Colors lacrosse is gonna be, they're gonna have their eye on that one for sure.

SPEAKER_06 55:11

No, I do I I hope so, because I want to make it, I know church as well. We definitely want to make it an annual thing. Like that, that's something that's just gonna continue to grow, you know, hopefully get some little trophies in there. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You know, but um, I definitely like want that thing to to grow and to last as long as it possibly can, you know, because that's the special, it's completely special for an HBCU to to have now, you know, we were the I believe we were the first NCAA HBCU, and then Hampton uh came after us.

SPEAKER_01 55:48

Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 55:49

Now to see uh Virginia in there is just like keep showing them so that we can keep having more HBCU programs in here and then you know just keep eating into the game of lacrosse, be more active.

SPEAKER_05 56:05

Exactly. Exactly. That's great, Coach. Well, we thank you so much for coming on. It's been a blast having you. I'll tell you what, I cannot wait on February 3rd to shake your hand in person, both you and Coach Church and watch that game. So, once again, thanks for coming on. We wish UDC and your program all the best this year as you build it uh and and make it the successful program that the school and you want.

SPEAKER_06 56:33

Appreciate that, man.

SPEAKER_04 56:35

Coach Merritt, UDC Firebirds, you are an enthusiastic young man. Been there for what for what, like 37 years now? You've been around.

SPEAKER_06 56:44

It feels like it.

SPEAKER_04 56:46

No, man. You're a great guy. You know what? And and Coach Church is too. We had him on a couple of weeks ago, and just just you guys are good guys. I can just tell you guys are good guys, and you're doing good things. And these young men are gonna remember you guys for a long, long time. They're gonna always remember you, you know?

SPEAKER_06 57:02

They they always got a home with me, and that's that's my biggest thing. I want them to, you know, feel feel like feel that home away from home. Because it's tough being home.

SPEAKER_04 57:11

Well, I think they're in good hands with you at the top, man. I really do. And uh wish you all the best of luck this season and uh go get them, and we'll we'll be in touch soon.

SPEAKER_06 57:20

Yes, sir. Thank you. Appreciate you guys.

Final Thoughts

SPEAKER_05 57:23

This episode was really interesting because of so much turnover with three assistants coming into head coach position when the previous coach had only been there for a year. But like I said at the beginning, Coach Tester of Davis and Elkins, Mantinio of Caldwell, and our last one with Coach Merritt of UDC, all three coaches I think are bringing their programs into a good position with them coming in.

SPEAKER_04 57:51

I couldn't agree with you more. I couldn't agree with you more. Um, they're all stable with the with the programs, been there before, and uh should be an interesting ride with these guys. What do you think?

SPEAKER_05 58:03

You know, all three programs have a lot of growth to go. I I think one of the reasons why I asked some of the coaches like, what's your definition of success? Because I think it's different where you sit and where you are, right? These programs are not programs that are gonna be vying for getting into their conference tournament. Maybe Davis and Elkins as they split for GMAC if they can have a good season, but it's gonna be a little bit of a test. And yeah, but I think that these guys, if all three of them stay, and if you you know you talk to them, that's their plan, they can really start to build the program and and build it incrementally. All three programs did not have a lot of players a few years ago. They're starting to get more. I think UDC is the one that's probably lagging the most, but I think they're all gonna slowly build. And you know, you got people like Coach Marin and his enthusiasm and his knowledge of his program and his school. I I think that that really bodes well for that program.

SPEAKER_04 59:09

Yeah, you know, they they didn't win a game last year, UDC. You know, they they had a hard schedule. They were in the ECC, playing Malloy and Robert Swesley, and some really good teams. But again, I you know, success isn't measured by wins and losses all the time, Kevin. You know, we discussed it, you know, tonight, and then with Coach Merritt, you know, it's about culture and and and graduating fine young men, and that's part of it too. And the college culture and the college atmosphere, it's all part of it. Yeah you know, look lacrosse is only a little piece of it and a big puzzle that's college life that these kids have to go through. So, yeah, these programs have struggled in the past couple of years, and they'll probably it's an uphill battle, but you know what? It's a place for kids to go and get a net college education and play college lacrosse.

SPEAKER_05 59:59

And join a brotherhood, as as Coach Merritt has said to us off the podcast, right? That's what he's trying to build as a culture. And I think you said it best just now, and and that's what I meant when I said that well, how do you define success? Because it goes beyond just wins and losses sometimes. And I think that's the important thing to remember. We talk about it all the time, especially when we get in comp in the season and we're talking about teams winning and losing and where they stack up, because that's kind of just from the sports fan and you doing it. But realizing what D2 brings to the table, which is a full balanced student athlete, academics, athletics, and even socially all together, I think that's the beauty of D2.

SPEAKER_04 1:00:43

Yeah. And you know what? It's a little bit more free than uh Division I, you know. In the fall, the the kids can probably go away for a weekend and go to a football game if they want to travel to, you know, wherever, go to Virginia and watch a UVA game, you know, they can get away. Whereas some of the other schools in Division I, no, you're not going, you're not going anywhere. You got practice that night. You got film or you got you know positional meetings or or there's some kind of social media event that goes on, you know, that type of thing. So Division II gives you that more freedom, but again, they stack their their scholarships, which is an amazing thing. And and again, these these colleges that we had on tonight, they're they're going to struggle a little bit, but they get to play across at the Division II level. And they got good guys, you know, good guys in charge. At the helm, yeah.

SPEAKER_05 1:01:36

Yep, you're exactly right. You're exactly right, Danny. And so with that, we close out our third episode in the series. Two more to go, but for tonight, that's a wrap. That's a wrap, yeah.