Game Time - A preview of Week 1 of the 2022 season

SPEAKER_03 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 Sentram, and with me as always is that quintessential D2 lacrosse fan, Danny Moran. Hey Danny, how are you doing?

SPEAKER_02 0:27

Quintessential fan, a fan I am. That's what I am. I'm doing I'm doing great. Kevin, how's it going down there in Northern Virginia tonight?

SPEAKER_03 0:35

It's good. You know, I think we're all fans. It's it's season time. It starts this week. How can you get any better than that? And it's the start of our first in-season episode.

SPEAKER_02 0:47

Yes, yes, yes. This is a lot of first going on today.

SPEAKER_03 0:51

That's right. And so let's try to give a little bit of a rundown of what we're going to try to do. We're going to try to bring certain segments each week. Something like Top Games of the Week, which is kind of like the week in review, you know, the best games that we saw. We'll have a coach's spotlight if we can. We'll have games to watch this week, which is really the games you and I are planning to watch, but there's so many to choose from. Kind of encapsulate that down. Any news that's happening in D2, we got a little bit tonight to talk about. And then a new segment that we're going to try to do every week if we can is a player spotlight. And that's kind of the rundown. What do you think?

SPEAKER_02 1:30

Well, first of all, I'm excited to have a player spotlight because I think some of these uh some people might be tired of listening to coaches all the time. You know, let's get a player's perspective. And I think it was a good idea from uh for us to have, you know, get some players on. And let's talk to some of these special players and some of these kids in D2 and talk about their life in lacrosse and their life at school and their plans after school and what they're involved in today. And I think that would be um interesting for podcast listeners, especially the younger ones.

SPEAKER_03 2:07

And you know, it may not always work as we know both coaches and players are busy, but we're gonna do our best to try to bring those those things every week as we can.

Week in Review

SPEAKER_03 2:18

Since the first games really don't start until later this week, we really don't have top games of the week, but there have been some some things that have been going on, and really what that has been has been scrimmages. They've been into that last week or two, right? Especially teams in the south, which start a little bit earlier. The teams in the north are going to continue doing that over the next week or so, but there's been several scrimmages. There they've been, you know, D2 against D2, there's been D2 against D three, and there's been D two against D1. Uh looking on Instagram and following the teams, I saw that Mercer actually hosted a lot of uh D2 teams over the past couple weeks. They played against Anderson a couple weeks ago, and I think last week they played against both Tampa and Queens in in a triple header, I guess, because I guess I'm sure uh Tampa and Queens maybe played against each other as well. Right. And then there are some other schools that had games, scrimmages against D1 programs this past weekend. UIndy played against Detroit Mercy and beat them. Yeah. And then Seton Hill played Robert Morris and beat them as well.

SPEAKER_02 3:34

That doesn't surprise me. Seton Hill is a really, really good team, you know.

SPEAKER_03 3:39

And yeah, and we've talked about UIndy as well. And but you know what?

SPEAKER_02 3:44

First of all, I'm sorry to interrupt, but Robert Morris is a very good team.

SPEAKER_03 3:48

Very, very good team.

SPEAKER_02 3:49

You know, the Griffiths are a good team, man. And and I I don't expect anything less than than than going up and even giving a good a good D1 team a game. But you know what, though, their scrimmages, Kev. You know, we discussed this before. You know, some sometimes um teams, you know, have a kid or two that are nursing an injury, you know, maybe you know, getting back from an injury or just you know, don't want to push a strain hamstring or something like that. So sometimes maybe not all the best players aren't on the field.

SPEAKER_03 4:23

You're right. And they could be doing a lot more experimentation, trying new sets, you know, new plays, uh working in different players together, matching them up and see what works.

SPEAKER_02 4:35

Yep, getting letting freshmen get run, you know, letting freshmen get run and see how they hold up against pressure and and the the D NCAA game. So a lot a lot goes on during a scrimmage, but at the end of the day, it's still a scrimmage.

SPEAKER_03 4:51

You're right. It's a little mark on the a little tick mark on your your check sheet, you know, of what you're looking for. Now, for us fans, we get to for D2 fans, we get to say, look what happened, right? Right, exactly. It's good though. It's good that it was Seton Hill because who do we have coming on for our coach's spotlight this week but Coach Brian Novotney of Seton Hill himself? So why don't we welcome him on right now and see what he has to say about it? Absolutely. Hey coach, welcome. How you doing tonight?

SPEAKER_01 5:22

I'm doing great.

SPEAKER_02 5:23

Thanks for having me. Hey, Coach Brian Novotney from the Seaton Hill Griffiths, finally getting to join the show. We're really excited to have you on. Thanks so much for taking the time on a cold January to come join us, Knuckleheads. We appreciate it.

SPEAKER_01 5:38

Yeah, I hope we can all stay warm here.

SPEAKER_03 5:40

Yeah, luckily we're doing

Coach's Spotlight

SPEAKER_03 5:42

most of us are inside, and I don't have any windows open, so we're good. And start off, we were just talking about this coach about your team scrimmaging, Robert Morris, and would love to get your perspective on it. From a fan, it's was just great to see that Seton Hill beat a D1 team. And Danny and I talked about that. That does not surprise us. Your team beating a D1 team does not surprise us one bit. But just talk to us about you know what you were looking for and really what that either did for your team or what you were trying to do.

SPEAKER_01 6:11

Yeah, I think um you know it's it's not I I appreciate it, and it's not the first time that we've we've uh beat a Division I team in a in a scrimmage. You know, we've done it quite a few times over the years. We've got a great relationship with Robert Morris and have for a really long time. You know, obviously we we share the city of Pittsburgh. Um so we you know we've actually scrimmaged them in the fall this year and then we got them in the spring this year as well. So um really familiar with their program and and and really excited to be able to go out and compete against them when we when we get the opportunity to. Um, it was a really good scrimmage, you know. I think really competitive as it normally is. And for us, what we're re-trying to get out of it. I mean, you know, it's January, it's it's early lacrosse, and I think we were trying to get a gauge for where we were and and what we were capable of doing. Right. Um, you know, and it was again, I think we got that out of it. Um I think being able to try to understand what works for us and what doesn't, you know, on the field, and being able to do it against an opponent as as good and as talented as Robert Morris is, you know, is always a big benefit to us at this time of year. So lots to work on for us still. I mean, we are nowhere close to being a finished product. I I hope we'll get a little bit closer before our game this weekend. But um, yeah, it was a great scrimmage.

SPEAKER_03 7:30

Yeah, it's funny you say that, coach. I was talking to another coach and ask him the question. This was a couple weeks ago. You know, do you feel ready? Or are you thinking in your mind, oh, I wish I had a few more weeks? And he said, It depends. Like in the morning, I feel like there's no way we're gonna be ready. You know, like I look at my calendar, I look at all the things I'm trying to do and implement, and it's like, there's no way we're gonna get there. And then you look at it later in the day when you're playing in scrimmage and the kid the the players are playing well or whatever, and you're like, okay, we can get there. We get there. I'm sure you're probably about the same spot one week or a little bit less than a week away from your first game.

SPEAKER_01 8:06

Yeah, I think the scrimmage this past weekend put our mind at ease a little bit that we're gonna be able to go out and be a functioning lacrosse team. You know, we we understand how to ride and clear, we understand how big the field is and those kind of things. That you know, that's always important. Um, but I you know, I don't know if we're ever, as a coach, I don't know if you ever feel like you're ready for game number one. You know, I have sleepless nights before every game, number one, and and honestly every game, but I don't know if you ever feel like you're ready. You're just hoping that you know your players are gonna go out and and and execute, you know, what they've what they've learned and what they're capable of. So, you know, it's you know, February 5th is early. That's our our first game this Sunday, man. Or sorry, February 6th. Um, that's our first game this Sunday, and it's early. You know, it's it's earlier than it has been in years past, and seems like it's getting a little bit earlier every year. But um, I don't know if you ever feel like you're ready.

SPEAKER_03 9:03

Well, it's let's talk about that for a second. Um, you your schedule. It it seems to me, and we've talked to other coaches. In fact, we talked to uh Coach Peruzzi, who you're playing first. Um, it seems to me that there are a lot of teams out there like Lewis, Malloy, Florida Tech, for example, that want to get you on their schedule because it's a great, great test. And then you look at the other out-of-conference, forget about your conference, just out of conference, you're adding in there with you know, Mount Olive, U Indy, Mercy, Fosburg twice, Tampa, and Chestnut Hill. I mean, that is loaded. That is loaded. So, how do you look at that out of conference schedule for you guys?

SPEAKER_01 9:48

Yeah, I mean, it's you know, ever since I got to Seton Hill, I've I've wanted to try to schedule the best uh schedule that we could, you know, put together the most competitive schedule that we could. And, you know, our goal was to compete at a at a nationally elite level, at a national championship level. And I remember back in the day, it was you know, playing New York Tech and Dowling and CW Post and Lemoyne and obviously Mercy Hearst, I mean the big boys, the blue bloods. You know, I wanted to know what that level looked like and how far away we were from it, you know, and we sort of slowly and and and methodically chipped away and chipped away and got a little bit closer and a little bit closer. So I have a lot of respect and and uh a lot of admiration for you know the teams that that want to play us and and they want to challenge themselves and want to compete at the level that we are. I know it's not easy to do, and not everybody wants to do that, you know. Um and then from uh you know from an out-of-conference standpoint, you know, we're we're just trying to put together the best schedule we can. And I think we're fortunate that there's a lot of other programs out there that are that are similar to us. You know, I think the the coaches in Division II want to challenge themselves and they want to play really good competition. And um, you know, we're you know, we're lucky that that we have some great scheduling partners and and we're able to make some of that happen.

SPEAKER_02 11:06

Yeah, you know, Tampa, Mercy, Mount Olive, Undie, that that out of conference schedule right there is that's pretty tough. UIndy's a good squad, coach. They're they're good. They're midfielders are lightning fast, they're tough to defend. Tampa's always Tampa. Mercy got the rug pulled out from under them last year, so you know they're gonna be hungry this year. And Mount Olive, well, you know, Coach Murphy always puts a really good team out there. But yeah, you know, I think you're being a little humble to us because what what what what you've been able to do in 16 seasons there at Seton Hill has been extraordinary, Coach. Uh let's just go back last year, 2021, 11-3, third in the country in scoring offense, number one in the North region for the NCAA tournament. That's just last year. Forget COVID year, because that year just that just stunk to all hell. But 219, 2019, you went 12 and 5, 2018, you went 17 and 2. 2017 you went 12 and 4, three straight NCAA uh appearances. But this is this is the stat that kind of like stuck out to me, coach. Since 2010, you've won almost 75% of your games. That's just that's phenomenal. That's phenomenal. You you've built you've built Seton Hill into one of the most consistent, consistently competitive teams in all of Division II. Um, how the heck do you do it?

SPEAKER_01 12:47

A lot of good players and a lot of support from from administration and assistant coaches and and all that, man. It's you know, it's it's been a really fun ride. I mean, I I arrived on campus in the fall of 2005, and we were an NAIA program making a transition to NCA. We weren't sure if we were going to go division two or division three. And you know, once the the dust settled with that, man, it was it was just go, you know. I I think that uh I tend to be a pretty competitive individual, a pretty driven person, and I think we recruit young men that that have a very similar mindset, and it's it's just let's go, man. I mean, we we love the the sport of lacrosse and we love competing, and let's just go have fun with it, you know. Sounds funny overcomplicated with the colour.

SPEAKER_03 13:35

Well, it's funny you say that because if we we can switch to your team, uh there's a guy on your team that came back this year that Danny and I loved watching last year, and it's your goalie, Kevin Moe. I mean, I've never seen someone that big move so quickly in the goal.

SPEAKER_02 13:55

Maybe Shaquille O'Neal, but yeah.

SPEAKER_03 13:59

Well, he he has maybe a little size even on Kevin Moe, which is uh pretty amazing. But he's he seems like to embody what you just said. Let's go.

SPEAKER_02 14:07

Kevin is listed at 6'4, 315. Yeah. Wow, that's like the entire size of the cage.

SPEAKER_01 14:18

Kevin is, you know, kev Kevin's an amazing player, man. He really is. And um, you know, funny story about Kevin. So we recruit him and and he commits to us, you know, coming out of out of uh the Philadelphia area. And um his senior year, he decided to play football, you know. And I was like, wow, man, it's great. You know, he's he's obviously got a great frame. He's you know, it's like 6'4, you know, 300 plus pounds. And he ends up being an all-conference offensive lineman on the football team. It's the only year he'd ever played organized football in his life, you know. Um so I think that that kind of speaks to what kind of athlete he is and and and what kind of uh you know, some of the raw talent and skills that he has. I was actually that that year I can remember being like afraid. I was like, oh man, like some team's gonna sweep in and offer him a full ride. Some some Division I power flying team's gonna offer him a full ride for football and take a chance on him.

SPEAKER_04 15:13

Right.

SPEAKER_01 15:13

And uh fortunate for us, he he ended up getting to C and Hill, but but Kevin's a tremendous player. He has been, you know, his uh I guess it would have been his junior year. He uh he he beat out a returning all-american in Max Eisman, you know, and Max was a senior and and Kevin was a junior, and you know, Kevin won that battle fair and square. So he um great player. And I think what what's maybe understated about Kevin, what people don't know, he's a great leader. Like he's a phenomenal, he's he's a our team captain and and has been for the last two years, but wow, just a tremendously driven young man. He's been really involved in coaching lacrosse since he was like in middle school, you know. So yeah, he's like having a coach too, man. It's it's really nice to coach him and have him.

SPEAKER_02 16:00

Yeah, yeah. He was a 2021 All-American honorable mention last year. He was the GMAC keeper of the year. He was also a scholar all-American, and I think that's really cool. The scholar all-american, yeah, you know, that's that's special because we, you know, I have three boys, and um all three, the the the oldest two play Division II, the third one will be in the fall. And I always tell my boys the hardest thing to do is be a student athlete. Student athlete. It's two parts. It's two parts. It's not just the student and it's not just the athlete. And I think it's great when you have a player on your team that aspires not only to be good on the field, but good in the classroom.

SPEAKER_01 16:46

Yeah. We had a uh you know, as we were going through like the development of our program, I can remember we had, you know, obviously guys that have won conference awards and you know, all American awards. It took us forever to get our first scholar all-American man. And um that was one that you know I was really proud of. And in the last two years now, we've had, I think it's three each year. And again, you know, it was such a hard award to earn. You know, when you walk into our office, we've got these big boards and they've got all of our all conference guys and all of our all-Americans, and then there's the scholar all-Americans. That's like the the the lowest number, you know, and that's the most selective award that the division two hands out. And um, you know, those guys, I I always tell them, and you know, they can only win it one year. It's really just, you know, you can win it as a senior, which is why it's a little unique with with COVID and all that kind of stuff, but you can only win it your senior year. And uh you have to be good on the field and off the field. You have to be great on the field phenomenon.

SPEAKER_03 17:48

Okay, so just switching to a little bit on your about the rest of your team, coach, you know, you lose your two top scorers and Logan Maloney and Ryan Manbeck, but you return your face-off duo of Logan Gray and Logan Wyland. I love that they've got the first same first name as well, because they were like at 64% last year. So it seems like special teams with with Kevin Moe and your your face-off specialists is is solid. But are you what are you doing to replace those players, your those two top scorers? How do you feel about the the rest of your team?

SPEAKER_01 18:21

You know, this this is probably it's a it's a it's a great year, man. I mean, we've got 10 seniors, seven graduate students on a roster. So, you know, senior heavy, um, guys that have have gone through the the tests and and have had have been in those battles, and you know, we've won a lot of them, we've lost some of them. So I think a great group that's experienced and hungry. Um on offense, you know, we're we're we're a talented team. We got a lot of guys, a lot of depth, and and guys are stepping into roles, um, you know, maybe shifting some things around from a schematic standpoint and maybe you know, moving a few guys positionally to take advantage of their strengths. But um, yeah, I feel confident offensively we're you know, we're gonna be good. I I don't think we're gonna we're gonna miss those guys much. I say that, you know, we always miss them, you know, we always want to pack. But uh, you know, I think that um you know, we're we're gonna be pretty good there. And you know, maybe the deepest team that we've had in in my time here at Seaton Hill again with you know 17 seniors or graduate students on the roster. And you know, our junior class is has really taken a nice step forward, and our sophomore class has really matured very nicely too. And you know, we have some freshmen that that'll come in and be impact guys for us. So that's one of the really unique things I think about our our squad this year is just how uh how deep we are in and the competitive nature that that brings out in us, you know, as it were you know, as we're battling against one another day in and day out, um, you know, that's that's helped make us a better team from the fall to to the spring. You know.

SPEAKER_02 19:59

I just think you scared, I just think you scared a whole hell of a lot of D2 coaches. When Coach Navantny says this is the deepest team I've ever had here, I think a bunch of guys just went, uh-oh.

SPEAKER_01 20:13

Well, I'm sure there's a lot of other guys out there that have the same the same feelings right now about their rosters and their squads. I mean, it's the division two is it's loaded, man. It's loaded this year. Um there are some great programs out there and and and some teams I think that are that are maybe sleeper picks too. Division two right now, you know, seems to be in a in a really great space. Um, there's just so many good lacrosse players and and so many good coaches and so many programs and administrations that are supporting the teams. Um, you know, that that challenge of of trying to compete for a national championship gets a little bit harder every year, you know, because programs mature and coaches get better and all those things. You know, it's just uh gets a little bit more difficult every year.

SPEAKER_02 21:01

Absolutely. I like Seton Hill. I'm gonna be honest with you, coach. Uh the first Division II game that my middle son played, he was a freshman. Uh I'll I'll tell you, we was at Wingate. So you guys went down to Charlotte down there and played Wingate. It was the first game. Now my son was a freshman, and Wingate was just riddled with injuries that that beginning of that year. They just the whole team was just freshmen and sophomores playing. In comes number four, Seton Hill Griffiths. And man, you put on a clinic for three quarters.

SPEAKER_01 21:39

I remember hanging on in the fourth quarter that one.

SPEAKER_02 21:42

And then the fourth quarter, these freshmen just, I don't know what happened. They just got this burst of confidence or something. I don't know what it was, but they kept chipping and chipping and chipping, brought it within two goals within like a minute and 30 seconds left. Now, my Son's a freshman, scared to death out there, right? Scared to death out there. In the fourth quarter, he causes a turnover, picks up the ball, starts running down the field full speed. My heart was in my throat. I was like, that's my boy, that's my boy. And then the next thing you know, I never saw so many men swarm to the ball. It was like ants to a popsicle stick at a picnic. Seton Hill was in there. The ball came out. My son went ass over tea kettle. You guys recovered and won the game. And I just remembered how many men swarmed the ball out. It was so important for you guys to get that ball back. Because we were it was a one-goal game. They brought it back. It was, you know, it could have gone either way with another goal. And I just the defense was just like, ah, you know, it was really, it was what a it was a great first game for my son. And a great first game for a son's dad to watch.

SPEAKER_01 23:06

Yeah. I remember that game very well. I mean, that was a great game. It was a great battle. Um, and those are the games that you love to play in, right? That's why we scheduled all the way that we do, going all the way back to that. But those are the kind of games that you want to play in. And um, yeah, though hopefully the ones you want to win too.

SPEAKER_02 23:23

And I yeah, and I'm saying to myself, hey man, that Seton Hill team was good. You know, like they were so well coached. They were just, you know, the defense slid and they just every, you know, they ride and just you did every every aspect of the game was just really well done. And that was your first game of the season.

SPEAKER_01 23:42

Yeah. So I appreciate that. I you know, my assistant coaches do do a lot of that coaching, man. They do a great job. But they uh that was it was a great game, man. It was again it was a great battle. And um, you know, I'm hopeful we can get Wingate on the schedule again here sometime in the near future.

SPEAKER_02 23:58

That'd be great. I'd love to watch that.

SPEAKER_03 23:59

Well, this has been great, coach, and we appreciate it. So uh good luck in the season. I'm sure you guys will be watching, and it'll be fun to see how the rest of the season goes for you.

SPEAKER_01 24:10

Thank you. I I really appreciate you guys, and and I appreciate your time this evening and certainly appreciate the exposure that you're bringing to division two. That that investment that you're making is is gonna pay off. And I think I speak for the whole entire division when I say that we're you know we're very thankful for the time and the effort and the energy that you guys are putting into it.

SPEAKER_02 24:28

Well, thank you so much, coach. That means a lot. I really appreciate it. Coach, you've been a great guest tonight. I could see me, you mean you hanging out and having a beverage and a chicken wing and having a good time. I definitely could see that.

SPEAKER_01 24:42

Well, if you want me back on, man, just just feel free to ask, and I'll do everything in my schedule. I'll do everything in my power to free up my schedule and join you guys again.

SPEAKER_02 24:51

Well, that'd be great. You've been a great guest. Good luck, really. Good luck this season. You guys are gonna be great. I'm looking forward to watching you. Thanks again,

Games to Watch

SPEAKER_02 24:59

coach.

SPEAKER_03 24:59

All right, so let's move on and talk about the other games of the week we're gonna watch besides Saint Seton Hill versus Lewis. And Danny, I'll start it off with one of the first games of the season, and that's this Wednesday. Now, this game may already have been played by the time this podcast goes live. It depends on how good my editing skills are over the next day or so. Okay, all right. But this is a game against it's young Harris against Tusculum. And what's interesting about this is we've talked to both the two coaches, it's a game between two new coaches with Rodney Tapp on Tusculum and Mike Heron of Young Harris. So I think that's gonna be really interesting to see how they get off in their first game of the season. And then we follow that up on Friday. Friday, it's not so much the game, it's one of the teams, and that's Florida Southern, because Florida Southern's playing Anderson on Friday night, and then they're turning around on Sunday and playing Catawba. As you know, back to back. Yeah, I mean, coming out of the gates with those two teams. Anderson started off so hot in their first year last year, and Catawba was ranked for some of the season last year. So that's right. I'm really interested to see Florida Southern play almost back to back, those two tough teams, and then seeing how those teams how they play against a really tough uh Sunshine State conference team.

SPEAKER_02 26:24

Right. Well, you know, you know, Cam is gonna be ready to play, first team All-American preseason. Um, that kid's really good at Anderson. We we spoke about what Anderson did last year, and Katapa's a good team. You know, they're they're you know, they're we discussed that too. We've we we we don't even have to go into that. So um Florida Southern is gonna be in for a little in for a little first two games, back to back, like within 48 hours of each other. That's kind of crazy.

SPEAKER_03 26:53

Yeah, now now Florida Southern, you know, I when we did their review, I thought their whole attack line was returning. They lose one, but their top two scores are returning Jeff Atlas and Sean Nolan. So it's not like they don't have guys ready to go. It'll be fun to watch. It'll be fun to watch and then see how they turn around and play against Catawba.

SPEAKER_02 27:13

It's a hell of a way to start the season, don't you think?

SPEAKER_03 27:15

Yeah, without a doubt. But there's another Friday game I think you've got your sights on.

SPEAKER_02 27:21

Which one? Which one's the Friday game?

SPEAKER_03 27:23

Flaggler Embry Riddle game.

SPEAKER_02 27:24

Oh, yeah, the Flaggler and Emory Riddle game. Um, I'm interested in this because I'm interested to see Flaggler come out of the gate and play their first NCAA game. I mean, they're coming from a club team, and this is a club team that won, you know, with with with a with a pretty good coach behind him, you know, has had some professional coaching, some D1 coaching behind him, and and and Mr. Coach Duncan. And um Flagler, I think, has a chance to win this Emory Riddle game. I really do. I think just I'm really interested to watch Flagler, their first NCAA game, and I'm I'm predicting them to beat Emory Riddle.

SPEAKER_03 28:10

So we'll see. I mean, Emory Riddle, they didn't play last year, so there's the first game, not only the year, but it's in over a year, and they have a good coach. He comes off the the Chris Barrett tree. Spencer wins, they have a fairly good roster side, it's grown grown up to about 38 players. So they may be hungry too, missing a whole year. So it'll be it'll be a I bet you this game's gonna be a dog fight. I bet you this game's gonna be close. I think it's gonna be a good game, I really do.

SPEAKER_02 28:38

And you know, like everybody always talks about the big dogs, you know, and Leroy and Adelphi and Wingate and Lenore Ryan and and all the big dogs, but you know what? These some of these smaller dogs play some pretty good lacrosse.

SPEAKER_03 28:50

You bet, and let's see which players from each team start to emerge as their stars.

SPEAKER_02 28:55

Exactly. That's another thing that I was gonna say. We're gonna get a chance to see which kids are gonna start to ball out for both of these squads. Right. So I'm interested to see the flagler and coach Duncan and what they do against Henry Riddle. I'm very much looking forward to that.

SPEAKER_03 29:12

Yeah, now let's let's move into Saturday because Saturday's got some mean lineups. I'm I'm in shock at some of these first games for some of these teams.

SPEAKER_02 29:23

I I I'm gonna and I'm gonna start with Lenore Ryan hosting UIndy. I mean, Lenore Ryan went to the national championship last year, came up a little short against a really good Lemoyne team, but they're facing a really good U Indy Greyhound team that was one goal away from going the Final Four last year. Um, U Indy's got a lot of guys coming back, Drew Billig and Wyatt Auer and Brian Robb all coming back. Yeah, and they're stacked on D as well. And they're stacked on D, but Lenore Ryan's got they're they're stacked on O. They got Will Canada and Miles Moffitt and this kid Bryce Fries, that I just really think he's gonna have a hell of a year this year. They got Torrin Eccleston, the 6'4, 230-pound attackman. You know, Lenore Ryan's stacked, and they got Noah Johnson in goal. So, you know, that's that's gonna be one hell of a game.

SPEAKER_03 30:24

It is a great early matchup of the SAC and the GLBC. You couldn't ask them both better.

SPEAKER_02 30:35

And both top five in last year, you know what I mean? They're both they were in the top five teams in the country. So these are gonna they're gonna be two big dogs going at it and uh great out-of-conference matchup for sure to start off D2.

SPEAKER_03 30:50

Now we have another one that's an out-of-conference matchup, but they used to be in the same conference, and that's Belmont Abbey against Limestone. It's an old conference Carolinas matchup.

SPEAKER_02 31:01

Yeah, they're pretty used to each other, even though that limestone's now in the SAC. But they, you know, Coach Storrier is starting his, I guess you could say, his career, his second career as head coach at Limestone. And um, with him, he brings a ton of pedigree and a lot of winning behind him. And and we just had Coach Barrett on a couple of weeks ago. And coach, we we know how great Coach Barrett's teams are year in and year out. Um, you know, Noah Haas, he's a beast. He's coming back, he's gonna be, you know, great for Belmont Abbey this year. And on the other side, offensively, you have Owen Consoletti, who's just an amazing attackman for limestone. Um, limestone gets a couple of their defenders back from injury last year. So I think that's a really interesting game to watch. I think both teams need that win.

SPEAKER_03 32:00

I I agree, although I think a win by Belmont Abbey may do more to propel them than a loss will hurt limestone.

SPEAKER_02 32:11

You may be right about that, you know. You may be right.

SPEAKER_03 32:13

The other question I have in my mind is uh storier, he's been at Limestone before. He knows the program, he knows what he wants to do with the program, and he's got a lot of seniors and graduates that are back from a leadership standpoint. But I'm just curious will stability in scheme and coaching, meaning Belmont Abbey year after year with Coach Barrett, will that be the difference in this game? Well, we're gonna find out on Saturday, aren't we?

SPEAKER_02 32:44

Yeah, because that's that's that's another really, really good game out of the belt, uh, out of the gate, you know. So yeah, for these teams to to schedule these games right out of the gate, I give them a lot of kudos, man.

SPEAKER_03 32:57

Yeah, without a doubt. I've got one more that I'm looking at on Saturday. I think you may have it on your list too. And and we talked about it when we did the Sunshine State Conference uh preview, and that's Lynn versus Tampa.

SPEAKER_02 33:12

Yeah, that's gonna be an interesting game. Um Tampa's got a new coach, new system, new everything's new at Tampa. I'm sure you know some of the players are still there, but they lost a lot of their big guns on offense, Tampa. Um Lynn is a really up-and-coming squad. And last year they played Tampa very, very well. Very well. Came really close. One was a one one was a one-goal game, and then and the and the other one was just like a three-goal loss. Um, gave Tampa all they could handle. Um, so let's see if Lynn is you know got that little chip on their shoulder, knowing that they got so close last year with Tampa. And let's see if uh if Lynn can uh pull the upset. That would be an upset if the two if they if they beat Tampa. Again, Tampa Tampa's gonna be new with with with with JB at the helm. And I'm sure there's gonna be some new look, you know, what they're doing. I mean, uh we'll have to see which players are gonna step up. You know, we don't know from Tampa. Right. Tampa's like behind a curtain right now. We're we're waiting for that curtain to open to see. You know, I expect them to be really, really good though.

SPEAKER_03 34:31

Yeah, I mean, with Coach Clark and the depth they have, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 34:36

Right, yeah, right. So those those games, uh those, those are the games that I'm looking forward to. I think those are the big games to watch this week of.

SPEAKER_03 34:45

I've got one more for you because I'm trying to project out as we look at this and we do these pod episodes. Um, and I'm looking at next Wednesday, which is 9 February, and that is Lees McRae against Mars Hill. First game for new head coach Joe Turner of Mars Hill. And he's going against uh probably the most passionate coach that I that I've talked to in Brad Dunn of Lees McCrae. And like I said, it's it's time to see if their players can show for Lees McCrae. I it's it's gonna be a great game. I think both really want to come out of the shoot with a win. And I don't think a loss will really uh kill either team, but the win, whoever wins, I think that could help repel uh either program. Whoever gets that's gonna help their program throughout the season.

SPEAKER_02 35:35

Oh, it would be a great confidence builder, you know, to get that win right out of the gate. Um to have Coach Turner, who's been a long time assistant at Dowling and at Wingate, now you know, he gets he gets to uh drive the drive the Ferrari. And I'm looking forward to seeing what Coach Turner does at Morris Hill. And it's his first game as head coach, and I'm sure he's gonna want it pretty bad. I'm sure he's one wants it pretty bad. Yeah, but you and I both you know think that Lees McCrae is on a team that can can make some noise a little bit, you know. And you know, they got a good coach there, and they have good culture there. So that's that should be a fun game to watch, too. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 36:23

So I think that's a good roundup that goes basically Wednesday to Wednesday, the the second to the ninth. Uh, but before we get into our final segment, we do have a little bit of D2 news that I want to share. And that is that on January 10th, so just recently, a couple weeks ago, William Jewell College in Liberty, Missouri announced the addition of Men's and Women's Lacrosse in the fall of 2023, and they're coming to D2.

DII News

SPEAKER_03 36:52

They're called the Cardinals, and they'll be playing in uh what do we know that that conference right over west of the Mississippi, right straddling the Mississippi, but the GLVC.

SPEAKER_02 37:04

So that's interesting. William Jewell. William Jewell. And and there and and D2 continues to grow, Kevin. Continues to grow.

SPEAKER_03 37:15

Yeah, so great news. Great news. Another school coming to D2 lacrosse, and both men's and women, so that'll be really great. That's very good news.

Player Spotlight

SPEAKER_03 37:25

So I am really excited about talking with our next guest in our first ever player spotlight. This is a player, a goalie, that we watched several times last year. The first time I watched him, I thought, look at him standing on his head making those plays. And then I watched him again, Danny. And I realized that's just what he does every day on the out on the field.

SPEAKER_02 37:48

Yeah, he's a stud out there, Kevin. And we discussed him in many podcasts, and we and we discussed him with his with his coach. And um, you know me, I'm like I'm a lover of middies, but there's something about goalies that just I those are the guys I like to hang out with, you know what I'm saying? Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 38:08

So tonight we have first team all American and outstanding national goalkeeper of the year, CJ Hart of the St. Anselm Hawks. Welcome, CJ.

SPEAKER_00 38:23

How's it going, guys? Thank you guys for having me.

SPEAKER_03 38:26

Uh, it's great to have you. Uh that you find time and your your busy schedule. You just had media day today, huh?

SPEAKER_00 38:32

Yeah, we had um practice outside and then right to media day. Took a couple headshots, uh, took a couple photos with uh the whole goalie squad and then got ready for this.

SPEAKER_03 38:42

So awesome, awesome, very good.

SPEAKER_02 38:44

So you know you didn't you didn't go enough into his accolades, Kev.

SPEAKER_03 38:48

I'm sorry. Well, it just you can. You can get once you start, Danny.

SPEAKER_02 38:51

It's it's so long. First team All American American. I know we'll we're not gonna have any time left by the time we finish the CJ's accolades. Yes, first team All American, the Kelly Award for Outstanding National Goal of the Year, the New England Lacks Association D2 Player of the Year, the NET, the NE10 goalkeeper of the year, and the NE 10 first team all conference. It's been commissioner's honor roll for the last two years, so yeah, he's doing it in the classroom as much as he's doing it on the field. But uh last year he had a great, great year. He faced 377 shots in the season and only allowed 79 goals all season, if that's not amazing. His save percentage in 2021 led all of Division II. And he made 21 saves on 43 shots and only allowing nine goals in the NET NE 10 championship game, helping the Hawks get into that NCAA tournament. So this young man is an amazing, amazing goalie. So tell us, CJ, how'd you get started into lacrosse?

SPEAKER_00 40:05

Uh I got started in lacrosse at a very young age. I believe I started in second grade. Um, it was uh like so new to our town. I remember they actually gave everyone sticks. Um it was an old um all-star 6,000 stick. I remember it there's been a um head blue mesh, um an oddly shaped head, um, and then like that all-star 6,000 sticker. Um at the time it was it was the coolest thing I've ever seen. And um at that time, being young, um, you know, playing all different types of sports. But um, lacrosse was something since a very young age that I started to grow to like, you know, even more than all the other sports I was playing, and I gravitated, you know, as I grew older, gravitated closer to lacrosse. And I always volunteered to play goalie.

SPEAKER_03 40:49

Um that was my next question. That was my next question to see.

SPEAKER_00 40:53

So I always volunteered to play goalie. Um I played hockey when I was younger too, and I also always played um played goalie and then always volunteered. When I was getting older though, um hockey, those are um extremely expensive pads to get a hockey goalie set of pads, but uh lacrosse goalie, we wear less pads than field players. So uh I went that route for goalie, um, stayed playing out in hockey, but um goalie and lacrosse is something that um you know I really enjoyed putting a lot of work into. Even at a young age when I didn't really truly know what hard work really was, I always just found myself working on playing goalie, watching other goalies, watching college games, just always kind of envisioning myself, you know, playing at that level, even from such a young age.

SPEAKER_03 41:36

So if you look at all your accolades from last year and well deserved, how do you build on that success for this year?

SPEAKER_00 41:45

I think just building on um, you know, building on myself. I don't I think that building on yourself is a you know stronger foundation than just building off uh building off an accolade or building off success. Um I've always just been you know taught to play your game, uh, you know, take care of my house first. So I think working, you know, with the what I have now and just kind of adding on to it is what's really key because you know I have a foundation now, but I need to keep being able to you know build on that. Um I have great goalies on my team that are extremely talented that push me to be better every single day. And I have a really talented goalie coach as well that you know helps me day in, day out with my physical and mental play. So it's just about building on what I have now, just to being able to bring me to you know the next level.

SPEAKER_02 42:28

Now you had to work to get to that starting job. Like it wasn't just handed to you when you got to St. Anselms. Am I correct?

SPEAKER_00 42:35

Yeah, I um I backed up for two years and then I started and it was the COVID year. I had three starts under my belt, and then uh we got hit with COVID.

SPEAKER_02 42:44

So right. Yeah, that kind of that kind of sucked for everybody.

SPEAKER_00 42:49

Yeah, that was just that was a that was a definitely tough time.

SPEAKER_03 42:52

Yeah, yeah. So let's talk about your schedule now that this is your first year, really, that you actually get to play out of conference. How excited are you about that?

SPEAKER_00 43:02

I'm extremely excited. Um, you know, as playing lacrosse for a really long time, I've just come to learn that any opportunity is a good opportunity, no matter what it is, because you know, you something new is something that, you know, a new challenge that you get to face, a new endeavor you get to, you know, accomplish. So I'm super excited to play out of conference, go play all these teams that you know I've never played before in my career here at St. Anselm. And uh I'm just super excited to be able to see all different types of lacrosse from all different regions.

SPEAKER_02 43:31

Any team in particular you're really looking forward to playing?

SPEAKER_00 43:35

Um, I don't want to look uh look too far in the future. I just definitely want to keep it, you know, play my cards close right now. So uh I'm excited to see every team.

SPEAKER_03 43:43

Well, yeah, and Chestnut Hill is the first one in February 27th. So if you keep it short, that's a that's a good team to test your skills against.

SPEAKER_00 43:54

Yeah, I feel like our schedule this year is uh extremely strong with uh you know a lot of extremely talented teams on the So just uh taking it day by day right now with uh each practice, each rep, each shot. And then uh before we know it, we'll get into those preseason scrimmages and uh finally into our season on the 27th of February.

SPEAKER_03 44:11

So let's switch a little bit. Let me ask you you came to St. A's, now you're you're a fifth year. What makes it so special to you? Why'd you pick Saint A's and why is it so special to you?

SPEAKER_00 44:24

Uh I picked it just for like the whole feel of it, honestly. I came on a tour and uh everything was um really you know manageable for what it was. You could walk to all your classes, all the dorms are right there, and it just felt like a little community. And I think that's something that um every tour is told here at St. Ann's that it's like a community. And um, you know, when you're an outsider, you're just like, oh, they're just saying that. But I experienced that community feel firsthand. And then especially being on um, you know, the men's lacrosse team here, that uh that culture and that community was something that I fell in love with right away. Uh always hanging out with the guys, whether that be you know fall, even over the winter, during the spring, and over the summer. And it's uh it's a pretty easy school to segue in and feel uh welcomed at St. A's.

SPEAKER_02 45:09

If I'm if I'm a young recruit, okay, I'm a possible recruit. What would you tell me about St. Anselms?

SPEAKER_00 45:16

I would say that every single year, usually without fail, that we've grown in every department, whether that be the offensive department, the coaching department, the defensive department. Um it's a school that has a lot of growth and um the culture here is absolutely amazing. We're all about um, you know, putting in extra work, doing things off the field that translate onto the field. And that's something that I love being a part of is that you know, we go in the locker room, and no matter what time of day you go in there, there's gonna be at least one other guy going in there, finishing up, you know, wall ball, finishing up a lift or something like that. And that's a culture that I love to be a part of because you know, it just motivates you to move forward. Every single time you go in there, someone else is working. So it motivates you to put in that extra work as well.

SPEAKER_03 46:00

Yeah, when we talked to your coach on a previous podcast, I think that's kind of what struck me about St. A's and the culture he's building is it's the extra work. It's the extra work that you guys are putting in and that you want to put in to continue to get to that next level. That's pretty special.

SPEAKER_00 46:19

Yeah, definitely. It's something that we learned um, you know, as a whole team is that this is the work that's gonna bring us um, you know, to the end. I I was breaking down uh a team practice the other day, and I said, you know, heroes make it through the first week, but legends make it to the last week. And I think that's something that the team, you know, is gonna understand that through hard work, people will make it to the end are the ones that always get remembered. So people are learning that once they put in the work, that this team can go to great places. So everyone's on board on the team as of right now, and I have full belief that it's gonna stay that way till the end of the season.

SPEAKER_03 46:53

That's great. Danny, write that down. We can use it later in a podcast, okay? Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 46:59

That trademark it. Yeah, trademark. No, I can't, I can't steal that. That's CJ's man. I can't steal it. I can't steal it. No, that's that's really good stuff, CJ. And uh very interesting to hear as a dad. I'm a dad, college kids, you know. I had two that played in Division II. I got a third that's starting in the fall. So to hear a young man speak like that is just kind of warms my heart. You know, your parents must be proud of you. I'm sure they are. Um, what I wanted to ask you is where is St. Anslums? Because we've had a lot of listeners ask us, hey, you're talking about schools and we don't know where they are. So where is St. Anslums? Tell our tell our audience where it is.

SPEAKER_00 47:45

So St. Anslum is located in Manchester, New Hampshire. Um, it's about an hour north of Boston, Massachusetts. Um, and then the surrounding towns are Gopstown and um Bedford, New Hampshire as well. But our main uh address is in Manchester, New Hampshire.

SPEAKER_02 48:01

Oh, pretty cool. Pretty cool.

SPEAKER_03 48:03

Hey, so let me let me ask you this, CJ. Uh I understand that you and uh a woman's lacrosse player started the Headgame Project, which is a student athlete-led mental health group on your campus. Can you touch upon that for us and let us know? Tell us a little bit more about that.

SPEAKER_00 48:20

Yeah, for sure. So um the head game project was started from scratch. Um, a previous student athlete uh and I, we kind of just got together. And it wasn't just like a you know light bulb type of idea. It's something that we've actually talked about. Um, it started with, you know, sharing kind of back and forth uh the journey that we went on with mental health, and we kind of snowballed that into like, hey, we should really do something about this, like a really like niche thing about just like specific um athletes and mental health. And it grew up to be um, you know, an awesome thing. I got a ton of amazing support from our athletic directors, our athletic training staff, and all the coaches were able to, you know, move it forward. So basically, what it is, it's a peer-to-peer advocacy group where each team, uh, men's and women's, we each have a representative. And on each team, that representative passes on you know informations, uh, projects we're working on. Some of the information that we got this year was that we actually got a mental health counselor that was assigned to um each team. So kind of work the same way as like in the training room, like you have a specific trainer. And then now we also got these where um they have a team, um, you know, therapists or health counselor. And I think that's something that's extremely uh important. Uh when I was growing up, it wasn't uh a big important thing. It was uh, you know, I was always taught to put your head down, be tough, uh, just keep moving forward, keep plugging away at it. But when I was able to like actually speak up and talk about it, uh I actually did a podcast talking about uh my mental health journey and um, you know, mental health and sports. And I think it's something that that group, the uh the head game project, is something that hopefully we're gonna be able to grow it and go to other schools, but a peer-to-peer advocacy where someone can look at another person and be like, oh wow, like I just saw them, you know, get off the field and they're brave enough to share that story. That's gonna give me some courage to be able to speak up for myself. So that's our main goal is to get everyone talking about it. Uh, whenever I meet with all our team representatives, I try to talk about, you know, it has to be the same way as going into the training room. Um, if you got a bum ankle, you got to go get it taped. I want to be able to be that same kind of like translucent, transparent type approach to it. And we're working hard at it right now.

SPEAKER_02 50:31

And so you're saying that's peer-to-peer. You don't have a website or anything that somebody else maybe could be uh possibly look into that, maybe somehow.

SPEAKER_00 50:41

So we do most of our um posts and stuff on Instagram. Um, it's the Head Game Project on uh on Instagram, but we also have a tab on uh the St. Anselm Hawks website. Um it's under Sports Medicine. We're linked there and has a little description of what we do, how it started, and who it's for. So uh we don't have a website uh specifically for us, but it's through um our St. Answ School uh our St. Anselm Athletics website, and then we do all of our posts usually uh on Instagram.

SPEAKER_03 51:09

So it's very if other collegiate uh I'm sorry, Dan, I just had uh a question. If other collegiate athletes listen to this, they could go to that tab and find contact information and maybe if they could want to start something like this. This is such an important topic. Sorry about that, Danny.

SPEAKER_02 51:27

No, I was just gonna say, CJ, that's very admirable of you, and I commend you. I mean, I really, really do from the bottom of my heart. That's a special, special thing you're doing. And you said it was with one uh a woman's lacrosse player as well.

SPEAKER_00 51:41

Yeah, she um previously graduated. Um, Allie Ira, she was on the women's lacrosse team, but um she's graduated right now. But she's still um involved with what's going on. And um, if there's any contact or reach out, uh the Instagram is the best place. Okay. I have all our representatives have the uh have the Instagram like password and everything like that because I want it to be open. I want them if they think of a post, they can just have it right at the you know at their fingertips to post uh on our own account. So there's gonna be a lot of eyes that would see uh a DM to uh you know at the head game project. And our profile picture is like uh lacrosse helmet and it's uh red and black, it's pretty hard to miss.

SPEAKER_03 52:20

All right. Well, I'm gonna start uh in the crease, is gonna start following you on Instagram uh with uh with the head game project. I think that's just phenomenal what you're doing.

SPEAKER_02 52:29

And I think we should tag it in on our next uh oh without a doubt, good good idea. Yeah, without a doubt. So so CJ, that was uh this has been a fascinating 10 minutes, really. I mean, it really has been. And uh and I haven't even seen you play yet this year. So that's the next part. I you know, but now we're gonna have some fun. All right, here we go.

SPEAKER_03 52:50

I've been waiting for this.

SPEAKER_02 52:51

Uh listen, I just think that you know, life a lot of times is a little bit too much, and it's time to have fun. You have to let loose every once in a while. So, you know what? The first question I was gonna do a 10 10 question fire off action just and just have you come back with ones. But the first one we did already kind of what age did you begin playing lacrosse? But here's the next question: who was your biggest influence playing lacrosse?

SPEAKER_00 53:22

Playing lacrosse growing up, it was John Galloway. Uh, I always wanted to be like him in high school and uh my previous years at college, except for this year. I always wore sweatpants in net, no matter what the temperature was. I loved watching Galloway. I feel that he had like the most energy after making a save. He was the most hyped up, and he was an extremely uh explosive goaltender. And he was someone that I really looked up to um, you know, as I was going through the years of playing lacrosse.

SPEAKER_02 53:50

Did you get to have any interaction with him at all?

SPEAKER_00 53:53

I had two, I had two interactions. Uh, I went to a Canons Rattlers game, and he actually signed the uh inside of a pair of shoes that I still have. Uh I don't I don't wear the shoes considering it's got his autograph on it, but uh he signed he signed the uh inside tongue of one of my uh new balance shoes that I had. And then I actually DM'd him on uh Instagram uh after he retired last year. And I told him, like, thank you, like I've looked up for you. And uh, you know, I mentioned that you know he was a two-time winner of the Mark Ensign uh outstanding goalkeeper. So I mentioned, like, hey, I was striving to be like you, and I eventually got to you know get on that same level for the division two. And uh he actually responded right away and he said, CJ, like, thank you for that. Meant a lot. So that was a really cool exchange that we had as well.

SPEAKER_02 54:39

That's excellent. All right. Next question. What was your first NCAA guy game like in between the pipes?

SPEAKER_00 54:47

It was uh it was definitely uh definitely surreal. It was um no, we were down there, we were practicing, but um, it was just like uh once uh once I usually get in there, um I don't I don't truly like remember every single play by play. I just kind of really get dialed into it. But um it was a really great experience that uh I hope to strive for again. I have faith that we can do that again, but uh it was it was crazy. It was just like I've seen this on TV since I was young, and then now I'm here. So it was a crazy experience.

SPEAKER_02 55:19

Who'd you play?

SPEAKER_00 55:20

We played Seaton Hill for the first um for our first NCAA game.

SPEAKER_02 55:24

Okay. How many how many saves do you have?

SPEAKER_00 55:27

I actually only had nine saves that game. Um that was I felt I definitely felt the uh felt a little bit of the pressure in the NCAA there. Uh I warmed up to the uh in the next game, but I uh only had nine saves, but one of those came in transition overtime. So I don't know if they don't put values on the save, but uh the ninth one was definitely one that we needed.

SPEAKER_02 55:46

So okay, awesome. That's awesome. Okay, now for something completely different. What kind of music do you listen to?

SPEAKER_00 55:53

I'm a big uh big metal person before. Uh I love Metallica, uh Motley Crue. And I actually warm up with headphones in uh before while I'm uh doing my pregame stuff. I have my own playlist and stuff like that.

SPEAKER_02 56:06

Um little kickstart my heart, you know.

SPEAKER_00 56:08

Yeah, uh Shout of the Devil is probably my best, uh my favorite walkout song by Motley Crue, and then For Whom the Bell Tolls by Metallica, and then also uh Fade to Black as well.

SPEAKER_02 56:18

All right, cool. So, what was the last song you listened to that you can remember listening to?

SPEAKER_00 56:24

I think it would be uh Fade to Black, about three minutes and 50 seconds in. It's uh James Hetfield hits a an amazing riff that's just like super metal sounding that gets me absolutely pumped up to play.

SPEAKER_02 56:36

Now, now I gotta ask you this, and this is off the charts. Now, this is this isn't on my thing, Kevin. Uh-oh. Do you play do you play an instrument?

SPEAKER_00 56:44

I uh I have a guitar that I'm looking at right now. Uh I I'm a pretty big uh hobby jumper, so uh I get really into a hobby and then I might have interest uh here and there, but I do have a guitar, I have an amp that uh I like to pick up sometimes. Not very good, but uh you know, sometimes I listen to the songs as I'm playing, and it sounds a little bit better, but uh I try. I try when I got free time.

SPEAKER_02 57:07

I like them already. I like them more now, Kevin. I'm a drummer, by the way, and I just posted a bit uh a video of me doing Warrant, playing some Warrant, man, some 80s airband stuff.

SPEAKER_00 57:18

So we can get the D2 band together.

SPEAKER_02 57:22

Maybe we can. I don't think so. I don't think many people would come though. All right, now for something completely different. Already we're gonna talk about the team. Who's the funniest guy on the team?

SPEAKER_00 57:34

Funniest guy on the team. Uh, I would gotta say my roommate, uh Sean Tomashewski. Hit him and I just have countless uh inside jokes, and I feel like he's just always making people laugh here and there, whether that be me or anyone else on the team, and uh he's the funniest guy we got.

SPEAKER_02 57:49

That's interesting. Okay, now you you're you're gonna you're bound to get some some hate mail from your teammates on this next question. Who's the best all-around athlete on the team? All around athlete.

SPEAKER_00 58:04

So I will leave this up to discussion. I will say that it is one of the Larson brothers, and they can decide.

SPEAKER_02 58:12

There we go.

SPEAKER_03 58:13

There we go.

SPEAKER_02 58:14

Yeah, that's that's interesting too. All right, here's a good one. Give us your best impression of Coach Shimana. Best impression of Coach Shimana. Hey, for for all the podcast listeners, he just put his head way back.

SPEAKER_00 58:30

Yeah, this is we'll see if I'm um we're running that practice after this. But uh, that's great. Coach Shimana does this uh really good thing. I don't have a lacrosse stick, but he uh no matter what stick he has, he always has it, takes one cradle with the ball, shoots it, and then tests out the pocket after he's restrung it, and then he always taps it on the turf like every other step that he takes. That I wish I could do and show, but I think that's like the biggest thing to describe him. He's always coaching when he does it, but I've always noticed it ever since I first got on campus that he's always twirling that stick and making sure it's strung correctly.

SPEAKER_02 59:05

There you go. That's that's pretty cool. That's pretty cool. I think he got out of running on that one. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 59:11

I think you're safe on that one.

SPEAKER_02 59:13

So um, you know, you you you talked earlier about not really worried about personal goals but more team goals. But you know, you've had some really good accolades, and I think I think that good players always set goals for themselves, you know, whether it be monthly or bi-yearly or yearly. What goals have you set for yourself this season, CJ?

SPEAKER_00 59:38

So right now, um, the goals that I've set is just kind of doing I've this I've been in this situation five times where I've been in this part of the season, I've been in the winter, I've been when it's cold. And I think uh two goals that I have is just to have the best attitude that I've ever had. Um, you know, today we were taking shots uh in the cold, getting hit by a ball like isn't the most fun thing ever. But today it kind of like clicked. I was like, I really just gotta, you know, I gotta savor this moment. And my attitude really changed around when I realized that, you know, hey, like you never know when you're gonna do this drill again. Like you don't know what's gonna happen. So my goal is just to get more on a positive outlook mentally and then physically just um do as much as I've ever done, whether it be wall ball, hand eye, getting shots from other players on our team and just you know, kind of building on like what I have right now and just pushing myself, you know, further than I have.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:31

That's that's great. And last question. Um, obviously, you're you're doing great things in the classroom. What's your plan after graduation? What do you want to do?

SPEAKER_00 1:00:42

So I actually just um received a full-time offer to work at a company called MathWorks that works with um MATLAB and simulating software, and I'm gonna do revenue and accounting stuff for them on their revenue accounting and controls team.

SPEAKER_03 1:00:56

Oh, that's really cool. So there we go. Those are the questions, right, Danny? That's it. That's all I have to do. I'll tell you what. That's a great oh, did you have some more?

SPEAKER_02 1:01:04

Okay. What does what does CJ stand for?

SPEAKER_00 1:01:09

Christopher James. Uh, I actually I had a youth coach that always joked and called it uh Clarence Johansson. Uh Mr. Tobin. He has a he has a son that plays at uh UMass Amherst, Kevin Tobin, who is extremely talented. He's a guy that I always go home and play lacrosse with, but he would always call me Clarence Johansson, but it stands for Christopher James.

SPEAKER_03 1:01:29

That's great. That's well, we'll keep it CJ for short for us. Uh that's it's a lot easier for me. But this I think that's this has been awesome, CJ. We appreciate you coming on. Couldn't have asked for anything better for our first ever player spotlight.

SPEAKER_02 1:01:42

Yeah, I really appreciate it. Well, well, CJ, I wish you all the best of luck this season with uh the Hawks and St. Anklins. And um, you've done great things already there, and I'm sure you'll continue to do great things. And everything you're doing with the mental health part of the game is just an amazing, admirable thing. And I thank you so much for coming on the show tonight and taking the time. I know you probably would be in the library right now, you know, but uh he's smiling, he's smiling, folks. I got my work done earlier in the day. There we go. Okay, see, see, I don't believe him because he had media day. See, I'm on I'm a dad, I'm sharp on these things, you know. No, CJ, thanks again, and again, good luck. And we wish you all the best from the guys from In the Crease.

SPEAKER_00 1:02:27

Awesome. Thank you guys so much for having me. I'm looking forward to listening to this episode.

SPEAKER_03 1:02:31

Well, listen to more than just this one, but you can start with this one.

SPEAKER_00 1:02:35

I'll I'll start with this one and then snowball into the other one. There we go.

SPEAKER_03 1:02:38

There we go.

Final Thoughts

SPEAKER_03 1:02:40

So, Danny, that was a a great way to end our first in-season episode talking to CJ Hart.

SPEAKER_02 1:02:48

Yeah, CJ was a remarkable young man. I had a lot of fun having him on. Um, what an admirable young man he is, just uh you know, on the field and off the field. And again, I wish him all the best of luck. He's a very exciting player, just an acutely bright young man, and just interesting to have him on. I'm I'm glad he came on, and I wish him nothing but uh success.

SPEAKER_03 1:03:12

Exactly. So before we call it for the night, I just want to give one shameless plug for the episode that we aired last week. The episode about Jack Cayley and Tom Postell. Because I really feel, I mean, uh, we said this to one of the coaches we talked to, nothing that we do in these podcasts is important. It's all fun, it's about shedding the light on D2 Lacrosse. But I think if you really want to know about D2 lacrosse and where it is today, you need to go back and listen to that and what those two gentlemen did to get us where we are today in 2022.

SPEAKER_02 1:03:52

Yeah, that was a very informative podcast. The best one I think we've done. Again, I I I reiterated several times on the podcast that I didn't know much about either one of those two two gentlemen. And and what I what I learned from just uh you know, coach, you know, guys who played for them, guys who coached, guys who took over the programs for them was very interesting. And um again, deep deep division two men's lacrosse is uh where it is today because of uh Jack Kelly and Tom Post stuff.

SPEAKER_03 1:04:27

Exactly. Exactly. So before we sign off, if you listen to this podcast, you now know kind of the what we're gonna do and the in-season, the different segments. So if you have certain games that you have on your list that you would like us to watch or mention, you know, you reach out to us, DM DM us on In the Crease and on Instagram. You can reach out to me on Twitter, uh at Coach Stenny. Be the two best ways to get us. And uh and we will add that to the mix. Uh what do you think?

SPEAKER_02 1:04:54

Yeah, or even players, or even players. If there's a player out there that you think would be a great guest on on our podcast, feel free to uh uh shoot us his name and we'll try or you know, and we'll try to see what we can do to get him on. Sometimes we have to talk to the coach and the athletic director prior to getting a player on. But if you have an idea, again, shoot us a message and and we'll give it a shout-out on the show.

SPEAKER_03 1:05:21

Perfect, perfect. So I guess with that, Danny, all I can say is it's been a lot of fun with you tonight, as usual. And uh I think that's a wrap for in the creeks. That's a wrap.