It's GAME TIME!!! Our first episode of the 2025 season!

Intro

SPEAKER_04 1:43

Welcome, welcome, welcome to another episode of In the Crease with Danny and Kevin, a coast-to-coast discussion of D2 Men's lacrosse. I'm your co-host, Kevin Stenstrom, and with me as always is our own Punk Satani Phil, Danny Moran. How are you doing, Danny?

SPEAKER_03 2:01

Six more months of winter.

SPEAKER_04 2:04

Don't say that. Don't say that. So we are we're recording this on uh Sunday, January. I don't even know the date of the 26th, right? January 26th, right now. And it's in the morning, by the way. It's the morning.

SPEAKER_03 2:18

It's not even noon yet.

SPEAKER_04 2:19

Waking me up. We usually have it's usually dark outside when we're recording. Right now, I can see out my windows. We're recording this a little bit early. The season starts this Saturday, February 1st. Groundhog Day is February 2nd. But you, Danny, unfortunately, you just ruined it because when you start talking about the first week of D2 lacrosse, that's the true sign of spring. Whether it's gonna be winter or not. See, that's the true sign. You talking about that's why you're a punctatani film.

SPEAKER_03 2:55

I love your optimism, Mr. Stenstrom. First of all, how's it going this morning in Northern Virginia?

SPEAKER_04 3:01

It's bright out. It's uh, you know, it's uh daytime, which we usually don't do this. And uh what can I say, Danny? The season is here, like it is knocking on our door.

SPEAKER_03 3:18

So you gotta get this body started. It's time to start the party, Kev.

SPEAKER_04 3:22

It's time to start the party. It's time to start. I'm I'm excited.

SPEAKER_03 3:30

I figured one for the kids. We always do the old man's music every time, so I'll give them one for the kids.

SPEAKER_04 3:36

Okay, but before before we get started, Danny, because the D2 Showcase promo already was on the beginning of this podcast, we've got to do a shout-out to our new sponsors. First, our title sponsor, which people already heard, the D2 Showcase. We will talk more about them later. The second is our segment sponsor, Shad Aromatic Coffee Liz and Cops. Now, we Yeah. We have two sponsors this season, and like we've always said, Danny, we try to pick partners and try to partner with companies that we think bring value to the lacrosse community. The D2 showcases are no-brainer. But Shad Aromatic Lives and Cups. Let me tell you, I've tried this product, Danny, and they bring a new meaning to a good cup of coffee for all those early morning and or cold weather lacrosse games.

SPEAKER_03 4:33

Yeah, yeah. And what's so interesting about it, Kevin? Tell us.

SPEAKER_04 4:38

Well, because what it does is, you know, you usually have a cup of coffee in a Yeti and you have the top on it, and you don't even smell the aroma of the coffee. And one of the best things, like when you have a glass of wine, especially red wine, do you put a lid on top so you can't smell it? No. You want to smell that aroma. That's half of it. Half of your senses are your old factories, are not even in play if you're drinking out of a Yeti with a shut shut uh lid. This allows you to have that that part of the sensory also helping you with your coffee.

SPEAKER_03 5:13

So, in other words, you can smell your coffee through the lid.

SPEAKER_04 5:17

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 5:18

Well, that's interesting. I love it.

SPEAKER_04 5:20

It doesn't spill. I've I've used it in my car, I've used it as I walk. It doesn't spill.

SPEAKER_03 5:26

And it fits on like a ton of different types of cups, and it comes with a clip that you can clip onto the cup so you don't lose your shand experience aroma lid. I am very excited to have these guys as our sponsors this year, the 2025 In the Crease Knuckleheads. We we we couldn't be more excited to have them.

SPEAKER_04 5:45

Yeah, both of them. Both of them. It's it's gonna be a great, great season. And so just to recap, Danny, for our listeners, what they can expect with every in-season episode. Really the kind of the same as we did last year, same sort of format. We have we're gonna have the top ten roundup once all the teams get playing, which will be in a few weeks. We're not gonna do that until it gets going. We'll do the week in review, really starting next week, because there is no week in review this week. We'll have games to watch this week. We will pick the game of the week, and then any other lacrosse news that we've got. So it's about the same sort of thing.

SPEAKER_03 6:26

The other thing I want to- Why change a good thing, why change a thing?

SPEAKER_04 6:30

Well, here's where we're gonna change it up a little bit is we are definitely bringing back our player spotlight. However, we're gonna do a lot of other interesting things, and really the beginning of the season, that's the way it's gonna be. So we will have players, we definitely will have the player spotlight. I think you will see, like this episode, we're really gonna be talking later on with Coach Marty Ward about the D2 showcase. We're gonna talk, we're gonna have an early guest analyst probably. We're gonna have a few extra different guests on that aren't players, but the player spotlight is definitely coming back. You just gotta be a little patient with it.

SPEAKER_03 7:08

Yeah, yeah. Once the season gets started, we'll start picking out some guys and get them on the podcast and have them talk about their program and how they got started and all that stuff. I love that's my favorite part, Dev. You know that. I love talking to the players. The kids are good kids, man. And I get along with kids. I've always been good with kids, you know what I mean? And I I like talking to kids, I like treating them like men, and I think they feel comfortable with us. Sometimes a player takes a while sometimes. Sometimes a player will come on, he'll be a little nervous, and we kind of butter him up before we really start recording with him. You know, we fool around with him, but that's like one of my favorite parts. And you know what, Kev? The guest analysts, I love that too. Oh, so much fun. Because then we bring in former players in D2 that will analyze a few games with us and talk about and give us their perspective on the game, and that's really cool too. We've had some good ones in the past, and we're gonna have some good ones this year. Yeah, we're gonna have a couple of real good surprises this year.

SPEAKER_04 8:05

Yeah, yep, yep. I agree. I agree.

D2 Showcase

SPEAKER_04 8:09

All right, Danny, before we get into the games to watch this week, we want to dive a little deeper into what the D2 Showcase is all about. You know, we actually have been following them for a few years now, but once we had our recent podcast on recruiting on D2 with Coach Barrett and Coach Prusi, they gave it so much praise. I'm like, we gotta connect and see if we can partner with the D2 Showcase. So luckily, we can say now that it's gonna happen. I'm really thrilled that that's gonna happen, and we can kind of showcase the showcase on our episodes. But it's exciting, but to tonight, to really discuss that about the D2 showcase and give us a little more insight. We have a special guest with us, and that's Coach Marty Ward. He's not only the head coach of Florida Southern, but he is the head of the D2 showcase. So why don't we bring him in so we can start this conversation? Bring him in, coach. Hey coach, hey guys, thanks for having me on. Awesome to have you. Awesome to have you. It's been it's been too long to finally get getting on the podcast.

SPEAKER_03 9:15

He's got his Florida Southern mocks, sweaty on, many hoodies, like just came from practice in the cold. It's cold in Florida tonight, ain't it, Coach?

SPEAKER_00 9:23

Cold, cold down here, you know. Headbutt you guys layers. You ain't used to that, are you? No, different world.

SPEAKER_04 9:34

Okay, let's so let's just start off, coach. Why did you start the D2 showcase?

SPEAKER_00 9:41

Well, you know, being a Division II alum playing at limestone, uh, you know, back in the early 2000s, and uh, you know, coming out of Syracuse, New York, you really didn't think about D2. You had Lemoyne there in your backyard, but they were still kind of on a rise to to really notoriety, I guess, at that point. You know, I graduated in 03, so they were they were getting pretty good um at that point. Um, but you know, when when limestone reached out to me and it was like in South Carolina, it was an opportunity for me to get away from home. I I chose that opportunity and and uh I looked at the bottom of the sheet and it said, you know, national champs in D2 in 2000, 2000 and 2002. And I said, Oh wow, this is pretty cool. And I and I knew another goalie that went to uh Pace University as well that was in my section uh a couple years, maybe a year before me. And that's how I kind of got acclimated into division two, right? And uh when I got to limestone, it was you know, obviously just being in in in D2, right? And D2 had like 27 teams at that point, maybe 30, possibly right, right. You know, we just expanded into a four-team tournament. Um, you know, I think it was might have even been a three-team tournament my first year, my freshman year in 04, but um, I'm not sure. But uh, but yeah, the just the the division just continued to expand and grow. And when I I stuck around for a fifth year at limestone in 2008 and I helped coach that year uh as I graduated and and uh I started falling in love with coaching, right? So I got in love with coaching and said, hey, this is something I want to do, right? So I got into D2 and got hired by Coach Whipple and just kind of started going through the process of learning how to recruit and going on the circuit and doing all this stuff, right? And it got to the point where you know, we were starting we started running prospect days back in 2013. I still remember running our first prospect day at Florida Southern and it being like um people like on Facebook were like, well, who would want to pay to go and to get recruited? And you know, and like those were the way it was back then. Like people are still like the old mentality of of how lacrosse recruiting worked, right? And uh as as lacrosse has continued to grow and develop, right, you have to kind of stay relevant with the times, right? All these other sports have ID camps and prospect camps and satellite camps and um you know elite club camps, right? So, you know, it was like the fall of 2017, and I was like, you know, D2 just needs its own thing. I I was I was really kind of, you know, we were we were still going to everything, right? You still go to all the ones that you want to go to and and the ones that you know you get kids from. But I was like, you know, how do we how do we like how do we really highlight the coaches in D2? How do we highlight the programs in D2? How do we highlight the colleges in D2? And that that that kind of came to my, you know, came to fruition when I I called a buddy, a great friend of mine, Joel Franklin, who ran the National Cross Showcase or Classic for years, and that was a huge showcase and national event drew thousands of participants. And I pitched this idea about the D2 showcase to him. And at first we were kind of like, it's kind of niche, you know, maybe it'll work. I don't know. And the first year we had 125 kids in one location in Philadelphia, and um, and uh we had over 25 Division II coaches attended that first showcase. And uh yeah, and it was cool the first year. What we did was to just kind of get it popping, right? It was uh I got I I called a friend of mine at Maverick, and we got custom gloves made for the all-stars. So the guys got to wear these custom Maverick gloves when they went on the field, and and uh, and then we kind of hit like a little bit of a lull in 2019. Uh, you know, kind of was kind of took a downturn a little bit because I I expanded really quickly. Like I was like, gotta talk to Chris and Charlotte. That's an emerging area, can't just sit in Philly, and then um, and then uh Jimmy Lang was in uh at Lindenwood. And I said, Well, you know, Midwest, man. I I've never been to St. Louis, let's run a camp out there. So we kind of just came together and said, let's do this thing together. And and uh for a couple years we ran it that way. And I mean, we even ran through COVID in 2020. But it was a camp. We didn't do any there was no notes, it was uh it was no uh no contact period, right? It was just a uh you could just go to camps at that point, right? Okay, and get get this, right? To run that event in 2020, I drove from Lakeland, Florida to St. Louis, to Philly, to Charlotte, back to Lakeland. And we ran three, we ran three camps in nine days. And because you know you only had that little window, right? Like back then they would shut things down. You didn't know if a county was gonna shut down or what it was gonna do.

SPEAKER_03 14:43

Right, right.

SPEAKER_00 14:44

So so we kind of kept it alive that year. Um it and me and my assistant at the time, DJ Lube's a former All-American with me, uh alumni. He did the road trip with me. He's a trooper for that one. I'll never forget him on that one. And and uh, and and and and and then it kind of just kind of kept booming, right? Like 2021 came around, started getting a little bit bigger. 2022 came around, was we started getting bigger. 2023 came around, it was like we brought in Coach Peruzzi at Lewis to Chicago, you know, and now it was like, all right, we got Chicago, Charlotte, and Philly. And then I added Florida in the fall. And it's like now you have four locations, all hotbed areas of Division II, Midwest, Northeast, Southeast, and then Florida. And the coaches have just been fantastic. Every coach that we've worked that has worked our event, has worked our showcase. I can't commend them enough for the energy they bring, the just the overall commitment level and consistency that they bring to the day. Because when the kids show up, it's not just like roll the ball out and play. It's we're gonna put you through a couple drills. I want to see what you got, positional, get to know the coaches, and and and the kids are very receptive to that. And the coaches love to do a little clinic before, anyway, you know, see what kids post what they're all about. So um it's really been great. And we've had, I believe, almost over 45 programs in division two represented throughout the throughout the years, and and and uh last summer alone, I think we had over 50% of the division represented um, you know, at our showcases. So um, you know, it's a really great opportunity for coaches that want to come and grab one, two, three guys, you know, to really put it, circle it on their calendar, put it on the map, come work it and and and get to know other D2 coaches too. It's a really good bonding, you know, for the coaches and get to know each other a little bit more and and for young assistant coaches to to show up to and get to know some of these head coaches. And and then that's really what I want like to pride ourselves on is you know, when we do the coaches' intros at D2 Showcases, it's like it's like eight head coaches out of 17 coaches. I don't know how many camps you guys get like this. I mean, but we got almost 50% of the coaches here are are HCs, you know. This is a this is your time, right? So um it's it's just been a labor of love, man. It's just been a lot of fun and being able to to really just brighten the D2, you know, shine that light on D2 lacrosse. I mean, it's really good lacrosse. So, you know, uh try and just get it a little bit no more notoriety and more become a household name.

SPEAKER_03 17:30

So in 2021, my youngest son attended the D2 showcase in Charlotte. And yeah, and it was really well done, coach. I mean, it was really well done. Kevin, they it was so organized. And like you said, you know, coaches were you know lined up, they put them through drills, defensemen went on one side, attackmen went over there, middies went over there, and they were getting one-on-one with coaches and going through the drills. And these kids, most of them were juniors. There might have been a couple of sophomore high school kids out there, but most of them were juniors going into their senior year, and there were some like really good players there. And like I said, I really liked the way it was done in the morning, went through all those drills in the afternoon, played them up, you know, a couple of teams playing against each other and just you know, going out and playing ball and having fun. It looked really good.

SPEAKER_04 18:20

Yeah. So let me so let me ask you this, Coach, and that's a great segue, Danny. What do you want the players to get out of the showcase?

SPEAKER_00 18:32

I I mean, I want them to get exposure. I mean, honestly, that's my that's my big piece. Like, yeah, I want them to take coaching tips and I want them to take a little bit back to their high school team or their club team or something they can even keep internally and and use for their game, right? Individually. But I I I want to maximize exposure for every young man that shows up and attends the showcase. And that's why we like to do the all-star games, that's why we like to publish those names. Um, that's why we like to, you know, really, you know, highlight some of those guys um that that really shine at those showcases. And um, and it's competitive, you know. Yeah, sometimes, you know, it can be hot, obviously. Every every showcase is hot, but um, when you have 20 to 25 coaches there watching you play, I mean, and it's a division two only showcase, there's gonna be opportunities for you if you go out there and care of 100, 100.

SPEAKER_03 19:31

I agree with that.

SPEAKER_00 19:32

You know, we're we're really big on the maximizing um exposure.

SPEAKER_04 19:37

So, do you also think, coach, that have you seen it over the past few years, that the players that come, do you think most of them are already thinking D2? Because I remember back in the day, my son, you know, was one of the ones, probably still in his freshman year in high school, which he wouldn't have been at that showcase, but would it was more of a D1 or bus kind of guy. Do you do you think you because of the exposure you give these these players, they start to understand what kind of opportunities that D2 can actually bring to them?

SPEAKER_00 20:08

Well, I I don't think it's the just because of my showcase, our showcase that that that's why uh young men's wheels are starting to spin about D2. I think it's I think it's a a combination of a lot of things. There's a lot of really good lacrosse and exposure in D2 right now. So um the types of schools that are playing Division II lacrosse right now that weren't playing Division II lacrosse 10, 15 years ago, I think has really changed the type of universities and colleges, especially. Um, but at the same time, it doesn't hurt that if you're a sophomore, you know, in high school and you're thinking about D2, that there's one a D2 showcase in Charlotte when you're six hours away and you're like, hey, I can't get a plane here, I can't do this. I got a club tournament then, but this date works. Hey, let me let me go to this showcase, see what I got as a sophomore, and and you're pretty good and you make the all-star team. That that that won't hurt your exposure, right? And it won't hurt opportunities. So um, you know, we we do have a lot of young men that come to D2 showcases and they end up going playing high-level division three, and they some go play division one, and uh a lot of kids find places to play regardless, right? But um, I know a lot of the coaches that come to our showcases really do a good job recruiting uh from the D2 showcases uh each year. You know what?

SPEAKER_03 21:32

I think it's a good idea for kids to do showcases too. I mean, I'm a long, I'm a Long Island guy, so you know on Long Island, it's D1 or Bust, you know, and you know it's it there's a lot of club teams on Long Island and it's super duper competitive. And which town team's got a better town team? And it's like it's really competitive. But you know what? If you're not out there, you can play with your club team. What if your club team ain't going to the right tournaments? Right. And that and that happens. There are clubs there that can go that aren't aren't at the you know the tournaments maybe that they should be at. Yeah. Where those kids could get more exposure. So you know that happened with my youngest. He that club team wasn't really getting him in the right direction. And I said, you know what, Joe? Let's go try a couple of showcases. We did a D a D3 showcase in Salisbury. Uh, coach, what's his name? Uh, ran a great showcase. And then I we went to the D2. We missed the Philly one again on Long Island. It would have been great to go to Philly, right? But we wound up going down to Charlotte anyway, and it was great. It was a great weekend. And it was, like I said, it was an excellent showcase. And there was more than 25 coaches there.

SPEAKER_00 22:45

There was it could be packed. And and um, and the other thing on that, Danny, just like to think about is like um right, when we go to these club tournaments, we only are going to see a game for 20 minutes sometimes so that we can maximize our funds and our and our and our time, right? So if your son's a goalie or or uh I'm telling you, goalies and face-off guys, if you're not going to showcases as an individual to to really get in front of coaches that you you know you you're interested in their schools, whether it's a northeast showcase, southeast, whatever it is, if you're not going to these things, um, it could really be hit or miss sometimes for some of these guys are kind of tweeners. Um maybe they're a backup on their high school team and they go to a really good high school team and they're starters of stud, right? It's like, man, like how you gonna get seen? How are you gonna know? You know, so you get kids that show up to these events and you walk away and you're like, man, like that kid's pretty good. Like, I want to call that kid right now, you know, at these. Um, and and and I think the other thing is like, you know, just us being just D2, it doesn't feel so much like you're showing up and you don't know which coaches are gonna be there. Yeah, sometimes it's like, hey, you know, yeah, we we wish we had this school, this school, this school, this school, this school here, but this is our list. Like, and we let people know our list, you know, ahead of time. Like, these are the 20 schools committed to being there. Will there be walk-ups? Yes. Will there be coaches that don't show? Yes. But it's not one of those showcases where you just kind of sign up and hope for the best. I hope I hope Hopkins is there, right? Like, I hope that something's there, right? It's like you know what you're gonna, you know what you're getting into when you sign up. So I think that that's another plus for the event as well.

SPEAKER_04 24:40

Yeah, and I want to key on something else, Coach, that you said. I just want to I want to I think emphasize it. You have four locations, I think strategically located. You talked about, you know, six out being like six hours between Charlotte or you know, four hours in a hotbed of Philly and having one in Illinois and having one down in Florida. I assume that was done on purpose, just specifically for that reason.

SPEAKER_00 25:05

Yeah, it was really done because of the geography of where the players and the schools are for Division II, right? Like we've been, I've been fielding, you know, feelers from places like California, Oregon, um, Texas, um, you know, even more in the Midwest and uh, you know, the Buffalo, even upstate New York, Buffalo, Syracuse, uh, Vermont, um, you know, these these areas, a lot of people are like, hey, can we try and get something going up here? Can we do this here? And I I really look at it like these are the best spots right now to run these events to maximize exposure for the kids. Because if we go out there and we fly out the to California and and we fly eight, ten coaches out there and we're in California, that's great. You know, it's awesome. I love the it'd be an unbelievable experience for everybody. But are we maximizing the exposure for all the kids, you know, with the schools that can just drive to the showcase? Or this just these eight to six schools that can make the, you know, that have the budgets to get out there for the show. So I really look at it that way too. I protect the colleges so that makes sense. It's like, hey, it's driving distance for your school, you should come, you know, and and and I think that that's that's really been a plus for exposure for kids, too.

SPEAKER_03 26:29

It makes total sense. Yeah, you know, it's fine, it's financial feasible, it's all all of the above. For everybody, for everybody, right? Right, it's all of the above, right?

SPEAKER_04 26:37

So, and what would you say at switching topics? What is the usual ratio? Is there an average ratio of players to coaches when you do this? Or is there something you're uh a number you're going for?

SPEAKER_00 26:48

We we like we like to keep it between 17 to 18 to 20 kids on a team with two coaches per team.

SPEAKER_04 26:56

Wow.

SPEAKER_00 26:57

So if we can do 120 kids, right? Um, if we do 120 kids and have six teams, right, we got 12 coaches that are coaching those teams. The other three, four, five, six, seven, eight coaches that are there, you know, will coach the clinics and do things like that. But a lot of it is is those those 12 coaches that we hire that are like, you know, hey, this school's gonna be here. He's coaching the team, he's coaching a team, right? That ratio to about 20 kids per team if we can. A lot of times it ends up being right about you know, 16 to 18 kids on a team, and that's it's even better. That maximum all the playing time for you throughout the day, right?

SPEAKER_04 27:41

Right, right. 100%. That's that's awesome. Like that you talk about not only exposure, but the opportunity for these players to get that almost really like you were talking about, Danny, that one-on-one. Like you know, two coaches for 20. I mean, you're not gonna get that when you're on a college team.

SPEAKER_03 28:01

Well, like these kids were going through drills, and a coach stopped the kid, you know, literally stopped him. Hey, listen, when you're doing that, let's get our hand here and we want to, you know, get our check there so the guy doesn't roll back, you know, like he was teaching. You know, that's that's awesome. That's awesome. You know, the kid, you know, he's he's gonna pay a couple of bucks to go to the showcase. And and if he's gonna be taught by a coach, what better? You know, what better? The guy stopped me. Okay, he stopped me. He showed me something, something I didn't know. Next time when I do the drill, I'm gonna do that, you know. It was good. You know, these kids are getting taught, and they're learning the NCAA game by NCAA coaches.

SPEAKER_04 28:42

So I'll close with this question, coach. What do you think makes the D2 showcase special over other ones that that you know about?

SPEAKER_00 28:53

I think you know, the the quality of of the event, the consistency of the event um are really things we hang our hat on. Um, you know, you show up to a D2 showcase, you know you're gonna have high-level college coaches there that are there to recruit. They're not just there to uh to sit in a chair and and and maybe you know make a couple bucks on the side, right? They're there to recruit.

SPEAKER_04 29:18

Right.

SPEAKER_00 29:18

And they're there to find some players. And then at the same time, um, you know, I think our communication as a showcase and our um, you know, like I said, our consistency in in terms of how we deal with our with our with our clientele, our players, our customers, our our people, right? Like I like to make sure that uh we're fair with the kids. You know, we're not gonna um, you know, we're not gonna like uh like a couple years ago we had a bunch of goalies sign up for one of them, and it was a big mishap on my my part. And I I wrote an email directly to every parent of the goalies like this is on me, like it's not on anybody else. This is my fault. We we had too many keepers, like we we need to make sure we do this better next time. I apologize, you know, in advance for you know, but we did what we could, right? Like we made it, you know, we we almost made a little bit of a goalie camp out of part of it. So it was like we we shifted it, and that was a you know, that was a really cool thing we did as a as a coaching group. We really kind of like how do we how do we make sure these goalies get the looks, right? And improvise, adapt and improvise. And I think it's it's run by college coaches, yeah, right. Like it's run by college coaches, so so we're all having a vested interest in what it looks like and what it feels like. We don't want it to show up and feel right not professional, not top of the line, right? So, so we we do a really good job with that, and I and I also feel like our you our uniforms that we present to the players are are unique. You know, they get a short and a penny every every kid, you know. So that's that's different than other showcases. And then um, and then like I said, the exposure. Like if if I'm at the D2 showcase, if I'm at the D2 showcase, which I'm at every single one, right, and you're good, I'm gonna call you. Like it's it happens. So it's like that's the the exposure level is just a little different than other showcases, you know. And and and I also know that if I reach out to this young man, you know, from wherever, let's just say um from Louisiana or Tennessee at the Charlotte Showcase. Maybe I never saw the kid ever before. I reach out to him and he's interested in us, he's gonna get right back to us. You know, as a college coach, it's like, man, if I'm looking for D2 guys, the guys that can play high-level D2, you know, I probably should attend one of these showcases and find a couple guys.

SPEAKER_04 31:44

That's awesome. That's awesome. It's been great having you on, coach, and and hearing more about the showcase. I will tell you this every the last two summers, as I'm scrolling through Instagram and I see the things on D2 Showcase, and I'm like, I gotta go to the one in Philly or or in Charlotte. And then I see it coming up. I'm like, damn, it's on a Wednesday. I'm working that I didn't work it out. I have already blocked off Philly June 15th. I think that's the date on my calendar. 25th. 25th. So on the 25th, I've already marked it off on my calendar and I'm taking the day off and I'm driving up to Philly to see it.

SPEAKER_03 32:23

Like I said, Kevin, my my youngest attended the one in 2021 in Charlotte. It was really well done. There was a ton of coaches. It was a beautiful morning, too, you know. So that that made it even better. It wasn't cold, you know what I'm saying? It was just a beautiful day, and uh it was really well done. And my son wound up going to a D2 school, you know. And and we are so happy to have this partnership with you, coach, really. You know, we're all about D2 in this podcast when we speak nothing but D2, and we try to bring a positive light to it. You know, we don't really talk X's and O's too much, you know.

SPEAKER_00 33:00

We try to talk about teams and players and trying to spotlight squads and it really is the same kind of thing, Danny, that D2 Showcase is doing is trying to just spotlight the division, right? And uh exactly bring it out so that people know that it's a viable option with really great colleges and universities. That, you know, if you need an op, if you want an option for college, it doesn't have to be D1 or bust, or or I don't have to go play, you know, at my local D3. I can go and look and see if there's a coach out there that wants me to come play for him and and invest in me, right?

SPEAKER_07 33:33

And it's right, right.

SPEAKER_00 33:34

That's the exciting part about uh you know division two is we get that opportunity with the athletic scholarships. You know, it's just a little bit different vibe, you know. So um yeah, I it it is it is it is awesome. It's awesome.

SPEAKER_03 33:48

And I'm excited to be partnered up with you guys, and we'll talk about the D2 showcase all year long and we'll bring it up all the time. Got to get it out to those high school kids, you know. Oh, yeah, get it out to these high school coaches, get these podcasts going, and and and coach couldn't be happier to have this partnership with you.

SPEAKER_00 34:06

I'm excited too. I know we're thrilled, so I'm really excited.

SPEAKER_03 34:11

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Games to watch

SPEAKER_04 35:40

Danny, that was a lot of fun having Coach Marty Ward on. We didn't get to talk Florida Southern Mox too much, but we did talk a lot of D2 showcase, which was really interesting to me how well that showcase has run.

SPEAKER_03 35:58

It's a really good one. Like I said, my my youngest son went to it, and it was just so well organized and just really well done. A ton of coaches out there, a ton of kids. It was just a great, well-run, you know, showcase, and kids are gonna get looks. I mean, the high school kids got to find out about this. This podcast, this podcast to find out about the stuff that's available at in the D2 world. And this showcase is one of the highlights, if you ask me.

SPEAKER_04 36:25

I agree, and I think what Marty said about exposure, the amount of coaches that go to it, not only the ones that are coaching it or doing the drills, the amount the overall amount of D2 coaches, and if you play well, you're gonna get calls.

SPEAKER_03 36:44

Oh, yeah. My son, right after that showcase, within like a week, started getting emails from all the South Region, you know, teams, the Belmont Abbeys, the you know, those types of teams. It was great, you know, it was a really good showcase. And but you know what? It's like I said, it was a great showcase. And I think Coach Ward and everybody that's involved with the D2 showcase, it it's a lot. It's a lot, yeah. What these guys have to do. It's it's you know, they're these guys are getting pennies, they're getting shorts, you know, and and just so much that goes into it. Hotels, and you know, it's just it's just a big, big part of getting exposure for your son and and and trying to get him a lacrosse scholarship somewhere.

SPEAKER_04 37:29

Yeah, I totally agree. I totally agree. All right, let's move on to the games to watch this week.

SPEAKER_03 37:38

Here we go, man. We're finally here, Kat.

SPEAKER_04 37:41

I can't believe it. It's awesome.

SPEAKER_03 37:44

I am looking forward to some. Oh, I'll do it again. There we go. I'm looking forward to some quality lacrosse this year.

SPEAKER_04 37:57

Ding, ding, ding. I'm with you 100%. All right, let me kick it off. The first one I had, Danny, on my list is Anderson versus Young Harris. Here's why. I named last week in our top 20 Young Harris as a dark horse team, a team to watch out for. This is a tough game for them right out of the shoot. They don't have to win to impress, but what can they do? Can they make it close? Can they make it competitive? And if you look at Anderson, they kind of had a down year last year. So do they bounce back? And who becomes their goalie? Some things I'm gonna be looking at at this game. I think it's gonna be an exciting game. I would not be surprised if it's very close.

SPEAKER_03 38:42

Yeah, Anderson's home though, Kev. So that's a little advantage to them. You know, Young Harris is on the road. But you know what? We talked about Young Harris in the conference previews, and this is a team that's you know really trending upwards.

SPEAKER_06 38:56

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 38:56

You know, and and and they're doing some pretty good things at Young Harris in a short period of time. Remember, they didn't even have a team a couple of years ago, right after COVID. So to see them do so well and to you know have Anderson on their slate first game, I think that's a big test for Young Harrison. And um that should be a game to watch both teams, like you said. Yeah, Anderson bounce back, or does Young Harris keep it close, or even pull up the upset? That's a good one. Good to watch. Okay. Well, who who do you have on your list? I have, I think is gonna be a really good game, is the uh Flagler hosts Emory Riddle. Yep, I had that on my list too. I think, you know, two good teams, you know, two well-coached teams. Um, I just I don't know. This is gonna be a battle. Like I like Flagler, you know that. I like them. I think Coach is just. Well, you know what? I still think that they have some room to improve, you know, but this could be their year, you know. This could be their year. Let's watch these first couple of games with Flagler. You know what? Emory Riddles, no joke.

SPEAKER_04 40:06

There's no easy team in the Sunshine State. And John Jez, he got to Emory Riddles are gonna be better this year than they were last year.

SPEAKER_03 40:14

Instantly better by stepping on campus last year. They be they completely improved in almost every category. Now he's got a couple of his guys in there. You know what I mean now?

SPEAKER_04 40:25

Yeah, and those post-transfers, I'm really curious to see how they help out.

SPEAKER_03 40:30

Unbelievable. It's gonna be a big boost for those guys. I think that's gonna be a pretty good game, the Emery Riddle uh Flagler game.

SPEAKER_04 40:38

Totally agree. I totally agree. All right, another most of these are in the south, but let's go to how about Coker versus Lander?

SPEAKER_03 40:47

That's gonna be a good game, Kev.

SPEAKER_04 40:49

Yeah. Coker returns all its top scores. I think that's key. It's this is but this is gonna be a test. Lander, on the other hand, this is gonna be a test for them to see how well they're gonna go into the SAC conference. Because Lander is no joke. They've lost a lot in turnover, but you know they're a good team. So how will they match up against a team like Coker, who's bringing back so much? This is gonna be a close game, I think.

SPEAKER_03 41:20

Yeah, and Coker's home. I think that gives them a little bit of advantage, you know. So Lander's on the road to start their season. Um, Lander's got a lot of teams, like really big teams on their schedule this year. They really have made a move to up their schedule. And, you know, looking for those strength of schedule points at the end of the year and that type of thing. Um, I think it's gonna be a pretty good game. This I don't know who's gonna win this one. I can't pick it. Yeah, I agree with you. I agree with you. I think we're in for a whole new look this year, you know, with a lot of teams. So it should be a good one. All right. Who else do you have? Well, I like Well, you know, you how about the Maryville LR game?

SPEAKER_04 42:08

I had that down as well. What do you think? They were nine and ten on my list. Are they that close? You know, am I am I a good am I a sooth sayer or just a knucklehead? I think we'll find out on Saturday. Look at Maryville, they bring they bring back a lot, you know. So what do they do with this early matchup against really just a a standard for D2 lacrosse against Lenore Ryan, but Lenore Ryan is coming in with 32 new players. So are they really have they really gelled yet? I don't know. And they're playing in a neutral site, they're playing in Hendersonville, Tennessee.

SPEAKER_03 42:56

Yeah. I don't know, man. Meryville's a good team. I like the way they run their offense, they move the ball, they assist, they're they're a good, well-coached team. Um, I don't know, you know, LR. I I gotta see. I gotta see. But they still have Mancini. Yep. You know? They still have Mancini, so he's gonna get possessions. I mean, that kid is really, really good at the faceoff dot. So I am intrigued for this game. And Meryville and Lenore Ryan, it's one o'clock this Saturday. Should be a barn burner, Kev.

SPEAKER_07 43:33

Should be a barn burner.

SPEAKER_04 43:35

Totally agree. All right, another one on my list is Virginia State versus Emory and Henry. First game ever for Emory and Henry against a second year program in Virginia State.

SPEAKER_03 43:53

Yeah, EH gets on the board, they're gonna make it their first ground balls and their first. Statistics in the books for Emory and Henry. I'm excited for checks.

SPEAKER_04 44:03

I am too. Now they've got a small roster of like 18. Virginia State was there last year. Now they're up to close to 30. I I've got to give the nod towards Virginia State, obviously, if you look at just experience and depth. But look at this starts the D2 journey for those guys, those players at Emory and Henry. So welcome aboard. Welcome to D2.

SPEAKER_03 44:26

Yep.

SPEAKER_04 44:28

It'll be fun to see him. It'll be fun to get him going.

SPEAKER_03 44:30

I like Virginia State in that one too, Kev.

SPEAKER_04 44:34

All right.

SPEAKER_03 44:34

Who else do you have on your huge, huge game, but I think it's kind of important. And uh that's John Grant Jr.'s first game as a head coach at Lees McRae going down to Wingate this week. So it's his first game at Division II. And you know what, Kev, I know they're gonna have some numbers problems at Lees McCrae, but they're going to be coached. They are going to be a different team than what you've seen in the past as far as Lees McCrae. And I think, you know, once Coach gets his feet, you know, in there, you know, stuck in the mud real well and gets those players to get there, I think this program's gonna go up and trend up pretty fast. But again, what I like, what I want to see is like how this team is coached, what they're gonna do on the offensive side of the field. I am going to be attending that game to watch John Grant Jr.'s first game at Wingate. So I'm excited for that.

SPEAKER_04 45:37

Yeah, that you you said it well, and I can't say it any better. It you know, on paper, it should be easy for Wingate, right? But this is John Grant Jr. Does he have this guy's? It'll be interesting to see like the first quarter and second quarter, right? Because I think after a while, I would think that Wingate's just gonna wear him down. But how much juice do they have? How do they play? It'll be it'll be fun to watch just to see the what he has started to do at Lee's McRae.

SPEAKER_03 46:10

I'm I'm gonna venture to say that uh Lee's McRae's defense is probably gonna play a lot of zone tomorrow, uh Saturday. That's just my opinion. I don't know. I I you know I have yet to see what's gonna you know come about, but I have a feeling, you know, when you have low numbers and you're playing a team like a national powerhouse like Wingate, you know, with with attack units and midis and like just you know a gauntlet of players that can play. Um, I have a feeling they're gonna be sitting in a zone and making Wingate try to shoot from outside. Yeah, making it tough to get into it.

SPEAKER_04 46:43

Very good point.

SPEAKER_03 46:44

Very good point. We'll see. We'll see. But um, congratulations to John Grant Jr. and go get him, coach. Let's see what happens.

SPEAKER_04 46:51

Love it. I love it. Okay, I've got one game later on in the week. It's gonna be Wednesday, the 5th of February, and that's Mars Hill against Montevallo. Now, both will have already played a game. Montevallo plays Emmanuel on on Saturday, and Mars Hill's against Belmont Abbey. But I think this is a little bit better of a matchup. Monavalo graduated a lot more than Mars Hill, but they still bring back a strong team. Can Mars Hill make this game competitive? I think them playing Belmont Abbey to start off, which is a very tough team. I had him in my top 20. I think Mars Hill is gonna make this a game. And I think it's gonna be a good good game.

SPEAKER_03 47:35

We'll see. I don't know. It's hard to tell. I mean, it's first game, it's uh we'll see. We'll have to see about that one. Montevallo and Mars Hill. I have to say Montevallo's gonna have you give him the upper hand just from history over the past few years.

SPEAKER_04 47:55

Right, exactly. But you know, I think Mars Hill is starting to build. Now he this is his second year, right? So he's still trying to build his roster the way he wants it. Exactly. So we'll have to see. Do you have any others on your list?

SPEAKER_03 48:09

That's it. I mean, there's other games this week. It's the first week. There's like one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, about fifteen, sixteen games this weekend. Yeah.

unknown 48:18

It's great.

SPEAKER_03 48:19

All in mostly in the South, Kev. Couple of couple of GLVC teams with Maryville. And yeah. But uh, I like that flag Loremary Riddle. I think that's going to be a really good game.

Game of the Week

SPEAKER_02 48:31

Howdy, folks, and this is the game of the week brought to you by the two headset in the creeks, bringing you the game that we believe is the best thing in all of teaching the pros to watch this week.

SPEAKER_01 48:46

We bring it all here at the Teen of the Week.

SPEAKER_04 49:10

All right, Danny. Time to turn to the game of the week. And this week, you and I have chosen Florida Southern versus limestone.

SPEAKER_03 49:26

Yeah, I think that's the big game of the week, I think. What do you think?

SPEAKER_04 49:30

Totally agree. We both had limestone in our top two. You had Florida Southern in your top ten. How close is this game gonna be? Look what Florida Southern did last year in their first game, beating Wingate. Can they repeat that this year?

SPEAKER_03 49:49

Yes, they can. They can. They can. They have Jacob Chiz. All right. He's he's gonna be an enormous player this year in Division II at the face off. And he is gonna be pumped to play limestone. And Florida Southern's home, man. They're home. Home crowd. Yeah. You know, hopefully they get some nice weather. It's been a little chilly in Florida.

SPEAKER_04 50:16

Yeah. Now, and they have Mikey Simone in net. And if you look at it on paper, they had to revamp their defense. We talked when we talked to Coach Ward off podcast, he said, This is another one. They lose guys like Nick Shannon. But this is another one where it could be additioned by subtraction for their defense. That they're actually more in sync as a unit now than they were last year.

SPEAKER_03 50:55

Yeah, Florida Southern is deep too, Kev. They have a lot of kids on their roster. And so does Limestone. Limestone brings back Mike McGarry, Zach Terry, boys. These boys are badass, all right? Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 51:07

And you know, they so Florida Southern's defense is going to have to be stout.

SPEAKER_03 51:13

Jacob Chiz, here he comes. He's gotta get the he's gotta get the ball. He's gotta get offensive possessions.

SPEAKER_04 51:19

Yeah, they look at it's almost like if you look at the scenario, Florida Southern winning the ball early, scoring early, and then trying to ride it out because limestone's gonna come and they're gonna come after you. They love to play chaotic.

SPEAKER_03 51:39

They're a very well-coached team. Coach Storyer coaches the shit out of those guys. They are a well-oiled machine, they're always deep, they're limestone. That's why I have them at number one this year, Kev.

SPEAKER_04 51:50

And I'll tell you, when I say they play chaotic, it's not that they don't know what they're doing.

SPEAKER_03 51:55

It's just aggressive. Yeah. They play aggressive, they're an aggressive team, you know, and that's what good teams do. They they get aggressive, you know. But Florida Southern, they have players there, man. This could be this could be a little bit closer than I think most people would think.

SPEAKER_04 52:16

Look at last year. They shocked Wingate. I was shocked that they beat Wingate last year.

SPEAKER_03 52:23

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 52:23

I would not be shocked. Even though I think limestone has the upper hand, I would not be shocked to see Florida Southern come away with this win.

SPEAKER_03 52:33

No, I wouldn't either. It would be an upset. It would be an upset. Yes, totally. I think again, I think Florida Southern is deep. They have some really good players in key positions. Their defense is strong. They could give limestone a game, man.

SPEAKER_04 52:51

100%.

Shout outs

SPEAKER_04 52:52

Before we go, Danny, we have to shout out. We did it last year, but it was even bigger this year. Shout out to the feedback we've gotten on our top 20. Yeah, we got some lot of feedback. Yeah. Look at first of all, players, coaches, parents, fans, answering our search for Mike Jensen. I can't tell you how many messages I got that saying that he's at St. Leo now. And I think that's great. Like, look at we put that out there. Please help us out. Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom. Like it was like six, seven, eight different people messaging us where Mike Jensen is. I loved it. I loved it. Then some others, just to catch up, you know, we got some others. Chaz Goodman's no longer at UMO. He graduated. He's now a coach at William Peace. Oh, wow. Great. Good for him. Awesome. Angus Snow is no longer at Belmont Abbey. He transferred to D1 Wagner. Wow.

SPEAKER_03 53:59

Staten Island? Yeah. Oh boy.

SPEAKER_04 54:01

To go to Wagner. I'd personally stay at Belmont Abbey, but that's me.

SPEAKER_03 54:06

I totally would have stayed at Belmont Abbey.

SPEAKER_04 54:09

Drew Wheeler transferred from Barton to St. Leo as well.

SPEAKER_03 54:14

Wow. So St.

SPEAKER_04 54:16

Leo's got some playas.

SPEAKER_03 54:19

And on defense, too, kid.

SPEAKER_04 54:22

Also, Danny. A lot of people were curious. Where did your number three and your number seven end up? Where is Lenore Ryan supposed to be in your lineup? The fans want to know.

SPEAKER_03 54:40

All right, I gotta pull it up. Hold on. I got it. All right, my top ten. I'll go with my quick top ten. Ready? Yeah, I'm ready. Number one, number one, limestone, number two, Adelphi, number three, Tampa, number four, wingate, number five, pace, number six, Seton Hill, number seven, LR, number eight, Rollins, number nine, Florida Southern, and number ten, Rockhurst. Those are my top ten. Sorry for the screw up, folks.

SPEAKER_04 55:14

I love it. I love that. Now it's clear people will be very happy. They can now be at peace for the rest of the season knowing because then now they can come back to us and where we're really messed up. Remember, this is just preseason. It's a preseason poll.

unknown 55:27

Right.

SPEAKER_04 55:28

But I have to tell you, oh, by the way, there are people that think you're closer on your targets than mine. So, you know, that you're more the soothsayer and I'm more the knucklehead. We'll see how that goes, too.

SPEAKER_03 55:39

I don't know if that's true, man. I don't know if that's true at all.

SPEAKER_04 55:44

I do have one bone to pick, though, Danny. Seton Hill posted on their Instagram once the Inside Lacrosse top 20 came out, that the first D2 preseason poll is upon us. Come on, Coach Novotney. In the crease was first. And we had you both ranked in our top 10. And Inside Lacrosse had you at like 13. So who do you want to believe?

SPEAKER_03 56:12

Do we put much faith into inside lacrosse anyway?

SPEAKER_04 56:16

I looked at theirs, Danny, and like we talked about ours. Theirs is probably as good as ours is. I don't think you can really, really tell. I I I agreed with ours more than theirs, but that's because you and I got to talk it out. The other one I have to mention, this isn't a bone, this is a shout out to Roberts Wesleyan, who actually posted on their Instagram that we had them in our top 20.

SPEAKER_03 56:38

Get them RW.

SPEAKER_04 56:43

But in the end, Danny, you've got to love the passion of the fans out there toward their teams and their insight and their perspective and how they come back to us with answers and updates and letting us know where we got it wrong. I mean, it makes it makes this podcast better when we we have that.

SPEAKER_03 57:03

It's awesome, the engagement we have with our fans. It's awesome, man. I I'm blown away by it every single time, every single time. Two knuckleheads starting a podcast on a whim, and people are like, you know, chiming in. And I love it. It's great. We're getting all this information that we can't get sometimes, and it's it's it's great to have that interaction with with the people. Exactly. All right, what shout-outs do you have? Well, I only have one shout out tonight, and that's the Concordia University of Irvine. You guys rock. We got your swag, guys. We got it. Kev, nice hat, right? Yeah, got a nice t-shirt. But even better was a pint glass with the CUI lacrosse, man.

SPEAKER_04 57:50

It's sweet.

SPEAKER_03 57:51

It's sweet. Yeah. So you guys rock. We appreciate the swag and go get them this year, guys.

SPEAKER_04 57:58

Last shout out goes to our sponsors for this season. First, our title sponsor, the D2 Showcase. Look at if you play in D2 and listen to this, or have a son playing in D2, or you're a coach in high school, tell your neighbors, your players, about the D2 showcase. It is worth it. Second, if you're going to the D2 showcase, or you have an early or cold game, pick up a shad lid so that you can enjoy the aroma of your coffee while you drink it. That's what I think, Danny. Shout out to both of them.

SPEAKER_03 58:39

Excellent, excellent job. Awesome.

SPEAKER_04 58:42

First week of the season is upon us, Danny.

SPEAKER_03 58:48

It's time to get the party started, Kev. I'll be going to a tailgate this Saturday. I'm excited to get on a plane and get the hell out of New York for a weekend and go watch some across. I'm excited. So we're gonna get that party started.

SPEAKER_04 59:05

And with that, Danny, that's a wrap. That's a wrap, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 59:37

But also a four by first.