The Changing Coaching Landscape of D2 Men's Lacrosse (Part 3)

SPEAKER_03 0:09

Welcome, welcome, welcome to another episode of In the Crease with Danny and Kevin, a coast to coast discussion of D2 Men's Across. I'm your co-host, Kevin Stenstrom, and with me is Rockaway's favorite son, Danny Moran. Hey Danny.

SPEAKER_04 0:25

Rock, rock, rock, Rockaway Beach. Yes. You pulled that one out of your hat. You went into the history books. Yeah. I'm originally from Rockaway Beach, New York. Yes. And uh I'm doing great, Kev. Thank you so much for that one. And how are you doing tonight?

SPEAKER_03 0:41

I'm I'm doing really well. As you remember, this episode, we're focusing on changes in two specific conferences, the GMAC and the SAC. But before we go there, I'm just curious. You know, we've done two. This is we've done two. We've got two more to go of kind of the the coaching carousel, coaching changes. What do you think so far?

SPEAKER_04 1:06

It's been an interesting run. I mean, um, let's start just with Tampa and their and their hire. It's a perfect hire. And we've we went to limestone and with Coach Storier, and I think that's a perfect hire. Um, we talked about Joe Turner going to Mars Hill and how exciting that is to be a head coach. We had young coaches that are coming into their own with with some pedigree, and and we've gotten some storied coaches, and it's it's been great. It's been a great little series of podcasts so far. And tonight is gonna be no different, Kev, because we have three really good ones again.

SPEAKER_03 1:50

Exactly. All right, Danny, let's move to the GMAC now. Um, Davis and Elkins, which you know, for several years really has not done much. They have they brought in a new coach. His name is David Pomeroy. He was hired as the woman's head coach for lacrosse in June. A month later, he was named as the director of lacrosse and the men's head coach.

SPEAKER_04 2:18

Wow. Wow, you know, that's in a way that's kind of bizarre to me. Yeah, I I I've never heard of such a thing, to be honest with you. Uh to have a uh a coach that's hired to be a woman's coach and then two months later become also the men's coach. That's interesting. And he's the director of lacrosse at the college as well. Yeah, so there's a there's a lot on his plate without a big hat full of stuff that he's got to deal with, and I would be really interested in speaking with him to see just how in the heck he's gonna do it.

SPEAKER_03 2:56

Yeah, so unfortunately, Coach Palmer, I couldn't be on, but uh his assistant, he did hire an assistant coach who does have experience in D2, and that's uh Coach Josh Buzzard. So let's let's ask him how the how they're dealing with the challenges.

SPEAKER_04 3:13

Yeah, let's get Coach Buzzard on and let's see um what he's got to say about what's going on at Delvet uh Davidson Elkins.

SPEAKER_03 3:20

Hey, so welcome, Coach Buzzard. How are you doing tonight?

SPEAKER_01 3:23

I'm doing wonderful, guys. Thanks for having me on tonight.

SPEAKER_04 3:27

Thanks, Coach, for taking the time uh to come on with the In the Crease Boys tonight. Um, we know it's busy out there, and uh, we really do appreciate you coming on with us tonight.

SPEAKER_03 3:38

Yeah, and I I know it, you know, Coach Pomeroy being so busy, uh kind of

buzzard start

SPEAKER_03 3:43

leading two programs is tough. So really appreciate you taking the helm for him and coming on to talk about the men's team and what you're doing. And so let's just get started right off the bat. I mean, you know, Coach Pomeroy was named head coach first for the women, and then like a month later, I think it was kind of the director of lacrosse and and uh head coach for the men. I'm curious when you were brought on with that. That's kind of a simple question. Then, you know, that seems like a lot to fill in the shoes when you get that one month and then the next month to do to do both. So I'm curious how you guys are kind of looking at those challenges and how you're trying to handle that.

SPEAKER_01 4:24

Um so the the college just kind of saw that they had found some success uh using this model, having a director uh at the top of both the male and women's program. They saw it be successful with the soccer program. Um, so when the male position came open as well, they kind of elevated him to that director of lacrosse position. And so what the soccer program has done was they brought in a female associate coach that kind of leads the women, and kind of my role was to come in and handle uh the men's team in terms of the on-field and recruiting aspect of things. The really nice thing is the uniformity that gives both programs to kind of have one guy doing the scheduling for practices, the weight room, travel, game days, all those uh director of ops type positions that you might not have at the D2 level normally when he actually is freed up a lot um to do those things because I can handle uh the on-field responsibilities. And then he has a volunteer assistant on the female side um as well. So he kind of has the leverage now where he can trust us to go out on the field and do things, and he can really uh handle the administrative work that comes with managing two programs and juggling that, and it takes uh it frees up a lot of my time to be able to invest that back into the players. So so far it's been a great system for us, and we've kind of hit the ground running with that. And uh his uh elevation to that director of lacrosse position, and then uh my appointment came relatively quickly. Uh, I was good friends with uh the director of soccer already. Uh, there was a lot of change within the athletic department, and he said, I know just the guy for you to call uh for the men's team if that's something you're looking to take off your plate.

SPEAKER_04 6:20

That's interesting. Um I don't think I've ever heard anything like that before. I guess it's not out of the norm. I I I don't know. Honestly, we're just we're just lacrosse dads. That's what we are.

SPEAKER_01 6:32

I I've never I've never seen it really in the lacrosse realm, but I know it's something that has has been kind of tried and tested around some other sports. And uh so far for us it's been working out great.

SPEAKER_03 6:45

That's that's pretty exciting for you then, because it's in instead of just like uh really associate assistant, I don't know what you call the top, but you're you're basically running the whole men's program, which has got to be just an exciting thing for you.

SPEAKER_01 6:59

Yeah, it's it's great because uh you know I can put my focus into the recruiting and the practice plans, the the weightlifting, all all the pieces that that build our program on the field, and then you know walk into his office today and oh hey, I ordered the guys another box of shirts and they're excited about that, and and him to handle some of those little things that I think would slip through the cracks if it was just you know one of us. Um we're both just trying to chase around uh to get things done instead of I think right now we're in a very efficient place with the way we're diving up our work. That's awesome.

SPEAKER_03 7:36

Do you do you have a volunteer assistant or are you looking for one?

SPEAKER_01 7:39

Are you trying to So uh I'm trying. Uh the school's great, they're very flexible with saying, hey, there are some other positions on campus. We might not have uh the capacity to uh pay another another coach on staff, but whether that's finding them a job and admissions, or uh, hey, just do maintenance a couple days a week to make a couple extra bucks here and there. Uh, you know, where we are in West Virginia is kind of a unique hurdle for some of those things, such as GAs or volunteer assistance, because there just isn't the wealth of lacrosse experience. But um that's something something we're working on is building up this coaching staff, and I think a lot of that will come from within the program as guys uh start to graduate out.

SPEAKER_03 8:23

Yeah, so that's that's that's really interesting. You just touch on something that um I I want to just get your thoughts on. As you say, you know, in that part of West Virginia, not a big obviously not a lot, lacrosse hotbed, not a lot to pull from. Is that one of the things as you're coming in, kind of looking at who you have and what you need to do to build that lacrosse culture or what you're trying to build in that program from a culture perspective?

SPEAKER_01 8:48

So I feel incredibly lucky. I inherited an incredibly tight locker room of guys. Um, some of my individual meetings with them when we first got started, I said to them, you know, hey, you have a rough day, you bomb a test, rough practice. Who do you who do you go home and turn to? Who do you go back to the dorm and call to talk about it? And I expected to hear a lot of mom and dads, brothers, sisters, whatever. And I heard a lot of other guys on the team get named uh in that. And so a lot of times walking into a new group with a coaching change, you don't know what you're gonna get from that standpoint. Um, but to see the kind of the tightness and the brotherhood that these guys have had uh pre-existing, it makes it really easy. And then when we've had recruits on campus, just to try and get them to spend time around the guys is the easiest sell in the world for us because uh we've got a great locker room of guys and and they kind of sell the program for us. We don't have to say too much ourselves because the guys that are living it uh get to show them firsthand. That's fantastic, that's fantastic. I kind of skirted away from the West Virginia part of that, but uh at the same time, where we are, you know, it's not a far drive to Maryland, it's not a far drive to Virginia, it's not a far drive up to Pittsburgh or Ohio. So we're surrounded by a lot of good lacrosse, and I think that there are a lot of good athletes here that uh are gonna be able to make that transition. We just have to make it more accessible for them.

SPEAKER_04 10:18

Coach, in in past podcasts, we've talked about how how Division II lacrosse is just exploding. It's just growing and growing. We have new teams this year, teams relocate conferences, and we got a lot going on. And Davidson Elkins, it looks like they're on a step going forward to take that next step up. And um, I'm thrilled to death to hear that because the game is growing. And whether it's in West Virginia, I don't think it matters that much anymore. I I I think the game is growing to the point where guys are like, hey, I want to go to school there and I get a chance to play the game I love. You know, and and Davison Elkins has taken a new turn, it looks like, with a director and you. And I I I think it's an awesome thing. I'm I'm interested to see in a year from now what happens. Maybe next year you come on with us again, absolutely and we'll just and we'll discuss, you know, your year at Davis and Elkins. What do you say for that?

SPEAKER_01 11:22

I'm in. I'm always in to talk about what we have going on and and and hype up what we have going on here. Uh every time it doesn't mean we've had kids from all over the country on campus in the short couple months that we've been here, and every time the the parents are blown away, they're blown away with with how beautiful the campus is. And it is a very small school, only about 800 students. And I really tell everyone it's a hidden gem, man. Uh the chance to come out and see see what we have here is is truly special. And uh even before I got fully settled into Elkins and was kind of commuting in every day, I was looking around and going, like, is this serious? Is this where I get to go to work every day? Wow.

SPEAKER_03 12:03

Yeah, it's a it's a beautiful piece of country. I uh I've I've done a lot in Canaan Valley for skiing and staying there, which isn't too far from Elkins, right? It's not too far.

SPEAKER_01 12:14

Just over an hour. We've got a lot of guys that over winter break are out there skiing, and especially you know, early in the season before things get too busy, if they've got a down day, they want to go get that day pass and that's yeah, and you just tell them to be careful, right?

SPEAKER_03 12:29

Yeah, just don't get just don't get hurt.

SPEAKER_04 12:32

Yeah, no, that's awesome. You know, that's awesome. And you know what? People probably don't know that about Davis and Elkins. They probably, you know, for the most part, don't know about that. Yeah. And that's one one thing about our podcast is we're trying to bring that kind of news and that kind of information out to the, you know, people are listening from across the country. As far as you know, California and Utah, we're getting listeners from Texas now. It's kind of getting crazy. What started out as a whim is kind of going crazy. And we get to speak to cool guys like you that are coming on, starting a program in a different direction with a kind of a new administrative feel to it. I think that's really cool. I think it's really interesting.

SPEAKER_03 13:19

Yeah, I think I think the enthusiasm is what gets me. I I love your enthusiasm, Coach, for what you're trying to build there. I I think personally, you know, we're as we look into the season next year, we're probably gonna have, you know, Danny and I have been talking about that, you know, the top three games to look for uh next week, and or the top three in review. And I know I'll be picking one for Davis and Elkins and the matchup in the GMAC to see how you guys do, and we'd love to have you on to talk about that game.

SPEAKER_01 13:45

Yes, sir. Uh I'm I'm excited about it. You know, being a being a guy from Pittsburgh, I think uh I think Coach Ryan and Coach Novotny have both been coaching at their respective schools since I was playing in high school in Pittsburgh. So just to just to coach against those guys now uh in the conference and compete in a conference that's so high level is such a tremendous opportunity. And uh you know, I think you know, as far as the campus goes, we stack right up with all those guys in the conference. And uh within the next couple years, I hope that the product we're putting on on the field is on par as well.

SPEAKER_03 14:21

That's great. We would love to see that. We we we I'd love to see you go against Mercy Hurst and and be the new top dog in the GMAC. It'd be phenomenal to see.

SPEAKER_01 14:31

That's that's always the goal, right? You never that's right, you never start a season one to one to finish anywhere other than number one.

SPEAKER_04 14:37

Absolutely, absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 14:40

Well, coach, oh go ahead, Danny.

SPEAKER_04 14:42

I just uh this has been great. This this has been great. Um something new I learned tonight, and uh really appreciate you coming on, coach, and I wish you the best of luck this season, I really do. Um the boys from In the Crease, I definitely we're definitely gonna be watching, and uh we're gonna give you a shout out every once in a while. So um I wish you the best of luck, I really do, and uh we're looking forward to the season for you.

SPEAKER_01 15:08

Me too. I greatly appreciate it, guys. Go senators. All right, coach. Thanks. Have a good night.

SPEAKER_04 15:13

Thanks, Coach. We'll speak soon.

SPEAKER_03 15:15

Yes, sir. Okay, Danny, now we're back in the SAC. They've had several coaching changes this year. We already talked about two of them. The other one is Coker. Well, actually, there's one more, too, but right now the third one we're talking about is Coker. Coker Cobras. The man who came in who's coming in is is Jon Snow.

Buzzard end

SPEAKER_03 15:41

He replaces David Oliver, who left to take the job of assistant athletic director at Providence Day School in Charlotte, North Carolina. So it wasn't really that, you know, hey, that coach was let go, bring in someone new, because you and I both know we've seen Coker play. They are always they're always a threat. They always have a good team, they don't always have a winning record. Now, a few years past, they they did very well, but they're always they're always in the mix.

SPEAKER_04 16:13

They're a scrappy bunch, Coker's always been a scrappy bunch. Um they to me, I've been watching them play since 2010 or so when my oldest was at St. Leo. So Coker was very much in the mix in those days. And um to me, they've always been like one or two players away from being really, really good. You know what I mean? Getting that that one high school All American or that one brine, you know, all American or that underarmor kid. They needed one or two kids like that, you know, to just be a really, really good team. But, you know, Coker, um, you know, that the head coach got a better job, is what he did, you know.

SPEAKER_03 16:56

Well, yeah. Well, here's the and here's the interesting thing with Coach Snow coming in, right? I mean, we talk about coaching pedigree. He doesn't have it in the NCAA, but he does have it in the NAIA. Um, he coached for Reinhardt University for 10 seasons there. His record was 133 and 31, and he has four national championships in the NAIA. 2017, and this is new, I mean recent, 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2021. And he was a three-time coach of the year in the NAIA.

SPEAKER_04 17:33

Yeah, well, now he's in the NCAA, and he's in Division II, and he's in the SAC, which to me is the second, you know, or arguably the best uh conference in Division II. Arguably. You know, it's either one or two. It's either the NE 10 and the SAC or the SAC and the NE10, depending on where your kid goes.

SPEAKER_03 18:00

So anyway, uh but I I'm I'm interested. I'm interested to hear from Coach Snow about that transition from NAIA to NCAA and Division II.

SPEAKER_04 18:09

Yeah, you know, it's definitely not going to be the same. It's gonna be something different for him. But you know, Coach has pedigree. And like I said, Coker always has been a decent squad. They, you know, they they're not right, they're not a crappy squad. Like I said, they will I always felt they were one or two players away from being a really, really good team. And perhaps Coach can uh get them over that hump.

SPEAKER_03 18:32

Yeah, so let's bring on Coach Snow right now. Hey, Coach Snow.

SPEAKER_02 18:37

Welcome, how are you? I'm doing great, guys. Really appreciate you guys having me on. I'm excited.

SPEAKER_04 18:44

Coach Snow from Coker, thanks so much for coming on with us tonight. We really appreciate you taking the time. New head coach of Coker. I know that you're a busy man right now. So for you to just take five or ten minutes with us tonight is uh more than we can ask for. Thank you so much for coming on.

SPEAKER_02 19:00

No, as I said, thanks for having me. And uh anytime I can spread the word about the game of lacrosse, which I love, I'd love to do that. And then obviously, I love what you guys are doing for the D2, you know, conference and the D2 lacrosse. I'd love to be a part of it and I appreciate it. I really do. Thank you.

SPEAKER_03 19:15

Well, thank you. So let's get into it. I uh I'm just curious what kind of drew you to come into this school on the program.

SPEAKER_02 19:24

Well, to be honest with you, and we touched on it when we were talking, and I was in the NAA for 10 years, and uh I loved it there, loved everything about the kids there. Um, I was lucky enough to win four straight national championships there, and I just felt like I did all that I could at that level, and NCAA job opened up uh, you know, in one of the toughest conferences in the country. Oh yeah. Love the location here in South Carolina. It was just almost perfect for me. It was almost like this is the next step for me, and I and I'm glad I got the opportunity. Excited to be here.

SPEAKER_03 19:59

Yeah, so let's talk about that. I mean, your four championships, you're obviously your coaching pedigree and your accomplishments speak for themselves. But and and you but you come from a different type of division, and not NCAA, but the NAIA. Can you tell us what you see as the differences and what challenges or benefits you see coming over to the NCAA and just talk through that for us? Sure.

SPEAKER_02 20:24

You know, to be honest with you, the um the talent level, there's some really good teams in NIA. I would just say it's the depth that's the biggest difference. The top six, seven teams in the NAIA are all very good quality programs that could very much compete in Division II NCAA. But obviously at this level in the NCAA, there's just a lot more depth. You got 25 teams that can really get after it. Uh whereas, like I said, at the NAIA level, I feel like the team I had last year at Reinhardt really could have competed very, very well at this NCAA level. But just the depth, the amount of talent in the D2 NCAA stage is just that's the difference. That's the biggest difference. It's just the depth.

SPEAKER_04 21:06

Interesting. That's interesting.

SPEAKER_02 21:08

But the kids themselves, I mean, I loved everything about NAIA. Those kids were hardworking, they loved the game of lacrosse, they were there to play lacrosse and obviously go to school, but they were just passionate about the game. And I would just say that that's the difference, is just NCWD2 has just a lot more teams that are really, really good.

SPEAKER_03 21:26

Right. And you're coming into a conference that's got a stack of them, right? And but Danny and I have talked about the city.

SPEAKER_04 21:32

It's not the N-A-I-A no more, Coach. It's the SAC. Exactly right. It's the SAC. You got Lenore Ryan, you got Wingate, Limestone now. And you know what? Um, I've been around the conference a long time. Um Coker has always kind of been a scrappy team. They've always been in the mix. I always felt, I always felt by watching them, hey, you know what, this team's they don't lay down to the big boys. Right. They don't lay down, but I always felt they were like maybe one. Good coach away, or maybe one or two really top-notch players away.

SPEAKER_02 22:06

Yep.

SPEAKER_04 22:07

What do you see at Coker?

SPEAKER_02 22:08

I agree with that a thousand percent. To be honest with you, the roster that Coker had last year, uh, they had talent through the roof. Oh, yeah. I agree with you. Talent-wise, Coker put out a really good product. I feel like you know, I'm hoping that I can get them to the next level in terms of just the things that we do every day. We got to be disciplined every day. We have to do the little things every day. I feel like once I get this program on that same page where it's day to day doing the right things every day, we're gonna get to that level where we need to be. Um, but like you said, the SAC, there's no days off. I mean, we don't have a team that you know is gonna be an easy one on the schedule. So we're just gonna have to work hard every day to be able to compete. And I think I can do that, especially with the kids that I can draw to this school. You know, we're close to Georgia and obviously South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Florida. I mean, I've got kids coming in, and it's a beautiful school. And, you know, that talent to be able to compete every day against those teams, just those kids want that. They want to be a part of that. How many on the roster, Coach? Currently only 25. Uh small roster. But, you know, I tell my guys at the end of the day, it's 10v10. It's our 10 guys on the field against their 10 guys. And and I feel like I have some really good players. Um, you know, I all the 25 kids can play. Um, so it's just a matter of getting the talent in next year. But I really like this group. Um, they've bought in, you know, I've only been here a couple months, but I can see them buying in every day and slowly changing and understand what it's going to take and you know what I expect from them. And uh it's gonna be a challenging year, but we're looking forward to it.

SPEAKER_03 23:46

Yeah, no, that's that's interesting. It sounds like you've got, you know, with our 25 uh players, a great foundation to build off of what you're going to need to do. Do you have um a size roster you like to have, or what are you kind of looking for in the makeup of your team moving forward to get it to that next level? Is is it I'm just curious, either in size of roster or the type of player you're gonna want to recruit?

SPEAKER_02 24:11

Yeah, I mean, the type of players I want to recruit are all the same. I want a hardworking kid who loves the game of lacrosse and that's coachable. If you give me players with those three traits, I can win with them. Um, but you know, ideally last year I had about 42 guys on my team at Reinhardt. I like to stay around 40 to 45 as well for me. I I don't want to have 70 or 80 guys on my roster just if I bring a kid in and I know they only have four years to play, I don't want them to sit on the sidelines for four years. I want 45 guys that are gonna get after it every day that all have a chance to play and compete and just you know get those experiences on the field and have a chance to play. So 45 is about the max that I'm looking for. And and currently I've got about 20 kids coming in for the fall. All right.

SPEAKER_03 25:01

I've I've been watching on Instagram recruit after recruit after recruit, you know. I think I've seen a lot from Georgia and and South Carolina. Is that correct?

SPEAKER_02 25:12

That is correct. Um, obviously, I came from Georgia. You know, I've been coaching there for 10 years in the state of Georgia. I had a club team that I coached, so I was familiar with those kids and familiar with the high school coaches in that area. And um, I've just been really lucky to have been around them and and and met the parents and coached the kids in the summers. And just a lot of them, uh, I've been lucky enough to get them to come here and you know, they're sharing my vision for the program, and it's gonna be exciting.

SPEAKER_04 25:39

And they're following a coach that they know and they trust. That's what they're doing. Exactly. That's what they're doing. That's that's fantastic, coach.

SPEAKER_03 25:46

You don't have to teach them the culture, right? I mean, you they're brought into your culture already, it seems like.

SPEAKER_04 25:51

And they're he already knows the type of kids, you know, that he wants. And and that's I that's what a a good a good program needs. That foundation, that foundation. And you know what? I think Coker is gonna be, you know, on on their way up. I again, they're they're in a tough, tough conference. Tough conference. And I always I always felt that they were scrappy, man. They would like, come on, they would they'd bang me in the mouth, but maybe they didn't have the depth, you know, a little a little bit. You know, and I like I said earlier, maybe one good coach or one and two good players away. I think um I think Coker's gonna be interesting to watch in my year and two.

SPEAKER_02 26:29

I agree. Absolutely. And I appreciate that. And like I said, this year it's gonna be challenging. We know that as a team, and we're working hard every day for that for the spring. Um, but the future and the kids that we're bringing in, and like I mentioned earlier, if I can get those three traits and every kid I recruit, you know, sometimes I don't go after the best players on teams. I just want the kids that are the hardest working, that are coachable, and love the game because those are the kind of kids you can win with because they're all about the team, they're all about doing what's best for the team and you know, and winning at the end of the day.

SPEAKER_04 27:02

I I totally agree with that philosophy. Totally.

SPEAKER_03 27:06

Yeah, I mean, we were talking to another coach who was talking about, you know, sometimes not getting that player who fails that maybe they didn't get the recognition in their high school team or the recognition in recruiting. Like you said, they may not have been considered the best player on their team or when they were being recruited, but if they have those traits and they could come with that chip on their shoulder, is that what you're looking for? That kid is like, I know I can I can play at this level, not only compete, but be at the top of in D2 for Coker.

SPEAKER_02 27:42

Yeah, you know, to be honest with you, and I've been lucky, I mean, at least in the recruiting process so far, that you know, most of the kids that I'm talking to are being recruited by other D2 schools. So they don't really have that chip because they are getting recruited, you know, quite often. But I think that they just they like that it's a program where I'm starting, we're all starting fresh, and they're gonna be able to be a part of something moving forward that where they can say, hey, I was there when that all started. And I mean, it's just exciting for them that they're gonna be a part of something that we're gonna try to build, and and they were the first class that's gonna do it. It's obviously gonna start with this year's team, but moving forward, that class can say, Hey, that was my class in 2022.

SPEAKER_04 28:23

Wow, that's awesome. I that's this is great.

SPEAKER_03 28:26

I think Coach Oliver before you, he had some success. He definitely had success there. He it wasn't like he was let go, he moved on to another another job, and and you coming in, it sounds like you're just taking the ball and running with it and trying to get them. Like you said, it's uh it's a little things that you're trying to impart upon this foundation of 25 and then bringing in the players that have that, you know, I'll I'll call it the the right now the Coach Snow culture, but it's gonna be the coker culture very quickly.

SPEAKER_05 28:54

Right.

SPEAKER_02 28:55

Yeah. I think the word you know, culture is thrown around so much now that I just feel like if you do the little things every single day the right way, like line up properly on the lines, you know, wear the same uniforms every day, you know, be vocal in line drills, you know, be proactive in everything that you do on the field, the culture will just develop off of that. It's just you know what I mean? Like you don't have to say culture, culture, culture, where just demand the little things be done properly every single day, and then that culture will just organically create itself. But it's all about getting the right kids in here. I mean, you know, coaches at the end of the day were only as good as our kids. So we've got to get the right kids in here that have the correct attitude, and and then at that point, it's my job to develop them into a team, you know, that's gonna be successful. But I'm excited. I I know that the potential here is through the roof. I I agree, I agree.

SPEAKER_03 29:48

Yeah, I mean, we've seen that like we talked about. We talked about the whole time we've had you on of what we've thought about Coker in the past, uh watching them play. And I think, you know, the sack is tough, but I think Coker's always there. Even if their record doesn't show that, right? I mean, I think they're they're that step away. And so we coach uh really thank you for coming on, and we really are looking forward to watching you. You know, we talked we were talking to another coach uh about having, you know, as we look at what we're doing during the season this year, coming year, the season of having like games of the week are our top three picks and our top three picks of what we saw last week. And I'm sure Coker will be in that mix, and we'd love to have you on.

SPEAKER_02 30:31

I would love it. I really appreciate you guys having me on. I appreciate what you guys are doing for Division II Macross. And any way I can support it down the road, please let me know.

SPEAKER_04 30:41

Coach Snow, thank you so much. We really appreciate it, and all the best to you and the new job at Coker. And and uh hopefully, hopefully, I get to come down and see a game. That's that's that's the plan.

SPEAKER_03 30:54

I would love it. Go Coke. We've been talking about in the crease on the road, and South Carolina is not a bad place to be. So let's see in March.

SPEAKER_02 31:04

It's a great place. Yeah, there's I mean, we got Myrtle Beach right here, we got Charleston, we got uh South Carolina's a great place. Anytime you want to come, just let me know.

SPEAKER_04 31:13

Absolutely, coach. Thank you so much.

SPEAKER_02 31:16

Thanks, guys. Appreciate it. Take care. Have a good one, you too. Bye-bye.

SPEAKER_03 31:21

Okay, Danny, we have one more coaching change in the sack to discuss, and that is Tusculum. As you know, I've kind of been following this for a while now because the coach that really started the program back in 2012, Richard Carrington, left in August. But there's been kind of a gap until then, right? But I'm happy to say that on October 28th, right? Tuscom announced the new head coach, Rodney Tapp.

SPEAKER_04 31:50

Yes, yes, Tuscom is getting uh a guy who's been around a little bit. He's got some pedigree, um, got some familiarity with the SAC uh as an assistant in Newberry. So um excited to have him. Hey, they just announced it October 28th. It must be a whirlwind for Coach Tripp right now, but um excited to have him on.

SPEAKER_03 32:12

Yeah, I found it interesting, like you said. He he's got some coaching background both in D2 as an assistant with Newberry, so he's familiar with the sack, right? And D2, but he coached for three years at Ohio Wesleyan, which is a top-notch D3 program. Absolutely. But other than that, look what else he did in his career from a playing perspective. 10 years in the NLL, and then also eight years playing on Team Canada.

SPEAKER_04 32:39

Yeah, that's not too shabby, is it? You know, he's a face-off guy, so he's one of those guys, you know. So, you know, he's got he's got that player's mentality, this coach, and you know, being a player and and playing in those leagues and playing for Team Canada, he brings a lot of you know, experience to the table, no doubt.

SPEAKER_03 33:02

Yeah, and I'm I'm kind of interested to hear his perspective and how he can take that experience, not just coaching experience, but what he learned playing at the highest levels, right? Team Canada and the NLL, and you know, kind of transition that over to his players and and how he brings that into his coaching style.

SPEAKER_04 33:23

So, you know what, Kev? I think we shouldn't do nothing less except ask the man himself. What do you think?

SPEAKER_03 33:29

Yeah, so yeah, so we're really happy that uh on a short notice, less than two weeks on the job. Really great to welcome Coach Tapp tonight. Hey Coach, how you doing?

SPEAKER_00 33:39

Hey, good. Thanks for having me on, guys.

SPEAKER_03 33:41

No, it's great to have you. Really appreciate it.

SPEAKER_04 33:44

Yeah, thanks. I'm so I'm sorry, Kev. I just wanted to thank Coach for uh coming on. It's been a whirlwind of a couple of weeks, I'm sure. So he found the time to come on in the crease, and we couldn't be more excited. We appreciate you coming on, Coach. Yeah, yeah. Happy to do it.

SPEAKER_03 33:58

So, what have the first two weeks been like for you?

SPEAKER_00 34:01

Well, it's been a little bit longer than two weeks. Um, just paperwork and stuff. The announcement always takes longer than whatever, um, especially with the visa situation for for myself and changing my visa from Newberry to Tusculum. So this has kind of been in the works for a while. Uh I actually got here, oh, I don't even know. I couldn't even tell you what the date is right now. Uh I've been playing catch up, but I did get like two and a half full weeks of practice in before we went to Newberry for those scrimmages on the 30th. Um two and a half weeks before the 30th, uh, is kind of when I officially started. Um but she has been a whirlwind. Uh thankfully for us, we have a very senior team, um, very veteran squad. So there was a lot of leadership. Um doing a lot of things that that the coach would have been doing if there was someone here. Um one of the captains even had to uh get in with the AD and order the helmets and stuff like that. So stuff was done for me before I got here. They had to kind of practice on their own, which isn't the same as practicing with a coach there. Um and then, you know, we I kind of put my systems in. Uh so we had like three weeks to do that, or not even before we had to go to Newberry. Um, we scrimmaged um St. Andrews, North Greenville, and Newberry on a on a Saturday on the 30th, there. How to go, how to go. Good. Like uh I was very, very happy with our our performance, how we um reacted to situations, how we the buy-in's been really good. Um the kids are really excited for uh the systems we're playing and the way we're doing things. Um you know it's been it's been nothing but positive. Um I did talk to Richard before I got here um when I was going through the process, because we do know each other from the recruiting trails and everything else. Right. Um and he said, you know, he was pretty straightforward with how awesome the people were, and he was pretty bang on. Like uh RAD, uh Doug Jones and our our assistant AD, Josh Healy is uh they're awesome. Um they've been nothing but supportive. It's been really good, you know, playing catch up with them, helping me. And uh, you know, we're pretty much there. Like we have our schedule done, we have our buses booked, we you know, have our equipment ordered, like we're we're ready for spring to happen, and we're in a into our uh eight hours a week period here now. So right, right.

SPEAKER_03 36:46

Yeah, so you even said uh a quote from you in the press release that talked about how you saw this as having such a great foundation already to step into. And it sounds like from what you said, not only from uh the the veteran players that you have on the team already, but what the athletic department is already setting up that that kind of really has helped you. Would you agree with that?

SPEAKER_00 37:10

Yeah, yeah. It's uh it's been a really, you know, I I think the hardest part of the transition is is is using arms, which is a different system than than I've used at any other institution. Um and they've been really good with helping me through all that too. So uh the kids are real bought in. Uh they're a really good group. Um, we're in the middle of like academic meetings this week, and um, you know, everyone's grades are nice. There's uh there's you know, literally no problems um going on away from the the lacrosse field. Uh and the team's chemistry and and and group are really strong. So uh lots of positives to work with. Like uh it's been a a pretty good transition.

SPEAKER_04 37:56

Well that that sounds great. It must be kind of a relief that a lot, a lot of stuff was in place for you. Um let me ask you about your assistance. Did did you keep any from Tusclam or did you bring your own fellows in? Or talk about your assistance?

SPEAKER_00 38:13

Uh I had to hire one. There wasn't one here. So the kids have a head coach or an assistant all fall. So they're on their own, really. Um it was just the leadership group working with the assistant AD to you know keep the team afloat. Uh when we are going, we're going through the process. Uh one of the interviews was with the players. Um, one of the captains I was familiar with anyway. Uh I tried to recruit him to Ohio Wesleyan, our starting goalie, uh, Ross Geiger. Um and then on the recruiting trail, I I was at the Calgary event a couple times. So, you know, I did get to know him pretty well there too. Uh, so I you know, I had a familiar familiarity with him uh with most of their offense because I ran the defense at Newberry last year. Um so I did have to scout them um twice even. The second game didn't happen because uh our playoff game got canceled. We had a uh COVID issue. So but we did scout him like twice. We did watch him a bunch. Uh I had a pretty good idea of um the kind of talent I was inheriting um and the skill sets of a bunch of the players. So, you know, um with the same conference and seeing them play that much and knowing a couple of them and having you know quite a few Canadians with some box, and you know, I run kind of a boxy offense. So uh the transition hasn't been horrible really at all.

SPEAKER_03 39:44

Yeah, so uh it sounds like being familiar with uh the SAC um and some of the players from Scouting. Is that what helped draw you to this school of program, or what really kind of drew you to Tusculum to come and take over?

SPEAKER_00 39:59

Well, we played here last year uh with Newberry, and when I got to campus, I was like, wow, this looks pretty. This this must show great. Um you know, and they've always been you know right in the mix in the sack. Um so it's a good school. Uh they do have good programs, like aside from lacrosse, you know, like they had a bunch of programs win the sack last year. Uh they're very competitive athletically, um, they're very competitive academically. So uh there was a lot to sell about the school. Um, and then you know, the baseball stadium is immaculate, like they've had AAA and stuff there. It's uh it's beautiful. And you know, the mountains are in the background. You look out the back of the cafeteria and see the mountains and all the beautiful, you know, fields leading up to it. And you know, it's very pretty up here.

SPEAKER_04 40:55

Sounds nice. Sounds really nice.

SPEAKER_00 40:57

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 40:58

Danny and I have talked about this before about Tusculum. They've always been in the mix, like you said, in the sack.

SPEAKER_04 41:04

They're scrappy bunch. They're scrappy bunch. They're they're you know, they made the playoffs. I know the year the year before COVID, they were they had a really good season. Um, they were doing well in the SAC. They were giving teams again. You know, the SAC's no joke. Them them boys at the upper top of the SAC. Then them boys bring it pretty good. You have Lenore Ryan and and Wingate up there and and now Limestone in there, you know, in the mix. But, you know, yeah, Tosculum, you know, the Pioneers have put out some pretty scrappy teams over the last, you know, three, four, five years.

SPEAKER_00 41:36

Yeah, they compete. They really do. Uh they play hard, uh, very hard. They're a very competitive team. Um I think their fight shows up when they play. Uh their tightness shows up when they play. Um, they're pretty together group, so you know, they really do battle for each other. There's uh there's a good mix of of chemistry here at the squad. So, you know, they really do battle for each other and and it shows on the field.

SPEAKER_04 42:04

What do you what do you think of the SAC, the conference in itself? What do you what's your take on that?

SPEAKER_00 42:10

Well, bar and on, it's the it's the hardest conference in the country. You can't even really argue it. Wow, because some some would argue the NE ten, you know, but they're not five or six deep. Like Newberry's common, Queens is good, LR and Wingate are the two finalists for the South. Right. And then you still have limestone, five time national champ. Like how do you argue that that's not the strongest conference in the country? Like it's interesting. It's it's a gauntlet, and there's still Catawba, always good, you know. Mars Hill has up and down years, but they've been up. Um you know, LMU's had up years, you know, they're you know going through a transition right now. But uh and then Coker's always Cokers had some pretty good years. Like there is there are wagons in this conference.

SPEAKER_03 43:02

Yeah, you can't let your guard down in any game when you play a conference game, without a doubt. You know, you see that uh year in and year out that uh a team probably considered on maybe the lower half of the of the the sack standings beats one of the top teams. Just because that's just the way it is. It you just cannot let your guard down.

SPEAKER_04 43:27

Yeah, top to bottom the the SAC is like real legit, if you ask me, top to bottom. And yeah, even those even those 500 or so teams that are in, they're scrappy teams, and you know, they're just going against big dogs, is what they're doing.

SPEAKER_00 43:42

And yeah, but stuff to not be five hundred when or to be too far above five hundred when you gotta play like five top twenties in your in your conference. Yeah. Right. Yeah. You know, like you could have a great game and only lose by One of those teams, and it's still a loss.

SPEAKER_03 44:03

Yeah, that's so true. That is so true. You know, we've seen that. You see the games that are are only, and then you look at the record of some of those teams that maybe even five under 500, but you look at how they played against in the sack, and they're not losing by 10 goals, they're losing by a couple.

unknown 44:19

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 44:20

Yeah, they might they might have three losses with a total loss of you know four goals in those three losses, you know. Yeah.

unknown 44:27

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 44:28

Yeah. So just switching, coaching, because I I kind of did it in the intro. I'm really curious, based on your playing experience, is there a way that you can take that and and you do you use that in your coaching? Is there some some way that that helps you with the players, with your with your team?

SPEAKER_00 44:46

Yeah, I think so. Uh and we've kind of talked about it a lot this week because um we've had academic meetings this week, but we've made them longer so that they're also get to know Coach Tap meetings and get to know Coach And Andrews. Um Andrews meetings because um they haven't like we got here and we had so much prep work to do to get ready to play three games in a weekend and get our fitness up and everything else to get ready for that, that there wasn't a whole lot of you know, get to know me time or having a pizza night or whatever. So during these meetings we've been having all week, a lot of what the feedback is is just the different style. And the best way, I guess, to explain it is that uh I it's more from what I liked as a player. Like the kind of drills that made me want to work hard are the kind of things that we do, and the kind of like even like the the conditioning that you know you need to do and is necessary, you know, you can still make it competitive. So it's kind of fun and you kind of don't know, it doesn't feel like punishment. They're not punishment runs, they're like these are fitness runs to make us better. Um and then our drills are you know, hidden conditioner. Our drills are a ton of hidden conditioning, they're just up and down and hard and efforting and um pushing pace and pushing uh pressure that's you know, to force your stick skills to get better. Uh to you know, some of the benefits you get from box are are from not having a choice but to act quickly because because of the combined space and the shot clock. Um so as much of that as we can do to you know build um stick skills and speed and endurance and accuracy into our um our repertoire, we we do. So you know a lot of what I do is from um from a player like a player's coach perspective, more like uh, you know, this this is how I think I can get the most out of my guys. It's great. It's awesome.

SPEAKER_03 46:58

Yeah, that is. And uh we really do appreciate you coming on tonight on uh and spending a few minutes with us. We know three, four weeks into it, you're extremely busy, and we we realize you've got a long way to go uh to get where you want to get in this first season. But we are excited now that Tusculum has a head coach, has you in the at the reigns, ready to take it on and bring, you know, bring Tusculum against the other SAC teams and see what you can do.

SPEAKER_00 47:25

Yeah, we're excited. We're excited for our schedule, uh, for the competition of our our conference and to uh to get built it, to get better. But uh the buy-in's been great. And uh so far I I couldn't ask for a better group. Um things are these things have been very smooth, very good.

SPEAKER_04 47:43

Well, that's that's fantastic news, coach. That's that's gotta make things a lot more uh breathable, I guess is the word. You know, you get to exhale a little bit. Um, but again, that SAC conference, you're not gonna get to exhale too much. You're gonna you're gonna be into into some dog fights for sure. But I'm um I'm excited as well, Kev, that uh Tuscom has a new head coach and that they have somebody of his pedigree. And coach, I wish you the best of luck with Tuscom. Perhaps maybe during the season you come back on with us and we'll talk again some more. What do you think?

SPEAKER_03 48:18

Yeah, I think it'd be great. Yep. Great thoughts. All right, thank. Yeah, thanks, coach. Appreciate it. Have a good night. Hey, thanks for doing this, guys.

SPEAKER_04 48:26

Uh, we appreciate that, coach. We're doing it because we just love to do it and uh just trying to promote, you know, Division II lacrosse as a whole, you know. It we just feel that it just doesn't get the love it's it deserves a little bit. And and it's gonna be good to see Tosculin back into the mix and uh doing some good things. I'm interested to watch you guys play with your new uh offense, and uh I know I'll I'll be watching. Great, appreciate it. All right, we'll see you next time.

SPEAKER_03 48:54

Thanks, Coach. All right, thanks a ton. Well, Danny, that was really great to be able to get Coach Tap on and hear from him after just a few weeks and see where he's going with the program, as well as being able to talk with both Coach Buzzard and Coach Snow, who are building their own programs uh at the same time.

SPEAKER_04 49:14

Yeah, um, tonight it was really cool. Each podcast is kind of interesting in its own way. It's kind of been taking its own little path. Each each in this series of coaching changes, this series of podcasts that we're doing. Um, tonight being the third one, um, it took a little change a little bit, um, taking us things through a different avenue. And it was interesting tonight.

SPEAKER_03 49:38

Pretty cool to talk to a coach who's coming from the NAIA into D2 lacrosse. And then the the whole concept of a director of lacrosse and then kind of the assistant coach being the head coach with Coach Buzzard doing that, then they've had that success on the soccer program. So it'll be really interesting to see how they do on the lacrosse program.

SPEAKER_04 49:59

Right. They're trying uh something new in the administrative way that they're handling their sports programs there. And quite frankly, I'm interested to see how it goes. I mean, it's an it's a new avenue that uh uh an institution has taken to see where its program goes. And it's an interesting, and and tonight was tonight was fun, Kev.

SPEAKER_03 50:23

Yeah, so you know, that's three more coaching changes down. We've now discussed nine of the 12. To be honest, those nine, I I kind of, in my opinion, look at it as the quintessential coaching change, right? One coach leaves, another coach comes in. But in our last series, our last episode in this series, we're looking, and we we said this at the beginning, we're we're kind of categorizing new programs in with coaching changes because these coaches have not been in, you know, they're new coaches to D2. And that's two teams that are new to the program. Next week will be both Flagler College and Deuville. And then one, we're considering the reboot with young Harris uh and talking to Coach Herring. So that will be episode for next week. But if you like what we are doing and highlighting a D2 lacrosse, please spread the word. Because as Danny and I always talk about, we're just two passionate D2 lacrosse dads. We're not trying to spread the word necessarily for us, but we want more and more people to understand what D2 lacrosse brings to the lacrosse community, to college lacrosse.

SPEAKER_04 51:42

Absolutely. I mean, that's I mean, again, we're just we're just two dads, just having fun and coming up with ideas and throwing emails out to coaches, and and they're and they're coming on and they're they seem willing to talk, and they've been so engaging and so interesting. And the you know, this this little series that we're doing is kind of cool. It's a series of podcasts on coaching changes. It's not just one, and it's kind of like a new idea, I guess. So, but either, no matter how you slice it, it's been a lot of fun. And if anybody has any ideas, they should always, you know, let us know and we'll roll with it if we can. But this has been great. This has been great. I've learned so much, and I hope the the Division II and the Lacks community can learn a little bit more, too. Exactly.

SPEAKER_03 52:33

So until next week, this has been In the Creek with Danny and Kevin.