Eastern University Lacrosse

I wanted to send out an apology to all of the people who follow this blog. In my last post I included a link to an article written by Phillylacrosse.com. It was a great article highlighting this year’s incoming class. However, at one point I was missed quoted and the comment came off way wrong. In the article it said that when I got here I wasn’t given much of a chance. What I really had said was that I arrived here at Eastern in July and so the recruiting was over and I was given much of a chance to go out and recruit. Therefore this year’s incoming guys were my first recruits.

I can certainly see how the quote must have been viewed by the many people who have worked so hard to build Eastern Lacrosse. I never meant anything to come off that way and in fact I am so grateful for my friendship with former coach John Levis and have a great respect for all he has done to bring lacrosse back to Eastern.  Also, to the players that I coached this past season; I OWE YOU GUYS THE BIGGEST THANKS OF ALL. It must be so hard having a new coach come in and change so many things. Adjusting to a new coach means a new coaching style, new practices, a new everything basically. Despite all of the great defensive stands and great goals, it was how they adjusted to a new coach which impressed me most about this team. The transition from Coach Levis and me went so smoothly. With all of this being said, I wanted to write a post highlighting my favorite memories from what had to be the best lacrosse season of my life.  I had a lot of time to think about it recently and looking back there were so many great memories.

The first one had to be Jimmy Caiola’s efforts at the face off “X” in the Messiah game. Messiah has an outstanding face off guy and Jimmy accepted a challenge laid out not only by his coaches but by his peers to limit Messiah’s advantage at the face-offs. It was an outstanding day for all but, a terrific day for Jimmy. I also, thought about Tim Dempsey’s goal against FDU. Timmy is such a great rider and his hard work all season paid off with a huge momentum shift late in the first half, as he rode the ball back and scored just before the halftime buzzer went off. Everyone loved that moment I am sure. I loved seeing Dan Sharbaugh pick off a pass and take it coast to coast and dishing off to an attackmen for a huge goal. I felt like that play was a defining moment of Dan’s leadership all season. There was a Pat Dempsey goal that stuck in the corner for a second and a half before dropping in the net that was picturesque. Erik Nelson scored what would have been a 2-pointer in the MLL that will not soon be forgotten in St. David’s as well. I remember the way that Paul Macerino led our defense in the Widener playoff game. His communication and his mind for the game were both so important to us slowing down Widener’s potent offense. I will also, forever be grateful for Dillard Brooks and his sacrifice for his team. I recently heard a friend of mine, Mike Murphy (new coach at Penn) say, “Selflessness is just as contagious as selfishness.” Dillard came to mind the very first time I heard those words. Dillard’s selflessness was so very contagious and he always did what the team needed first and what Dillard wanted second. The last great memory I will mention may be my favorite. Late in the last game of the season Nate Trunfio picked off a clearing pass and fired it 50 yards into the empty net. This was a huge goal and it was a great memory for both me and Nate. Trunf worked so hard this season. He fought off injuries all year long and changed from attackmen to midfielder and then back again. He was always willing to do what we asked and although it took until the last 4 games to get healthy he had a great final stretch. That 50 yard goal had to be the defining moment of not only Nate’s season but perhaps his career. It was a sick goal that stemmed from a lot of hard work!

I could go on and on with these great memories. The 2009 Eastern Lacrosse team will always have a special place in my heart. This team gave me so many wonderful memories and taught me so much about coaching. I grew as a coach only because I had 24 guys that were willing to watch me fail and stick with me anyway. So thanks so much to all 24 of you guys. It was a lot of fun coaching you all and my first year at Eastern was the best year I have had in the game of lacrosse.