Dear Panther Nation,
It has been a whole year since I first stepped on the University of Pittsburgh campus as the Head Coach for the Lacrosse Program. It was a year of many firsts that I am excited to share with you today.
Recruiting
Since the moment I accepted the position my mind was focused on finding our first recruiting class, the foundation for our program. Like most coaches in the summer of 2019, we were focused on evaluating the 2021 class. However, we were also in need of some 2020’s (rising seniors) that would join us on campus in our building/non-competitive year. Over time the 2020 class was built and now consists of 3 club athletes, 6 true freshman, and 2 transfers. I am proud of these young ladies as they hail from 5 different states and 2 countries.
When it came to the 2021’s, we were faced with many obstacles. The main one was introducing the lacrosse community to the University of Pittsburgh. Although it was an initial bump, once we got athletes on campus and mastered our tours, the city sold itself. The big hits were, the Cathedral of Learning, Pitt football games at Heinz Field, the Peterson Sports Complex and my personal favorite, the nighttime views from Mt. Washington.
Camps
Lacrosse Camps were a HUGE success this year. We averaged over 100 campers at each of our day camps and hosted Pitts first ever satellite camps in New York, Minnesota, Philadelphia, and Maryland. Unfortunately, the coronavirus impacted our plans to go international in addition to hitting other states.
There were three big things we got out of hosting University of Pittsburgh camps. The first was the opportunity to develop the young athletes and evaluate potential recruits. The second, was that we were able to connect young athletes and families to the University and our coaching staff. Thirdly, each camp attendee was given a Pitt Lacrosse t-shirt. This turned out to be one of the best things for our program. The first time I saw a young lady represent our camp shirt was at a fall tournament. I remember being emotional and calling a friend that our brand was finally out there for the world to see. Since then, at least 500 lacrosse camp shirts have been given out and I continued to see them at fall tournaments, in recruit highlight film, and on social media.
The Future
As we prepare for this upcoming September my staff and I will be faced with a new set of tasks. The biggest one being practice. This year will be all about laying the foundation for our program. We have identified four main areas of focus: culture, leadership, skill, and fitness. We believe that by creating a strong foundation in these four areas we are establishing a strong base for the future legacy of our program.
As we approach the next phase in our process, it is important that I thank the people that have helped with the transition and building of our brand. A special thank you to Heather Lyke, Dustin Gray and my family for the support and encouragement through this unique year. I know that with the support of everyone here at Pitt we are going to build something special.
With our first class arriving on campus soon we are hungry for the next phase.