Relentless
by, Billy Mumphrey
The
Ohio State Men’s Lacrosse Team is currently 9-0 and they don’t look like their
slowing down anytime soon. This past week, an 18th ranked Buckeyes
beat a 10th ranked Towson and an always tough number 1 ranked
Denver. Ohio State is now ranked #4th in the nation.
But
this past weeks success didn’t just happen overnight or even in pre-season.
Over the past sixteen years, Ohio State has been developing a lacrosse culture
based on discipline and accountability. And one of the main reasons for this
work-hard warrior attitude is because of Head Coach Nick Myers.
A wintered Kennebunk, Maine native, Head Coach Nick Myers started working at Ohio
State in 2001 as a volunteer assistant coach. After doing that for two years, working
side jobs just to make ends meet, Myers became an assistant coach at Butler for
2 years. He then returned to Ohio State in 2006 and became the offensive
coordinator and assistant coach for the high scoring Buckeyes. In 2008, Myers
became the Head Coach. Nick Myers ate, drank, and slept Ohio State Lacrosse for
years and every bit of success he and the team have achieved, they’ve battled
for.
US Lacrosse Magazine’s
Corey McLaughlin wrote a great bio piece on Coach Myers and I encourage you to
read it .HERE.
With coaching mentor advice and an all-in mentality, Myers had Ohio State
steadily climbing closer and closer to a national championship. They won their
first national tournament game in 2008 against a stacked Cornell team. In 2009,
they reached the National Quarterfinals. In 2011, the program recorded its
first win over a Top 3 Nationally Ranked Opponent. In 2013, they won the ECAC
Conference Championship and rose to a national #3 ranking. In 2015, they
reached the Big Ten Title Game and reached the Quarterfinals again. Now in
2017, the Buckeyes have started 9-0 and it feels like an inevitability that
they will soon reach a National Title Game in the coming years.
Local
Big Time had the chance to speak with Coach Nick Myers and chat about his
coaching philosophies and insights on issues concerning college lacrosse.
1. In
the last 16 years Ohio State Lacrosse has fought to become one of the nation’s
top programs in Division 1, what kind of characteristics have you looked for
when recruiting players for Ohio State?
Myers: Aside from the usual playing
skills, you know we are looking for self-motivators, guys who are tough and
gritty. As far as a person, someone who embodies the Ohio State Tradition, good
character, hard-working, honest, and intelligent. Good kids come in all shapes
and sizes, from good backgrounds and bad, rich, poor, from all over the world,
so what we are really looking for is that high character.
2.
It seems like every lacrosse coach has this inner battle with how to balance
structured lacrosse and creativity. When coaching players, how do you decide
how much to use practiced plays versus how much to let that lacrosse creativity
come out?
Myers: What we try to do as coaches is
evaluate our skill set as a team. On offensive, we asses our strengths and
implement plays that put our players in the best position to succeed. So we
practice that over and over so the players can play more instinctually on game
day, and then the creative takes over and they have to perform, practice play
or not.
3. Your
team just had two big wins in one week against ranked opponents Towson and
Denver and jumped from 18th in the Nation to 4th. When
players can get wrapped up in national rankings and win/loss pressure, how do
you keep the team and your boys focused on the program goals?
Myers: We attack every day the
same, a business as usual mentality. The rankings are going to change all year
and some weeks you may be up and others down and so we try to limit that effect
on our team by just setting goals and focusing on winning each game in front of
us. You want to be there at the end of the year, so you just have to focus on
winning as many games as possible.
4.
The world of social media is filled with landmines and has also changed
drastically over the last 15 years. Ohio State is iconic and the interaction
between the outside world and your team in 2017 is too big to monitor all the
time. What is the message that you deliver to your college athletes when it
comes to handling internet attention?
Myers: Less is more. As a coach, you know
players have social media and are going to be a part of social media so you
just address it as a team. We talk to our players and keep an open dialog.
Hopefully, we have done our job as coaches and recruited players who show
responsible judgment and value being part of the Ohio State Family. Playing for
Ohio State, in any sport, is a special thing, and we expect our players to
respect that. Now, social media will always be out there, we just recommend
good judgment and less is more.
The Ohio State
Buckeyes travel to South Bend, Indiana this Saturday to take on the #2nd
place nationally ranked Notre Dame who just beat Virginia in Overtime 11-10,
and lost to a Denver squad two weeks ago, but by only a goal, 10-11. Win or
Lose this weekend against the Irish, Myers and Ohio State will continue to keep
their drive for the National Championship alive. That’s what Buckeye Lacrosse
is all about, they just keep coming and keep coming…
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