And other MCLA coach related musings.

This morning I started thinking what I wanted to look like on the sideline next spring. How a coach looks on gameday is a direct reflection of his coaching persona, what the program represents, and the success of the team.

Knowing full well that every one and their mother threw Coach Stevenson under a bus for wearing all black, here are some of my options.

Gaining 200 pounds.

Eternal visor.

Team colored blazer.

European assassin going through a mid life crisis.

And of course, the sweater.

Months away from making a decision that could change my life forever. Probably look into a more professional haircut in the next 48 hours.

I’ve already started on the 2011 schedule. Thought we were ahead of the game. Wrong. Turns out a lot of other coaches have as well. Already looking forward to next summer.

Because the GRLC is so vast conference games tend to be packaged up on weekends. For example, we will be playing Illinois and Missouri at Illinois.

The problem those packages create is that typical home and home agreements can become cloudy situations. Last season, Indiana had four of six home games at home. Flip to 2011 and we’re looking at best case scenario of 2 at home and 4 on the road.

Add in the fact that we can’t host a home game until after March 21st and there’s not a lot of talent nearby and all the top teams seem to have their schedules done already and you’re looking at a lot of time on the road.

That creates two significant problems. Cost and exposure.

A three day bus trip costs $95 per person on a 40 man team. Hotels cost $50 per person assuming you are trying to tempt the spread of the Bubonic plague and put 4 young adults in the same room. Five road trips and you’re looking at a minimum of $725 per player before you even think about the bus driver’s hotel, bus driver’s tip, and food costs.

Not having a significant home game slate hurts on campus exposure. We can’t show off the the on field product to the rapid Hoosier fan base if we aren’t playing meaningful games in Bloomington. What’s the solution? We’re going to have to market the midi-chlorians out of the home games, if only to generate interest for 2012.

When coaches at North Carolina found out I was the head coach at IU, they became very interested in how a club team operates. Who pays for everything? Do you have any assistants? How do you recruit?

I love recruiting. I spent more time recruiting than I ever did playing college football. (Simmed the regular season and played the tournament. Unless, I lost a simmed game. Then, I started over.)

Recruiting to Indiana isn’t that hard either. Big stage. Big life. Big 10. (Big 12).

The Kelly Business School brings players from the tri-state area without any of my help. What tri-state area? New York, Connecticut, New Jersey.

While the weather isn’t postcard worthy, Bloomington, Indiana is a pretty sick little college town.

Lacrosse wise the program was on the rise before I arrived.

Now I’ve got kids who read the blog telling me they want to come to IU. Don’t under estimate the power of this blog. I wanted to play at Colorado State after reading Flip’s journal for years and he never included pictures or videos. Therefore, I encourage other MCLA teams to get online and start documenting everything. It doesn’t have to be coach driven like 412 or Flip’s. Look at Red Hot Buffs. What hippie/snowboarder/general outdoor enthusiast wouldn’t want to play lacrosse at CU after visiting that blog? None.

How are we recruiting right now?

First, I am in the process of reaching out to every player I know who is arriving at Indiana at the end of August. I have to inform them how the team operates, what the expectations are, and how much player dues cost.

Second, I have to reach out to the all high school coaches in Indiana. I have to ask them to put me in touch with their graduated players who will be coming to Indiana. Then I have to start building relationships with them to create pipelines to Bloomington. We have to create an environment at IU where the top in state players are weighing NCAA options directly against being a Hoosier.

How are we recruiting out of state players?

I’m still very connected in Pittsburgh which is only 7 hours away.

I signed up for Lacrosserecruits.com which has already proved to be an unbelievable resource.

Yes, the blog.

Being at camps all summer boosts exposure to infinity and beyond. “Oh, I didn’t know Indiana had a team.” Well they do son, are you interested? Let’s talk about you becoming a Hoosier.

And of course, there’s the email out of the blue from a rising junior in Florida who has started varsity since freshman year and wants to come to IU. Then just to add to my day, I get an email from a D3 transfer (former high school All American) who will be arriving this fall.

I’d say I can’t wait to get started but we already started.

______________________

Early favorite for glove of 2011

Warrior’s MD3

5 customizable zones are making it hard for me to sleep at night.

Of course he played hockey. But did he play box too?

That tape job is offensive.

DJ 412

Two songs that have been getting heavy rotation at the 412 office park.

Two more reasons why I stopped playing Madden 5 years ago

Kanye finally joined Twitter.

The magic started yesterday and he even got his first picture tweet accomplished.

Don’t miss all the action on our tweet tweet machine.

Notes

Special interview from the Lorne Smith camp

What was Pitino thinking?

Heat Lebron jersey in Cleveland stirs up trouble

All we care about now is analyzing other coaches