There is an obvious monkey on our back when it comes to the NCAA tournament.
But we just need to keep getting opportunities, we'll break through.
Maybe I have more patience because LAX didn't have scholarships when I was in school and I knew guys on the team (LAX equipment bags were the best for getting beer and booze to the dorm from D6), but we've come a long long long long way since that time.
The last time we missed the NCAA tournament was 2005.
Corrigan will break through at some point against Duke and or Denver. We just have to keep qualifying and getting after it.
for the Corrigan/Byrne team:
- The Biggest: Hire an Offensive Coordinator to run the x's & o's. Best of my knowledge is that Corrigan might be the only major D1 coach that is his own OC. And quite candidly, I think we need to shake it up. Without the brilliance of some attackmen and singularly talented middies, we really don't have a "system" per se. Not only might be we get some new looks, it would allow Corrigan to:
- Stay on top of the entire team and make sure that there is uniform individual growth and team progression as the season moves on. Please see my comments on John Danowski below. He is singularly the best at this.
- Schedule in a few games that are not NCAA-playoff caliber games early on. No, not trying to shirk the tough schedule bit but reinforce the 1st and 2nd points. I think teams need to get their acts together and playing a game or two more against out-of-conference opponents not named Denver is not such bad idea. I'm not so concerned with the Mikey Wynnes and Sergio's of the world, but the 2nd line middies and man-up attacks.
- Readjust the handle on this team off the field. Corrigan used to pride himself on community service, field trips and keeping his guys humble. He still might but virtually every kid from our town who attends ND right now(a solid mix of girls and guys, current jocks and ex-jocks, non-sociable kids and Thursday night regulars) all tell me the guy's lacrosse team is the one that is most impressed with itself and parties hard through the season. Not so much worried about the ethos of the lax guys (having been a player into college), but focus and discipline are paramount. To answer your question: most admired team for this -- Men's soccer.
Good points:
- Byrne. Byrne. Byrne. Still the best. Not only with the kids/teams he puts out but the ones he produces everywhere with the sharing of his defensive lesson plans. If Corrigan had ever gone back to UVA, Moving Gerry up the ladder with the caveat of getting a top-notch OC would not have been the end of the world.
- Love his use of two-way middies. Not so much old-school as taking advantage of great athletes. Odd that this feature is his offensive twist in a strange way, but hey....it works. Expand it.
Either recruit the best here - I know, limited scholarships - or find best athletes on campus (Denver, when starting out, had an ex high school running back). Since this position has focused more on the "GO" part recently, it might be feasible to use the best athlete you can find.
It seems we are currently losing this battle to every team we play
I agree with all of your comments here and the ones below about Danowski. I have seen videos of Danowski coaching and right now I think he is the best college lacrosse coach. Your suggestions have merit.
To say he has done a "good job" is the understatement of the year. He took a program in a regionally dominated sport that had no scholarships and absolutely no local talent base and turned it into a perennial national power that was ranked number one as recently as a few weeks ago and has gotten itself within one OT goal of winning the title. What more do you want?
There is a ton of parity, mainly due to growth in the sport itself. Long gone are the days of 3-4 teams MD and NY dominating the polls.
We have weaknesses as does every other team out there. We need to get better at faceoffs. Denver still seems to have our number.
But when you are asking for removal of the coach who is consistently putting the team in position to win a title and on whose back the entire program was built, please don't "pretend".
Where was this post back then? I swear, we wonder why good people leave ND. The guy built the program from scratch. He went to the final four with no scholarships.
We know better than the rest and the answer to any and all disappointments is fire the coach. No coach (Waldrum, Clark, Brey, Jackson, Corrigan, Halfpenny other than Muffet (who has had some less than flattering coaching moments as of late) and Lou for which ND Nation serves as little more than an uncritical piece of hagiography)) is spared from the ND Nation wrath. Sure, Sir Alex Ferguson and the remainder of the soccer world thinks of Clark as one of the best minds in all of soccer but not Indy77 who knows better, calls for his ouster at every turn, refers to him as a choker etc. It's just what we do here.
Great post. THere are other internet sites where you can actually have rational discussions about various ND sports. Nott here. Basketball is an exception here. But even with great posters there, mike was roundly berated because of his tourney record a few years ago even though he had a very tough recruiting road and little university support and still won a lot. Thank god he's turned that around. Corrigan has built his program from the ground up and has won a lot at a school with no history in his sport. Why even think about pulling the plug? Because that's the usual course here when lofty exspectations aren't met. Yes, every school has it's nuts, I guess I used to think in my younger day nd was different, I guess I was wrong, st least here.
We were number 1 ten days ago and preseason because of the perceived talent on this team.
There are only 61 Division 1 lacrosse teams so being a top 10 team is not an awe inspiring achievement, winning a NC is noteworthy. This team is supposedly loaded with talent and may be the best team we have had in many years. The play seems very inconsistent at times and we have not suffered injuries to key players, as we unfortunately have in the past. The team has not appeared to improve as the season progressed. Other than Doss having some bad stretches, to what do you attribute the apparent under-performance of this team? I realize that faceoffs could be better, aggressiveness stressed, man-up situations closed out, etc.
Are these lapses due to personnel, recruiting, coaching? As another poster mentioned, Duke improves as the season progresses, we do not. This has been evident not only this season but in past seasons as well. If finishing in the top 10 is a goal and the measurement of a successful season, we have a very successful program.
about 101 teams. Other than maybe VMI, Cleveland State, and NJIT, there are few gimmes. Being a top-10 team is a huge accomplishment. UVA, Georgetown, Brown, Navy, and UMAss haven't been able to do it. Ask Georgetown how Urick's retirement has treated them.
Corrigan has his flaws. He would admit them. It's why Byrne has remained a stabilizing force. He also knows exactly what type of kid he wants for the program, who will fit in at ND, and what type of player he wants for every position. The same can be said for successful coaches like Jackson and Brey. It can't be said about Kelly.
Corrigan made Desko look like a stooge last year on alumni weekend at the Orange dome when ND clowned them 17-7. This year Cuse beat ND in overtime. You want Desko?
You want Lars Tiffany? Just lost to ND this year. Want Bill Tierney? Didn't make the final four last year after entering as the #1 seed.
ND has made as many final four games as anyone over the last 10 years. And they could again this year. If this is to be a down year, so be it. It happens.
...over the course of his career at Hofstra and Duke.
Being a native Long Islander, I'm well aware of his work with the then Flying Dutchmen. And given the enmity one has towards the four-letter word, it really pained me when he joined his son in Durham following the scandal down there because he was finally going to be able to get top tier talent to work with.
The starting point was, of course, the painful 4-3 OT loss, which stills sends a shiver down my sightlines (I was right behind our goal).
But what he does that is great is this...he molds each team to their talents and does not panic in early season. If they need more practice, do it. If an adjustment in personnel, make it. Patience. You bet. And never show up kids.
Result: Duke peaks in the playoffs, year in, year out.
Now, I'm not calling for Corrigan's outster...far from it. But I think I'd like to see a bit whole season approach factor into it. One suggestion: factor in some local games that perhaps are not top(pest) tier to let the kinks get worn out. Duke plays some local games like that and they're not necessarily easy, but he can work on them without worrying if the impact is going to send the Dookies down the national rankings.
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titles. Desko 5, and Tierney 7, most recently in 2015.
Desko and Tierney have both had better careers than Corrigan. No argument.
Would you swap for either of them right now? If not for age, I might swap for Tierney. Desko doesn't seem like anything special to me. I think he panics at time.
My point is that if you listed the top 10 coaches in college lacrosse each of them would have warts. Years where they fizzled out of the tourney with a high seed. Years where the regular season didn't go well despite great players and high expectations.
ND loses to three teams (all ranked in the top 10) and the coach must go. I don't see it.
Don't think so. I'd trade Petro in a heart beat for him and then you can realize what screaming and ranting on the sideline, over coaching and the like. Just compare the results over the last 5-7 years. Then get back to me.
place to start.
When the coach is uptight, the players will play that way.
The constant in your face interactions don't help either.
I agree with your overall assessment. Good guy with bad temperament.
But most of Corrigan's rants seem to be directed towards the refs, not the players. I don't think he looks uptight. He's certainly intense and lacrosse calls for intensity.
He has done a great job with the program and that goes beyond the W/Ls. The culture they have created for the team that includes community service and career development is excellent. The results on the field have been near the top for the past 6-10 years. There are only 2 coaches I'd put above him - Danowksi and Tierney. There are a lot of very good D1 coaches and Corrigan is certainly one of them.