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Exclusive Interview with New JU Coach – Guy Van Arsdale

Written by Lee Roggenburg on . Posted in .
 
New J.U. Head Coach Guy Van Arsdale
FloridaLacrosseNews.com got an exclusive interview with the new JU Men’s coach Guy Van Arsdale.   Thanks to the folks at Jacksonville University for making Coach Van Arsdale available to us for this interview and thanks to Coach for taking time out and speaking with us. Coach Van Arsdale has spent the last two years at Colorado College amassing an amazing 25-3 record with a roster of players from all over the country.  He had previously coached at Penn State, Notre Dame, and spent 12 seasons as the head coach at Rochester Institute of Technology. IFL – How has the timing of the coaching change this late in the summer affected the recruiting class? Coach – Whenever there is coaching change, no timing is good.  There is never a good time for it to happen.  However, we will stay on top of the recruiting that has already been done and add to it.  After 30 years of coaching I have learned that there is a lot of talent out there.  There is a ton of great talent in the 2012 class that still have no idea where they are headed. IFL – Have you been able to make contact with the incoming class yet? Coach – We have touched base with the 2011 recruiting class and either spoken with them or emailed them as well as all of the returning players. IFL- What will be the priorities for you this fall?  Coach – Our number one priority is relationship building.  We believe in building a family atmosphere with the coaching staff, the players, and the player’s families too.  We want everyone involved to be a part of that family.   IFL – Have you established any goals for your first season yet? Coach – I don’t even know who we are going to play yet.  I believe goals should be set as a team.  But you can look at the scores from the MAAC conference last season and see that it is a very balanced conference and everyone must be ready to play every day. IFL – Looking at the roster you had at Colorado College is amazing.  You had players from the state of Washington to Maine, to Georgia and everywhere in between on that team.  How did you amass such a diverse roster? Coach- That is one thing that I think is going to help us here at Jacksonville.  Colorado is a bit of a lacrosse “outpost” just like Florida is.  But there are great High School Lacrosse players in Florida and we are going to take a look at those kids.  We think that any player who is a great fit for our program and our institution should have the opportunity to stay home and play at the only Dl program in the state. IFL – Your record over the last two years at Colorado College is really impressive.  Do you have any secrets you would like to share on how to go 25-3? Coach- Great players are really the only secret to winning lacrosse games.  You can coach all you want but you must have players who are ready to dedicate themselves to doing whatever it takes to get it done.  IFL – I know the schedule hasn’t been made public yet but the Sunshine Classic was a great event last year, do you know if we can expect to see it again this year? Coach – I believe the Sunshine Classic is all set although they are not ready to release the teams who are playing yet, but I believe we will see that event return this season. IFL – We are excited to have you here in Florida with us; do you have anything else you would like the folks here to know?  Coach – Just that Jacksonville University is giving people in Florida a great opportunity to see some great lacrosse.  I invite all of the lacrosse community to come out and enjoy the game.

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