With the 12th Annual Father Marco cup a little bit more than 72 hours away we sit down with DeSmet Jesuit Head Coach and DeSmet Alum Joe Douglas and get his take on the season and this weekends events. As always this years preview series is brought to you by The Normal Brand.
PS: Coach thank you for taking the time out of this busy week. You are coming off of a hard fought game vs Webster Groves, that saw freshman goalie Dylan Radke play a phenomenal game. How do you think he will handle the pageantry and big game atmosphere at SLUH?
JD: Sure no problem, I don't expect him to buy into it at all actually. Early in the season he got some big game jitters. He was noticeably nervous against CBC but he settled down and had 9 saves in the 2nd half. Overall his general demeanor and personality is that he is very even keeled, has fun, and loves a challenge so it's not something I'm worried about.
PS: Senior commit Leonard Jones has really excelled this season and is having a great year. What impact has he had on your offense that was expected to be a down year with the loss of Noah Iversen?
JD: Ha, I didn't expect us to have a down year on offense at all this year. I expected our offense to be our strong point!! With that being said LJ is a game changer at attack and he is now back where he's comfortable and his shooting style plays into that position a bit more. It's also great to have him there because no matter who is guarding him, teams have to worry about him and have to be prepared to slide any time he gets the ball. That opens up a lot of other guys on the field.
PS: Derek Radke has also had solid year for you on the offensive side of the ball. What has his leadership been able to do in those close games for your team , and how has he been able to mentor his younger brother?
JD: Derek has been a leader not only for his brother but also for the whole team. He works hard, listens, is coachable, and pushes himself and his teammates all the time. In regards to Dylan...the biggest factor is that having one brother an attackman and one brother a goalie... you always have someone to shoot on and you always have someone willing to give you some shots. Dylan, has only played in 10 games and is a frosh but he's been seeing varsity level shots for 2 years while Derek has been playing at DeSmet.
PS: You have a solid two man unit at the face off dot with juniors Max Rogers and Michael Mcdonough. With the graduation of Craig Koester to Lynchburg how have the two of them been able to fill that role for you so far this year?
JD: They've done a great job, not only because they are winning at the X but also because other teams will struggle to match up against them. They are truly midfielders and will stay on to play offense. Similar to Craig last year... that position for us is a weapon that other teams have to respect. When you have F/O players averaging about 1.2 points a game combined, thats' really impressive. With that said though, Broughton is in a league of his own though, so we'll just be worried about winning the draw on Saturday.
PS: Offensively and Defensively what are your strengths and some of the areas you will look to have in impact on Saturday?
JD: Offensively we have a great unit that can break players down 1v1, we need to make our shots count as they have a great goalie on Saturday. Defensively, same thing... we have a great unit that is tough to break down 1v1 but that wont phase SLUH as they use a lot of off-ball movement. We'll need to be at our best in this game.
PS: With a staff almost full of DeSmet alums having the opportunity to play for the legendary Coach Mike Sennett, how much does this game mean to not only your team but your staff and program as a whole?
JD: It means a lot to both sides, it's cheesy but you can literally throw the record books out, this will be a close game no matter what. The staff loves this game, it's a fun experience for the players and obviously having former teammates on the desmet/sluh staff in years past always made it more interesting. DeSmet's staff is exclusively former SLUH and DeSmet players, not on purpose... but I think it shows you how similar the programs are and the values instilled by both coaching staffs.
PS: To follow up on the above question how have you instilled the "Count on Me" mentality with this years team?
JD: I like to teach them self-accountability. A lot of responsibilities that a coach usually has I've passed onto them and kind of guided them through it at the beginning. I think the biggest thing for them to realize is that this is their team, not mine and not the alums. They run the show to an extent and the team will only go as far as they are willing to push themselves and each other. They need to make it their own while also recognizing the traditions and success that has come before them I've put most of that on not only the captains but also the returners. There were 8 total and they are the true leaders of this team and they bought in last year so that has helped out a lot.
PS: To wrap what is your most memorable moment from this rivalry during your playing time here at DeSmet?
JD: Well I'm too old for this to have been a rivalry for me, I think they started the Marco cup about four years after I left. This will be my 8th game as a coach though and 2009 was my favorite year. Both teams were in the top 4 in the state that year. SLUH actually ended up winning a state championship. We were a little over matched but we ran some gimmick defense and ended up holding their team to 5 goals. That was tied with their lowest goal total of the season. It was especially sweet because their two best players (who we ran the defense to stop) are currently on the staff now, so I like to give them some trouble about it. Overall though, I look forward to it every year. Even in 2009 there were guys on that team that I had coached over summer and there still are now guys that I work with. They are always great kids so it's a fun day to get to coach against them.
Thank you to Coach Douglas. Make sure you come out to SLUH this Saturday to watch some phenomenal lacrosse and support three fantastic charities. It will be a great day. Stay tuned for tomorrow's interview with SLUH Head Coach Tyler Gilbert.
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