Coaching Lacrosse Without the Credentials: Why Openness Beats Experience Every Time

For All the New Coaches Feeling Like Frauds

You’re standing on the sideline, whistle dangling from your neck, lacrosse stick in hand, as if gripping it tightly enough will keep the doubts at bay. Maybe you never suited up for a Division I program or played under the lights of a Final Four. Maybe you’ve only known the game as a coach, not a player. And now, every drill, every adjustment, every word feels like it’s being silently scrutinized by kids, parents, and that one assistant who starts every sentence with “When I played…”

You’re wondering: “Can I make them believe in me?”

Here’s the thing: respect in coaching isn’t about where you’ve been; it’s about what you’re building. And what you’re building doesn’t depend on your past as a player. It depends on your openness to learn, adapt, and make your players better.

The Myth of the Elite Player Turned Coach

Lacrosse has its fair share of legends. Players who racked up goals and accolades, whose names are spoken with reverence. But here’s the dirty little secret: being an elite player doesn’t automatically make you a great coach.

Too often, these “elite player coaches” think their past glory gives them all the answers. They stick to what worked for their game, for their era, for their team. They cling to systems that highlight their strengths, not their players’. In lacrosse, where adaptability is king—where the speed of the game and the creativity of the players demand constant evolution—this kind of stubbornness is a death sentence.

Openness is the Ultimate Advantage

Great coaches—lacrosse or otherwise—aren’t great because they have all the answers. They’re great because they’re always asking questions.

Think about someone like Bill Tierney. The man’s résumé reads like a lacrosse history textbook: national championships, dynasties, and a legacy that spans decades. And yet, Tierney isn’t known for clinging to the same playbook year after year. He evolves. He listens. He learns.

Or take John Danowski, the architect of Duke’s lacrosse powerhouse. He didn’t rise to greatness by dismissing new ideas or innovations. Instead, he built a program that thrives on collaboration, creativity, and trust.

Even beyond lacrosse, the best coaches—like Bill Belichick in football or Gregg Popovich in basketball—are relentless in their pursuit of growth. Their genius isn’t in their résumés; it’s in their willingness to adapt and listen.

Andy Reid’s Janitor Moment: A Lesson for Lacrosse Coaches

Let me tell you a story about Andy Reid, one of the NFL’s best minds and a guy who never played pro football. He once got approached by a janitor with an idea for a play. Most coaches—especially the arrogant ones who think their experience trumps all—would’ve laughed it off. But not Reid.

He listened. He took the play, worked it into his playbook, and it worked.

Think about that. One of the most respected coaches in professional sports didn’t let his ego get in the way of recognizing a good idea, no matter where it came from. Imagine how that translates to lacrosse, where creativity and fresh perspectives are the lifeblood of the sport. A coach who shuts out new ideas in lacrosse isn’t just stifling themselves—they’re stifling their players.

Lacrosse Coaches: Your Openness is Your Weapon

The beauty of lacrosse is its constant movement, its creativity, its refusal to be boxed into rigid systems. The game evolves with every season, every rule change, every new wave of players who bring their own style.

As a new coach, your openness to these changes is your greatest weapon. You don’t have the baggage of, “Well, this is how I used to do it.” You can see the game for what it is right now and adapt to what your players need, not what your ego demands.

Why Great Coaches Never Stop Learning

Even the legends—those who played and coached at the highest levels—know that greatness isn’t static. Look at someone like Dom Starsia, who coached Virginia to multiple national championships. He wasn’t a “my way or the highway” kind of guy. He thrived on dialogue, on experimenting, on trusting his players to bring their own ideas into the fold.

The best lacrosse coaches are like the best lacrosse players: always looking for the next opportunity, the next angle, the next way to improve.

Advice for New Coaches

If you’re feeling like a fraud, here’s what you need to remember:

1. Respect Comes from Results, Not Resumes
   You don’t need to have played in the NCAA or beyond. You just need to show you can get the best out of your players.

2. Stay Curious
   In lacrosse, the game is always changing. Be the coach who keeps up, who tries new things, who listens.

3. Collaborate and Build Trust
   The best ideas don’t care where they come from. Maybe it’s your assistant. Maybe it’s a player. Maybe it’s even a janitor.

4. Prove it on the Field
   Confidence comes from results, not titles. Show that your approach works, and the respect will follow.

Final Thoughts: Forge Your Own Path

If you didn’t play lacrosse at an elite level, good. You don’t have the baggage that comes with it. You’re free to see the game in new ways, to adapt, to innovate, to build something that lasts.

And remember this: Andy Reid took a play from a janitor. Bill Tierney built dynasties with an open mind. And every great coach, at some point, was just a rookie feeling like a fraud.

You’re in good company. Now go prove them wrong.