Caravana's Coattails: Coming Full Circle
by Jac Coyne | Lacrosse Magazine Online Staff | Coyne Archive | Twitter
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| Despite leaving last year's senior class at the last
minute to try to prep ranks, Michael Caravana's transition back to
Denison was smooth, resulting in a deep run in the NCAA
tournament. © Denison University |
Dan Maude still remembers the moment he knew he was going to
attend Denison. A senior in high school during the fall of 2004,
the Haverford (Pa.) School player took a recruiting trip organized
by Big Red head coach Michael Caravana. Maude stood next to
Caravana in the press box at the Denison soccer facility when his
decision crystallized.
"We were standing side-by-side and laughing about something, and he
just put his arm on my shoulder and said, 'I'm really happy you
came here for a visit,'" remembered Maude. "You can say, 'It's
weird that he put his arm on you,' but it was as if to say, 'If you
come here, you're going to be family.' It was a really human moment
from a head coach recruiting me. I knew right then."
Maude flew home after the visit and told his parents and
grandparents on the spot that he was going to Granville, Ohio.
About six months later, just weeks before he was to graduate, Maude
received a letter in the mail from Caravana detailing how the coach
was stepping down at Denison to accept a prep coaching position at
Woodberry Forest School in Virginia.
With the luxury of hindsight, Maude confesses he was quite
disappointed, if not a little unhinged — he recounted a story
of his high school coach calming him down after he received the
Dear Dan letter. After contemplating a transfer from Denison after
his freshman year, Maude decided to stay. Smart move. He became one
the most feared midfielders on the Big Red, earning All-America
status after his junior season.
In the fall of his senior year, Maude and his teammates were faced
with the prospect of finding a new coach after Matt McGinnis, who
replaced Caravana in 2005, moved on. Maude and the two other
captains of last year's team were allowed to interview all three
candidates. The third one walking through the door was Caravana,
who had moved back to Ohio to coach the start-up program at
Otterbein.
Considering the back story, Carvana's appearance could have been
awkward, tense or even hostile. It was none of these.
"To see Coach C was great; it was just one of those exciting
moments," said Maude. "We all sort of left the meeting knowing we
couldn't talk about it because we had to keep it confidential, but
we were all really excited."
The prospect of the senior class, all of them recruited by
Caravana, finishing their careers with the coach that started it
trumped any lingering ill feelings. Plus, many of the seniors had
kept in touch with Caravana during his prep years, even working his
camps in Virginia. With the excitement generated by the once-jilted
seniors bleeding into the younger classes, the stage was set for
Caravana's return to the college scene.
"I'd like to think I didn't leave with negative thoughts," said
Caravana, who will be starting his 17th season at Denison in 2010.
"They obviously had faith in me and the institution to come here
originally, so I don't think those change very much. It's just
getting those points across. It gave us a platform to move faster a
little."
Move fast they did, and most of it was due to Caravana's handling
of an early-season obstacle. In the second game of the season,
Denison was stunned by lightly regarded Randolph-Macon, 9-8. The
loss left the Big Red reeling heading into a game with
highly-ranked Lynchburg two weeks later and wondering how its
semi-new head coach would react to the loss.
Caravana's patrician demeanor, which involves a stern stare and a
word of wisdom rather than a high-volume rant, proved to be just
what his players needed in the wake of the distressing loss.
"He's one of those guys that definitely can yell, but a lot of
times he'll give you that look," said Brady Burton, the team's
leading scorer in '09 and a senior this year. "He's that guy you
just don't want to disappoint. When you see him disappointed, it
almost speaks louder than words. It was good the way he handled it.
We refocused, but we didn't get down."
"He definitely has that fatherly figure thing," added Maude.
Denison hammered Lynchburg in the next game, 19-9, setting in
motion an 11-game winning streak, a 14-3 record, and an eventual
trip to the NCAA quarterfinals.
"To me, it's respecting them as a person first and understanding
what is actually important to them in their experience at college,"
said Caravana. "I think I've always been fortunate to be around the
types of people who have that paradigm. You build a very strong
foundation, brick by brick in each relationship, to allow them to
acknowledge that things need to get better, but rewarding things
through praise."
Whether during the recruiting process or his return to the program,
it has been Caravana's family-driven mentality and his father-like
approach to teaching his players that allowed him to return to his
former program with little difficulty and instantly increase
Denison's prominence in the Division III landscape. Developing a
family atmosphere has been aided by Caravana's clan — his
wife, Ashlin and three boys — and his comfort level with
being back in Granville.
"It's been an easy transition, so maybe I didn't burn as many
bridges as many Long Island guys usually do," laughed Caravana, a
Franklin Square, N.Y., native.
Maude's relationship with Caravana didn't go exactly as the player
had originally hoped, but the coach's return for his final season
brought everything back to good.
"Looking back, I made the right decision," said Maude. "And with
Caravana coming back, it was great. I thought, 'This is incredible
— full circle.'" LM
