November 5, 2008
By now, you know their names. You know how they played, how they coached and how they helped shape the game that we know today.
They've helped make lacrosse for us. But what made lacrosse for them?
In the November issue hitting mailboxes this week, Lacrosse Magazine presents our profiles of the National Hall of Fame's Class of 2008. The honorees will take their place alongside the game's greatest figures in the annual induction celebration, presented by Bollinger Insurance, on Nov. 8 in Hunt Valley, Md.
Join US Lacrosse today to start your monthly subscription to LM.
by Nathan Maciborski, Special to Lacrosse Magazine Online
Being a Division I college lacrosse coach is a tough business. It requires an intricate knowledge of the game, a tireless work ethic and a family that is understanding when it comes to long hours.
And that's just to field a team.
To become a championship coach at that level requires something more. Maybe that's why only five different schools have won national titles over the last two decades.
Fortunately for the University of Virginia, they have one of those special coaches.
Dom Starsia's ability to think differently dates back to his playing days at Brown University. Recruited out of Valley Stream, N.Y., as a football player, Starsia picked up lacrosse as a freshman. By his junior year, he had blossomed into an All-American defenseman under the tutelage of Cliff Stevenson.
The date was May 5, 1973, and Brown was hosting Penn in a game that would likely decide the Ivy League title. The Bears would end up winning, 9-7, thanks to two intuitive plays Starsia made.
"Penn was in a 10-man ride, so the goalie was out of the cage, covering one of our attackmen," recalls teammate Bob Rubeor. "Dom pulls up at the restraining line and I break from the corner of the field, right towards the goal. He threw a 70-yard frozen rope that never got more than seven feet off the ground. Hit me in full stride. One I just laid into an open goal. And another one I caught and passed it over to another attackman, who threw it in the open goal. That's something you don't see defensemen doing today, but it was an indication of his strength and his understanding of the game."
Starsia graduated in 1974 and continued building his lacrosse resume, both as an all-club player and an assistant coach at his alma mater. He took over the head coaching duties in 1982, and he now stands sixth in NCAA history with 285 victories in 26 seasons at Brown and Virginia. In September, UVA awarded Starsia with a contract extension that will keep him in Charlottesville at least through 2012.
Starsia's success at Virginia -- which includes national championships in 1999, 2003 and 2006 -- stems from a variety of reasons. Some of Starsia's coaching philosophy seems simple (recruiting great attackmen and goalies, for one). What sets him apart is his willingness to let his players play. Cavaliers are not required to conform to some code as if they were cast from an injection molder. Year in and year out, Starsia puts his best players on the field and gives them free reign to display their creative talents.
And if they are anything like their coach, that creativity will undoubtedly yield fantastic results.
National Lacrosse Hall of Fame Class of 2008: LM's Profiles
* Roberta Brennan: All Jokes 'Til Gametime
* Lyn Craunn: Craun-ing Achievement
* Pat Dillon: Clear Signals
* Tom Marechek: Hollywood Ending
* Chris Sailer: Playing for Chris
* Dom Starsia: The 'Frozen Rope'
* George Tracy: Street Sense
* Dick Watts: 'Pappy' Gets His Due
Nov. 5, 2008
 |
|
They've helped make lacrosse for us. But what made lacrosse for them?
In the November issue hitting mailboxes this week, Lacrosse Magazine presents our profiles of the National Hall of Fame's Class of 2008. The honorees will take their place alongside the game's greatest figures in the annual induction celebration, presented by Bollinger Insurance, on Nov. 8 in Hunt Valley, Md.
Join US Lacrosse today to start your monthly subscription to LM.
by Nathan Maciborski, Special to Lacrosse Magazine Online
Being a Division I college lacrosse coach is a tough business. It requires an intricate knowledge of the game, a tireless work ethic and a family that is understanding when it comes to long hours.
And that's just to field a team.
To become a championship coach at that level requires something more. Maybe that's why only five different schools have won national titles over the last two decades.
Fortunately for the University of Virginia, they have one of those special coaches.
Dom Starsia's ability to think differently dates back to his playing days at Brown University. Recruited out of Valley Stream, N.Y., as a football player, Starsia picked up lacrosse as a freshman. By his junior year, he had blossomed into an All-American defenseman under the tutelage of Cliff Stevenson.
The date was May 5, 1973, and Brown was hosting Penn in a game that would likely decide the Ivy League title. The Bears would end up winning, 9-7, thanks to two intuitive plays Starsia made.
"Penn was in a 10-man ride, so the goalie was out of the cage, covering one of our attackmen," recalls teammate Bob Rubeor. "Dom pulls up at the restraining line and I break from the corner of the field, right towards the goal. He threw a 70-yard frozen rope that never got more than seven feet off the ground. Hit me in full stride. One I just laid into an open goal. And another one I caught and passed it over to another attackman, who threw it in the open goal. That's something you don't see defensemen doing today, but it was an indication of his strength and his understanding of the game."
Starsia graduated in 1974 and continued building his lacrosse resume, both as an all-club player and an assistant coach at his alma mater. He took over the head coaching duties in 1982, and he now stands sixth in NCAA history with 285 victories in 26 seasons at Brown and Virginia. In September, UVA awarded Starsia with a contract extension that will keep him in Charlottesville at least through 2012.
Starsia's success at Virginia -- which includes national championships in 1999, 2003 and 2006 -- stems from a variety of reasons. Some of Starsia's coaching philosophy seems simple (recruiting great attackmen and goalies, for one). What sets him apart is his willingness to let his players play. Cavaliers are not required to conform to some code as if they were cast from an injection molder. Year in and year out, Starsia puts his best players on the field and gives them free reign to display their creative talents.
And if they are anything like their coach, that creativity will undoubtedly yield fantastic results.
National Lacrosse Hall of Fame Class of 2008: LM's Profiles
* Roberta Brennan: All Jokes 'Til Gametime
* Lyn Craunn: Craun-ing Achievement
* Pat Dillon: Clear Signals
* Tom Marechek: Hollywood Ending
* Chris Sailer: Playing for Chris
* Dom Starsia: The 'Frozen Rope'
* George Tracy: Street Sense
* Dick Watts: 'Pappy' Gets His Due
