July 18, 2008

It's never too early.

With the 2008 season in the books, our neuroses turn to 2009. From Division I to Division III, MCLA to WDIA, we're spanning the college lacrosse globe for a look at what's in store for coaches and players. Check back to LMO each Friday for a new Q&A feature, as our "Countdown to `09" series continues.

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by Jac Coyne, Lacrosse Magazine Online Staff

Michigan's traditional troubles in the Men's Collegiate Lacrosse Association (MCLA) playoffs was finally wiped away in May when the Wolverines completed the first perfect season in the history of the MCLA with a win over Chapman (Calif.) University in the title game. Gone was the especially bitter taste of the '07 tourney, when fourth-seeded Michigan was routed by No. 13 Northeastern in the first round, 15-4.

And the Wolverines managed to do it with a freshman as their leading scorer.

Despite hanging just 175 pounds on his 6-foot-3 frame, Trevor Yealy scored 70 goals while taking the lumps specifically reserved for crease attackmen. The Pittsburgh native played a huge role in UM's playoff drive. Yealy scored 18 goals and dished out three assists in the four games of the MCLA national tournament in Dallas, including four goals and one assist in the semifinal victory over then-defending champion BYU.

Countdown spoke with Yealy as he was doing some summer work in Ann Arbor.

You played one year with Michigan and they win the MCLA national title. Were you the missing piece of the puzzle?

I don't think so, no. I think a lot of the credit has to go to - and a lot of the older players told me this - a completely different mindset this year than there has been in previous years. A lot of the older kids said that, especially it the fall, they could tell that something was different about this season. They had us work a lot harder than they had in previous seasons and they had us more focused on the team and hustle. The new mentality Coach Paul instilled, combined with our new assistant coach, Ken Broschart, was the final piece to the puzzle.

What did you try and bring to the team this year?

I tell you what, in the fall I had no idea. I wasn't really sure what I could, or what I was going to bring to the team. Then it just came around and I just wanted to play and help out as much as I could. I kind of found that spot on the crease and got a lot of help from everyone. I just tried to bring as much hustle and help as I possibly could.

You scored 70 goals last spring, which is a superb season. But next year every team will be sliding early and keeping an extra eye on you. Are ready for that?

I am as ready as I'll be. I've just got to take that in stride. I'd like to work on some other things; I'd like to make myself more of a threat from outside the crease, so I'll see if I can work on that. I've just got to be ready, find new ways to get open and keep moving and keep helping out.

Have you sat down with Coach Paul or developed an offseason program to expand your game?

The coaches are emailing us all individual documents that will tell us how we can expand and improve our game in the offseason. I haven't seen it yet, but I know it's coming soon. I imagine a lot of it has to do with my play on the crease, like having a quicker release and better vision. But I also expect to work on dodging and trying to help out more and get some more assists [Yealy had five assists in `08].

You were a high school All-American at Upper St. Clair in Pittsburgh. Were you courted by other lacrosse programs and what put Michigan over the top for you?

I wasn't recruited very heavily. The biggest look I had was probably Robert Morris University, a local Division I team in Pittsburgh. I thought about attempting to walk-on at Penn State, and then talked to some small D-III schools. What put Michigan over the top is the education is pretty unparalleled. It can't be beat.

My high school coach during my senior year had been an assistant coach at the University of Pittsburgh and he had told me how Michigan had a great club team and would be going varsity soon, and I knew I wanted to keep playing at a competitive level. Couple that with Michigan's education, and I was sold. That was that.

You're a licensed pilot and are pursuing a major in Aerospace Engineering. Do you want to build `em or fly `em?

I'm not yet a licensed pilot. I'm working on it and hopefully I'll finish that up this summer. I just have to take my flying test to do that.

I've always wanted to fly them, there's no doubt about that. Maybe one day fly for a Fortune 500 corporation. But I also want to do accident investigation, and that's where the engineering degree will come in handy. I want to investigate aviation accidents and whatnot. At the same time I wouldn't mind building them and researching them. I would definitely be interested in that.

You obviously have a love of flight. When did you know you had a passion for it?

When I was a lot younger, we lived in Texas because my mom was in the military. We lived in Fort Hood down in Killeen, Texas. I don't really remember those days, but my parents used to tell me I'd sit out back and just watch the planes land. When we moved back to Pittsburgh, that was kind of lost on me and I hadn't thought about it.

Then we had a Career Day in eighth grade and they just said write down five things you'd be interested in doing. My parents were doctors and I had no interest in doing that, so I asked myself what I had an interest in doing, what I liked. I thought about how much reading I had done about flying and aviation, and how I liked flying on trips for hockey or vacation, so I decided to sit in on a seminar about being a pilot. From that point on I knew I wanted to be in aviation.

Coach Paul said you were an excellent hockey player in high school. Did he have to compete with Red Berenson [UM's hockey coach] for your services?

Oh, no. [laughing] I wish I could say that, but no. Yeah, I played a lot of hockey in high school and I've been playing since I was seven-years old, first grade. I played a lot of years for a traveling hockey team, the Pittsburgh Hornets [junior hockey]. I love hockey and I missed it so bad during the year, but what can you do? Lacrosse was a better fit for me and I'm happy to be where I am at.

Everybody is going to be gunning for Michigan next year and you lose a lot of key players. What are the expectations for next year as you take a look ahead?

The expectation is set as high as it possibly can be. Nobody has repeated and that's our main goal right now. We want to come back and do it again. It's going to be hard with, as you said, everybody gunning for us. The other great teams like BYU, Chapman, Minnesota-Duluth, Arizona State, Colorado State, UC Santa Barbara, and many others aren't just going to lie down and let it happen. Losing those seniors is going to be a tough adjustment, but I have no doubt that if we put forth the hard work and have the work ethic we had this past year, we can be successful.

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June 20, 2008 - Colby's Jon Thompson
June 27, 2008 - UNC's Joe Breschi
July 4, 2008 - Hamilton's Kaillie Briscoe
July 11, 2008 - Johns Hopkins' Dave Pietramala