If you are lacrosse fanatic like me, then you know that this summer, Joe Breschi was hired to be the head coach of the North Carolina men’s lacrosse team. Before UNC, coach Breschi was at Ohio State University, quietly but quickly building a solid program. However, it is UNC that coach Breschi calls home, having graduated from UNC in 1990.
Before coming to UNC, I did not know much about coch Breschi, but I had the feeling that his players really liked him. But now, having met him, I can see why he is “a great coach but an even better person”, as senior Bobby McAuley said it so well to Inside Lacrosse.
Lacrosse Magazine (the publication of US Lacrosse) commissioned me to do a portrait of coach Breshi, as well as to get some “action photos” of him. The portraits haven’t been done, but I am not going to post them here anyway until after US Lacrosse uses them. I don’t want to usurp their publication. But here in this posting are some action photos.
Last year, I obviously attended a lot of practices. I do mean, a lot; so I know what they were about. Going out Friday showed me how much the UNC program is turning around under Breschi’s tenure. The practices were intense, but I could tell the guys were having a lot of fun. One new thing this year is that jersey numbers are not automatically given out. Players have to earn the right to have a number. Until then, your practice jersey is blank. I spoke with Emmit Kellar and he echoed my thoughts: This new system creates a great sense of competition among the players. As I understand it, numbers are given out on a “first earned, first served” basis. If you want to reserve your number, you have to prove yourself during practice that you deserve it.
When I went out, Bobby McAuley earned his number on this day, and you can obviously see the excitement.
