MCLAFan.com is proud to introduce Growing The Program, a summer content series presented by Maverik Lacrosse.

As we all know, the MCLA is growing and gaining more and more exposure each year. To help fuel the momentum, MCLAFan.com is conducting interviews with each and every coach in the MCLA about growing their program. We hope to create a valuable resource for current MCLA teams, new programs and potential recruits. We’re proud to have Maverik Lacrosse and Bigfoot Lacrosse on board to support this movement.
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Next we head to West Lafayette, Indiana to check in with Coach Adrian Ward and the Purdue lacrosse program.

MCLA Fan: What are your goals for program growth this off-season? What are you doing to reach them?

Coach Ward: Our off-season activities have consisted of getting returning players into shape, putting on a couple of clinics for h.s. kids, setting up our website as well as twitter & facebook etc and planning our budget and schedule for the upcoming season.

Where do you see your program in 5 years? How will it get there?

We’d love to be in contention for a GRLC championship. It’s going to take a lot of hard work a dedication as well as some good recruits coming in to get us there. We believe we have an effective offensive and defensive system in place; it’s now a matter of being able to execute it consistently.

What are some key steps you’ve taken (or your program has taken) to promote your team on campus and create relationships with administration?

We’re very lucky to have players on the team who love giving back to the community. Volunteering is a significant opportunity for our club and we participate in activities such as Habitat for Humanity, putting on clinics for h.s. programs, holding demonstrations on campus, and we have some players who spend time at our local Veteran’s Home. Two of our alumni, Kevin King and Adam Christ, have created a new website for us while several of our elected officers have been active in establishing our peripheral internet sites.

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Contact: Drew Adams, Maverik Lacrosse

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What has been the most important part of your program’s success so far? Do you have any advice for other coaches (or team presidents) who are working to build a better program?

Well, I’ve only been with the program for two years and my assistant coach a year; we’ve really been focusing on installing our offensive and defensive systems as a platform to future on-field success. The most important part for us has been working with the players to create a common vision of the team we want to be. In that regard, we try to schedule as many ‘top-tier’ programs as we can in order to gain valuable experience and get better.

Advice for other coaches (or team presidents): Communication is essential; you need to communicate with your players, your school and other coaches. Lack of communication will lead to misunderstanding which means your vision will never be carried out unless you’re incredibly lucky.

OOC games are always an integral part of making it to the National Tournament. What do you look for in OOC opponents when scheduling?

We try to schedule the best team or game we can within our budgetary constraints. Our goal is to get our players the best possible lacrosse experience we can provide and that means finding the toughest opponents we can that are willing to play us.

When recruiting, what do you tell potential recruits about your program and university? What do you have to offer?

We offer everyone who comes out for the team an equal opportunity to play but in doing so we have high expectations of conduct and commitment. Potential recruits are always, with parental permission, invited to attend and participate in practice as well as spend time on campus with a player/host. Purdue as a school provides a wonderful education in a wide variety of fields. At the same time, we have a socially active campus with two major cities within less than 1.5 hours.

Thanks for the interview Coach Ward, good luck next season. To find out more about the Boilermakers lacrosse program, check out their team website here.

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If you’re interested in learning more or contributing, please feel free to contact us at info@lacrosseallstars.com.