We were fortunate to catch up with Patrick Kennedy, the head coach at the Episcopal School of Dallas (ESD).
A veteran in the coaching ranks, Kennedy played collegiately at Syracuse and professionally with the Chicago Machine. The Ohio native took over the ESD program in 2012.
Below is our Q & A with Coach Kennedy, who discusses the growth of lacrosse in Texas, the challenges high school players in the area face in the recruiting space, and Texas high school teams are becoming nationally competitive.
You are very familiar with “non-hotbed” areas, coming from Ohio and now coaching in Texas. What are some things players in these areas should be doing to get on a college coach’s radar?
Ohio and Texas lacrosse players continue to improve, and it is no secret that more and more players from these states are finding themselves on NCAA rosters. Unfortunately for players in Texas, there aren’t many opportunities for college coaches to travel to watch high school games in Texas in the spring.
Therefore, it is more important for players in the non-traditional areas to make highlight reels and attend recruiting events in the summer and fall months.
What are some of the challenges players from Texas face in the recruiting process?
As stated above, since Texas isn’t located near most of the NCAA lacrosse programs, players have to showcase their skills outside of the spring season. In order for players to be seen there has to be a lot of travel to recruiting events. Players from Texas can be exhausted at the end of the summer due to all of the travel (flights, hotels, etc.) However, more and more events are taking place in Texas during the summer and fall months and the college coaches are starting to make the trek down to us.
The growth of lacrosse in Texas has been impressive over the last decade. What do you attribute this to?
I have been in Texas for two years. The passion for the game is incredible. Parents, players, referees, and coaches are all doing their part to grow the game. Mix in the warm weather and coaches relocating to Texas and you have the “perfect storm” for a developing area.
Texas High School teams (like ESD) have become real players on the national scene. Do you think it will continue to grow and be successful at the high school level?
Texas high school lacrosse is growing and is showing no signs of slowing down. Many teams in Texas are playing a “national” schedule. Spring Break trips to the East Coast are common. Last year, ESD traveled to Baltimore and played at Loyola-Blakefield, the eventual MIAA Champions. Playing nationally known programs only helps put Texas lacrosse on the map.
Three of your players just committed to DI schools. What roadmap did they follow to be able to do this?
Foster Huggins (Loyola, Defense), Jack Beare (Notre Dame, Attack), & Richie Loftus (Dartmouth, Attack) are all special players and people. First of all, they are hard workers. They have spent countless hours in the weight room, on the wall developing stick work, and watching film. Secondly, they played for Texas club teams and national club teams away from Texas. They were taught the game by many different coaches, which will make them more able to adapt to their college programs. Their college dreams are possible because they took care of the academic piece to the puzzle.
Editors note: Click here for more on Beare, Huggins, and Loftus.
What is the outlook for your upcoming season?
ESD has high hopes for the 2014 season. We lost a great senior class and they will definitely be missed. We are putting the 2013 state championship loss in the rear view mirror. We have 7 returning starters and a lot of younger players coming up in the program. On top of the 3 seniors committed to college, junior Sam Romano (Syracuse commit) will lead the midfield group. If we can take care of the little things we should put ourselves in good position at the end of the season.
Thanks so much to Coach Kennedy for his time!
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