I am a South Portland High School student and am participating in an Extended Learning Opportunity (ELO). I chose to explore a career as a sports journalist. For my ELO, I had the opportunity to interview the South Portland lacrosse coach, Dan Hanley and discuss the upcoming season.
Mr. Dan graduated from Bowdoin College and he was the Men’s Varsity Lacrosse Captain. He received a Master of Science in Education from the University of Pennsylvania. He is a social studies teacher at Portland High School and the head varsity lacrosse coach at South Portland High School.
Carlos: What made you fall in love with lacrosse?
Dan Hanley: I started playing lacrosse when I was in fourth grade and as a kid, I played a lot of other sports. Before that, I played hockey and baseball. I love lacrosse because it's a really fast-paced sport. I love that it was a team sport and pretty physical. I found that when I worked really hard at it and worked a lot on my stick skills like throwing, catching, and shooting, I was able to get better which made it really fun for me.
Carlos: What made you decide to become a coach?
Dan Hanley: After I graduated from college, I wasn't really sure what I wanted to do, but I'd always loved sports and lacrosse in particular. I found some jobs teaching and part of being a teacher was that I had the chance to help with the school's lacrosse team. It was a natural fit if I was going to be a teacher to also coach, and it was a way for me to share my passion for this sport and help young men and women the way that my coaches have helped me.
Carlos: What sets your team apart from other teams?
Dan Hanley: We really take pride in how hard we work as a group. The varsity team that I've coached over the last few years has not been the biggest team in the state. We play teams that have 30 varsity players on their roster and we probably have more like 20. We're a little bit smaller in terms of the numbers, which means that some guys have to play multiple positions, and have a lot of different roles. Everyone is contributing in some way. It's a really tight-knit group. We take a lot of pride in our work ethic and in kind of being underdogs. We are not always the biggest team or the most skilled, but we pride ourselves in being the most hardworking.
Carlos: What do you do for a player?
Dan Hanley: When I'm working with my coaching staff to figure out our varsity team at the beginning of the year, we're looking first at players' skills. Can they throw and catch a lacrosse ball comfortably? Are they able to shoot the ball accurately and with power? Are they a good athlete? Are they in shape? Do they understand the game of lacrosse? We call that the “lacrosse IQ.” Probably most importantly though, our coaching staff is looking for character. We're looking for guys who are great teammates, bring a lot of enthusiasm, and are good members of the school community.
Carlos: How do you focus on player development, both individually and as a team?
Dan Hanley: It's hard in a pretty short season. I try to use the first third of practice every day to work on skills, and the rest of practice is usually dedicated to drills, competitions and game-like situations. I try to balance individual skill development with team concepts by playing a lot of mini games. I'll also say that we have a really nice culture on our team where a lot of kids will get out before practice and work on individual skills. The upperclassmen set a really good example to some of the younger guys about how to improve your skills and a lot of that work happens after practice.
Carlos: How do you manage egos within your team?
Dan Hanley: I manage egos in a few ways. First, I try to make sure that everyone really understands their role on the team. When egos are a problem, it's often because two people think they have the same job or someone's frustrated because they're not playing the position they want to be. I try to really communicate well with my players and make sure they understand what their role is on the team. I try to be honest with them and not to set false expectations. The last thing I would say is we as a team try to make sure guys understand that everyone on the team is equal at least in terms of how they are respected as a member. We have captains who have a little bit more influence than the rest of the team but certain things like picking up balls after practice, setting up equipment, or carrying equipment from the bus to the game field are things that aren't just jobs for freshmen and sophomores. Those are jobs that are shared by everyone.
Carlos: What is your coaching philosophy?
Dan Hanley: Sports should be fun. And that's one of the biggest reasons why we play sports. We want to be on a team. We want to compete, but we want to have fun. Sports should be a break from some of the more challenging parts of life. The second part is I think sports are about being competitive. At the end of the game there's a winner and there's a loser. And I think that as a coach I try to make things competitive in a healthy way.
Carlos: What are the team's goals for this season?
Dan Hanley: Ultimately, our goal is to make it to the state championship. We went to the state championship two years ago. We had a more challenging season last year and the goal would be to make it back to the state championship.From there who knows anything could happen.