From the podcast: Andrew Fink on hard coaching and next steps

University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) coach Andrew Fink is entering his fourth season at the helm. (University of Saint Joseph Athletics).

On this week’s episode of New England Lacrosse Journal’s “Chasing the Goal” podcast, hosts Kyle Devitte and Jack Piatelli welcomed University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) head coach Andrew Fink to the Seamans Media podcast studio.

Fink spent 16 years at the helm of the Mount Ida College men’s lacrosse team, building a program that won multiple Great Northeast Athletic Conference titles before that school closed in 2018 and was acquired by the University of Massachusetts.

He is entering his fourth season at Saint Joseph and is trying to replicate his success building a new program from scratch. A former defenseman at the University of Hartford, Fink has a coaching style that blends assertive and aggressive techniques with player accountability. 

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This podcast is sponsored by the University of Nebraska High School. For more information on UNHS, visit highschool.nebraska.edu/nelj.

Kyle Devitte: How did you build a full squad at Mount Ida? How did you get to 40 players?

Andrew Fink: It’s interesting. When I got there, the team was basically … if you were a football player and were on the lacrosse team you didn’t have to do the spring lift. So, that’s how we got the guys; that’s how we got players. So, not many of them had played lacrosse before.

We knew that after the 2003 season that we needed to recruit. So, we went into it. We were writing handwritten letters, we were at every showcase; I just went to everything. The school wanted it, they believed we could build something. So, I tried to recruit everyone, I called high school coaches, I really used my resources and connections in Hartford, and anyone that would listen.

We hit on a few kids in the first class, eight or nine guys, that we needed. Like anything, in any program at any sport, we won games in ’04 and then players came. It was much easier to recruit in ’05 and ’06.

Jack Piatelli: You said you grew up at Mount Ida; you were there for 16 years. Then it all came to an end. When did you know (about the school closing) and how did you handle it?

AF: It was tough. We found out as a staff on a Friday; I told the team on Monday and we opened the season on Wednesday. The first month, every player’s reaction is, “Well, what’s next? Where am I going to go?” and that was hard. Again, my family was there; there’s pictures of my kids on the field, I met my wife there — everything was Mount Ida. My every day was Mount Ida.

How I grew the program was that everything I wore had Mount Ida on it. I wore a Mount Ida sweatshirt to a wedding. I knew I had to grow the brand. It was Mount Ida all day, every day. That was tough. My goal was to try and get the team to play and finish, but at the same time those players had eligibility left, (so) where do you want to go?

I was trying to connect with other coaches. UMass Dartmouth was taking the credits, can they go there? (A few players) went down to UMass Dartmouth for a visit at 12 p.m. and then we played them at 3 pm. My wife was on me saying, “You need to start getting your resume ready,” and I said, “Absolutely not.” I wasn’t going to apply or look for anything until these kids were set.

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