From the podcast: Bates coach Pete Lasagna on a new NESCAC

Bates head coach Pete Lasagna joined the "Chasing The Goal" podcast this week. (Phyllis Graber Jensen)

On this week’s episode of New England Lacrosse Journal’s “Chasing The Goal” podcast, hosts Kyle Devitte and Jack Piatelli welcomed veteran Bates head coach Pete Lasagna.

Lasagna has been a fixture of New England lacrosse for more than 30 years. He is heading into his 22nd season as the head coach at Bates.

A challenging out-of-conference schedule is the hallmark of the Bobcats, and this spring will be no different as they will take on NCAA champion RIT, a top-10 York team, and local stalwarts Babson and Western New England in addition to their always-demanding NESCAC slate.

Lasagna recently received the lifetime achievement award from his peers at the IMLCA coaches conference — a testament to his contributions, dedication and influence on the game.  

The full podcast can be accessed below and is available on all major platforms. If you enjoy it please leave a rating and a review. 

This podcast is sponsored by the University of Nebraska High School and the NCAA. For more information on UNHS, visit highschool.nebraska.edu/nelj. For more information on the NCAA championships, visit https://www.ncaatickets.com/sport/mens-lacrosse.

Jack Piatelli: Coach, obviously, it’s been very difficult and challenging for all of us the last couple of years. Are you approaching this season any differently than you have in years past? 

Pete Lasagna: It’s really an interesting question, Jack, and the answer is yes. This is very timely as we’re trying to get our field playable right as we speak, dropping some ideas and doing some shoveling. We’ve been inside for the first six practices and we also have turf that we put down in a hockey rink. But the ice isn’t out yet, so we don’t have that facility available.

So, we’ve had six of the best indoor practices that we’ve ever had. And you have to be creative in that space. It’s challenging. Every time that I’ve left practice, I’ve gone, “Man, that was one of the best practices we’ve had indoors.” Was that one? And so was that one? I’m really just trying to mirror what I’m getting from the young men.

I wanted everybody to be grateful for lacrosse last year, even as complicated and challenging as it was, Jack, with masks. We were socially distanced almost the entire year. We did finally get to play four games, but we never knew throughout the year if we were ever going to get to play one. So to me, it was like a really pure lacrosse experiment. Almost every Bates lacrosse player decided to come back to Bates for in-person education and remote education, with the hopes they might be able to practice (and) with the dreams they might be able to compete. … I don’t care if we have to be in suits of armor and be tested a hundred times a day. I was just so grateful.

I’m an old man. I’ve got a different lived experience than they do. And so for them, it wasn’t straightforward. And some of them, I would say, especially last year’s freshmen, because they had lost their senior year in high school, they were incredibly grateful. But for some of the others, especially for the seniors, it was really complicated. How do I emotionally invest in this thing where I don’t know where it’s going to go? You know, I don’t know if we’re going to get shut down tomorrow. It was really complicated.

So to answer your question, I’m just trying to be as positive and grateful as I possibly can every day and try to exude that. And also, try to reflect where the players are, which I just sense a level of gratitude that is really cool and really fun. It just makes going out there every day really fun, even if you’re indoors in the 9 to 10:30 p.m. slot. 

Kyle Devitte: The NESCAC is as unpredictable as it has ever been, with three teams coming back in Middlebury, Bowdoin, and Amherst that didn’t play last year. How do you prepare for opponents that you basically haven’t seen for years at this point? 

PL: I think it’s fascinating, right? Don’t you? I mean, we’re all in a somewhat similar boat. I would say the one thing we know for sure is that Tufts and Williams start off ahead of the rest of us. I just think that’s the science; that’s the data. I was really happy to see (former Tufts standout) Max Waldbaum put on a heck of a performance against Hopkins for Jacksonville and was reminded that I need to send him holiday greetings for the rest of his young life that he chose to continue his education at another place. But those two teams are going to be unbelievable.

I can tell you, and it’s part of what I think is so cool about your question and the story, that we saw a number of people at our Jack Jam. That’s a tournament that we have to raise money for the Jack Sandler Leadership Foundation every August at Governor’s Academy and a lot of NESCAC teams played it. It’s really a cool event. I saw the Bowdoin team that didn’t get to play last year. And if you don’t think they have stored up an awful lot of excitement to get the good medicine of lacrosse back flowing through their veins, they’re really excited. They’re also really big, strong, athletic and skilled. They’ve got one of the best face-off guys in the country, as far as I can tell that day.

So, yeah, it’s going to be amazing. I mean, it’s just going to be amazing. But I actually love that part as somebody who likes to prepare and tries to get our people as dialed in as possible in terms of game-planning and scouting reports. How cool to go, “All right. Let’s look at their last game. This is what we’re preparing for.” We’re not going to roll any other film, but the game they just played. I think it’s really, really exciting, and I predict that the energy level is going to be insane. 

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