From the podcast: new Harvard director of ops Christian Thomas

Harvard director of operations Christian Thomas, right, joined host Jack Piatelli on the "Chasing The Goal" podcast.

On this week’s episode of New England Lacrosse Journal’s “Chasing The Goal” podcast, hosts Kyle Devitte and Jack Piatelli talk with Harvard’s new director of operations Christian Thomas.

Thomas joined the Crimson at the end of the summer recruiting window and will serve as Harvard’s new director of operations for the upcoming season. Thomas played his high school lacrosse at New Hampton and went on to star for Merrimack.

A quick and lithe finisher with a nose for goal, Thomas was a part of Merrimack’s NCAA Division 2 championships in 2018 and ’19. He previously worked for 4 Leaf Lacrosse and was a part of the Piatelli Lacrosse alumni team that recently won the Lake Placid Lacrosse tournament.

In addition, Thomas was on the Merrimack coaching staff after his playing career was over.

Watch the full podcast below on YouTube. It’s also available on all major podcast platforms. If you enjoy it, please leave a rating and a review. Watch more episodes on the Chasing the Goal podcast channel.

Here are some excerpts from the pod.

Jack Piatelli: So, Christian, you grew up in a hockey family, and look at you today. You’re going to Harvard. It’s pretty exciting to have the opportunity to coach at Harvard. What does it mean to you? 

Christian Thomas: It’s awesome. You know, part of the reason why I’ve wanted to get into the coaching world is that I grew up with my dad coaching hockey at Babson. In the early years of my life, I remember going to the rinks and going to the locker room. Me and my brother, they used to put us in the middle of the logo and have us fight it out. So that was a huge part of my life growing up. From there, I’ve had some great coaches along the way, one being Coach Piatelli over here. 

I think in the back of my head, I always had the idea that I wanted to be some sort of coach or mentor and whatever way I could work with some of these players. And then, as I got older, the passion grew a little bit more for me. So I was lucky enough to come out of Merrimack, and Coach (Mike) Morgan gave me a gig over there right away. I learned a lot from them and it was awesome. And, I realized that I really did love it. So I was looking to keep moving up in the world and hopefully get another spot. And luckily, I landed one over at Harvard for now. It’s pretty crazy how it all happened. I was just lucky enough to fall into some good people’s hands and they gave me some opportunity.

Kyle Devitte: What made you stay (at Merrimack) because you had the option to leave because of that COVID year? What made you stay with the team and then continue to coach there after your playing career was done? 

CT: I mean, it was kind of a no-brainer for me because, coming out of high school, I didn’t really have any looks. Coach Morgan and the Merrimack staff, they gave me an opportunity and took a chance on me. So, when I got on that campus, it was a given that I was going to give all of whatever I had left in my career back to them. And so when I had that fifth-year opportunity, I was like, “I’m definitely going back.”

I had a great group of guys around me as well, some of my best friends, and some great underclassmen. I just wanted to see it all the way through and finish out my career there. And then the same thing when I was coaching there. I love being a part of that program. It was great for me. So if I could give anything back to it, you know, that was my chance to do so.

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