As spring sports begin at NDB, Varsity and JV Lacrosse are underway. With this, the JV lacrosse team welcomed a new head coach at the start of the season. The Catalyst spoke with Carlos Diaz for a quick Q&A to discuss his coaching philosophy and goals for the upcoming lacrosse season:
The Catalyst (TC): What’s your name?
Carlos Diaz (CD): My name is Carlos Diaz.
TC: How long have you wanted to be a coach for lacrosse?
CD: … So I’ve been coaching middle school for a while, but I think I’ve wanted to coach high school for like, two years now, and I’m just … hyped and thrilled to be here.
TC: What do you want players to learn this season?
CD: I think, just … faith and belief in their teammates and themselves. I think that’s huge, especially on the lacrosse field. Just… being there for each other and communicating is huge.
TC: What will practices be like?
CD: So, we do a lot of bonding early season because I think, again, just adding to … the trust and belief in each other – That kind of helps with … names and support. But, we do a lot of technical stick stuff. So, like passing and cradling. Kind of just fundamentals. And, as the season goes on, we’ll go into more technical stuff.
TC: What challenges do you expect this season?
CD: I think for me, being a new coach, just getting in and working with the system, and getting in what I usually run, but then also just … what the culture has been here. So, I’m still kind of learning that, but I think that’s probably not a super challenge, but something that’s just going to take time.
TC: What’s something that you’re going to try and do to help the team, like, improve other than practice and stuff like that?
CD: I think just integrating a certain culture is huge for me, but also knowing what our standards are. But then also, we want to have fun at practices, and how we kind of hold ourselves, … off the court or off the field, I guess, but absolutely off the court’s the same.
TC: In your opinion, what makes a good teammate?
CD: I think judgment is not great. So, I think just… being a supportive teammate. It’s not gonna be like, “Why did you mess that ground ball up? You never miss them,” and just …having someone to support you and be there for you, even when you have tests, and are in school …These kids have so much stress, and they’re doing so much… between college prep and SAT prep and just all of that. But, I think … being a supportive and kind teammate [is important].
TC: What are you most looking forward to this season?
CD: Good question … I think just being a part of the team this year, which has been really sweet, and hopefully in future years, but just being here and showing up, and just like kind of enjoying it.
