COACHING CHANGE: RYDER TO GALVIN

There’s been a lot of talk lately about the recent coaching change and the integrity of our program. MCLA FAN even called it a “heist” and went as far as to say that our new coach’s lacrosse business sounded like “some sort of lacrosse mafia operation”. Coach Ryder always coached under a mantra of “putting pride back in the program” and both himself and Galvin understand the importance of integrity to our program. After the jump we’ve re-posted a recent forum post and response to the whole situation from Coach Ryder regarding his relationship with Coach Galvin.

There is nobody I trust more to replace me as head coach of this program, than John Galvin. He has the experience as a coach needed to run a highly competitive MCLA program and more importantly has that experience at CU- Boulder in that same position. While the faces he’ll be coaching will be different than 3 seasons ago, there is a ton of talent and he will no doubt lead these guys the right way and demand immediate success. John was a valuable resource to me before I even landed in Boulder over two years ago and has continued to be a significant resource and friend as I began my coaching career. We are both from the same home town in Port Washington on Long Island and we will continue to be good friends in the future. John was the architect of this program for years and that foundation was a big reason my staff and I were able to have success with this team in our system over the past two seasons. John and I do have different coaching styles but I know he has been watching and listening to me and will take what he can from the successes I had as a coach as much as his own successes in the past to be the best coach of this team he can. I wish I had had the opportunity to coach with and learn from John in his previous stint has head coach at CU. I am doing whatever I can to help him in to take on the scheduling that I had started, and anything else he needs to make the transition to the 2011-2012 season a successful one so he can can back in the flow of coaching as easily as possible.

Also, his lacrosse retail store has padded up every single youth player in Boulder for years and that local involvement will help to continue the growth of the CU Lacrosse/ Boulder Valley Youth Lacrosse relationship that Taylor Short and I were able to take to the next level over the last two years with the creation of CU Youth camps and most recently U13, U15 and U17 travel teams that we organized and are currently coaching this summer. Local support and reputation for the program is very important to me, and John is the best man to uphold that and hopefully grow it over the years.

Since my release, the overwhelming support I have received from my current and former players and their families and the families of recruits, as well as the support I have received from numerous MCLA coaches who I have worked with and coached against over the past seasons (including John) gives me pride in the team’s accomplishments while I was the Head Coach at CU. John did so much to bring this program to a great level over his first seven years and I am extremely proud that I was able to take a program that was in a tough place following his departure back to a level where we competed close and won against the top teams of the MCLA. At 23/24 years old, I was the youngest coach at the MCLA tournament the past two seasons, so my time at CU has given me confidence in by abilities as a coach, but more importantly a wealth of experience (14, one, two and three goal games against top teams over a year and a half has my heart feeling like i’ve aged twenty years and coached for decades). That being said, there is much more I can learn in the coaching world and I only intend on getting more experience as I move forward with my career.

The Buffaloes have become my family over the past two years and they always will be. Our seniors from the past two seasons are proud of the things we accomplished together and the three classes below them have gained valuable experience that I hope they continue to build on next season. I have stayed in touch with a majority of them since my release and I will always be there for them in the future. I have worked with many of them at camps we have run and are still running at CU over the summer and look forward to be able to spend time with them before I move on. I will always be rooting for them as they grow as individuals and as a team. Knowing that John will be taking my place, helps me leave CU with peace of mind. My guys are in good hands and I hope all the returners as well as recruits that are the future of the program decide to be a part of it next season to learn more about the game from a great coach and a great guy. I wish them all the best.

Go Buffs!

-Mike Ryder