An interview with Brian Silcott -head coach S.F. Dragons

Posted by Coach Till at 8/29/2006 3:05 PM and is filed under MLL
Brian Silcott has been playing lacrosse for more than 20 years.  He was an Athlete of the Year in high school, a DIII National Champion with Nazareth College, a first team All American and Middie of the Year, and has played in the MLL and NLL.  He was a college head coach at Trinity College and is currently the head coach for the expansion San Francisco Dragons who made it to the MLL semi-finals in their first year.  Brian has also worked as a director for lacrosse camps and is currently living in Portland, OR.  In addition to coaching the Dragons he will also be working with Ryan Powell, who also lives in Portland, on some other ventures he mentions in the interview.




What kind of team concept do you like to promote with the Dragons?

We firmly believe that playing together as a team is the key to our success. On offense we want to share the ball and force the defense to cover and be aware of everyone in our offense.  When we don't do this we struggle to get goals.  On the defensive side you have to play as a team to have success in the MLL.  Everyone has offensive players who can force you to slide. Working as a team is the only way to slow down great offensive talent.

Surely, Ryan Powell was unstoppable this season.  He is also a very unselfish player.  How important was it to have him around with a lot of younger, newer players? What was his influence like in the club house?

Ryan is incredible in so many ways.  He loves to play and goes hard all the time on the field.  But he also raises the level of all the guys around him.  People love to play with him and he is a natural leader.  He constantly talks to the other offensive players and offers everything he has to help them succeed.  Ryan is the ultimate star he is a great player but also a great team guy.  We are constantly hearing about the selfish superstars in professional sports.  Well, Ryan is anything but that.  He is team first at all times.

How hard is it organizing with part-time pro-players?  How many times do you actually practice together? Once a week? Once a month?

We practice the night before the game and then have a walk through the morning of the game.  Most of our organization happens during training camp when we have the guys for multiple practices over the weekends for a full month.  It is not easy to stay on top of things once the season starts and we have to rely on the guys doing most of their training on their own.  These are factors that we consider when picking our team.  We want guys who we know will work hard and who will be quick learners when we need to make changes.

What was the toughest part about being an expansion team this year?

I think it was learning to rebound when things did not go well.  When we struggled during a game we had no history to fall back on.  Everything was new and while it was a great season the best thing to come of it will be what we learned as a team and how that will make us better next year.

What was your toughest loss not counting the playoffs?  Why?

The last LA game.  All three LA losses were tough but the last one was our worst effort of the year.  We had a chance to lock up the playoffs on our home field and we failed.  That one will bother me for a while.

What was your most complete game as a team?  Why?

Probably the Rochester game.  But, we also played very well in the second Chicago game.  In both of those games we moved the ball very well and controlled the middle of the field with our middies.

How has the Northwest lacrosse scene changed in the short time you've been up there?

I think the arrival of the Lumberjax was the biggest change.  Having a professional indoor team in the region is great for the growth of the sport.  There will be lots of new stuff coming soon for the Portland lacrosse community.  Ryan Powell and I will be launching Blue Collar Lacrosse and Rhino Lacrosse in the very near future.

How have the fans in SF treated the Dragon's?

The fans were great but we hope to get a lot more of them next year.  There is no reason we shouldn't be averaging 6K spectators at Kezar for our home games.  The folks that came out this year had a great time but I hope they will all bring friends next year.  As an organization we need to do a better job marketing the team during the off-season.

How have you seen lacrosse evolve since you played at Nazareth? Good?  Not so good?

I love the changes in the game.  I have been playing lacrosse at a very high level since I first played in the Vail tournament back in 1986.  That is 20 years of playing with and against the best players in the world.  Lots of people are quick to bad mouth the MLL or the NLL or the new sticks, or whatever, but I think most of them have not been a part of it.  The game of lacrosse is the best it has ever been, in my opinion, and it will continue to grow and evolve in the years to come.  Yes, the sticks are easier to play with but that does not, in any way, ruin the game.  It makes it better and more accessible to more people.  People complain about how the new heads hold the ball but the long poles are lighter, the gloves are better, the defensemen are bigger and better athletes.  I am sure there were guys in the 70's who said plastic sticks were ruining the game.  Now some guys who played with the early plastic sticks say the newer ones are ruining the game because it is too easy to hold onto the ball.  When I was coaching at Trinity College the defensemen from Middlebury did not seem to have much trouble getting the ball to come out of my attackmens "new" sticks.

What's it like going from being a college player to a pro player, a college coach to a pro coach? What are some of the different "nuances" to each?  Similarities/differences.

It is very similar and very different in both cases.  As a coach you are still coaching lacrosse and much of what goes on out on the field is very similar in college and the MLL.  But in the MLL you are dealing with a team made up entirely of All Americans.  Every guy on just about every MLL roster was "the man" on his college team.  Managing egos and making sure everyone gets the ball is a big part of MLL coaching.  You don't have the time together that you do in college to build a "team" feeling among the guys so you have to find other ways to develop it.  As a player it was different from college but very similar to playing in the elite tournaments.  I played on teams in Lake Placid, Vail, Glastonbury, etc.  that were very much like MLL teams and often the style of play was very much like the MLL.  We even had the shot clock one summer out in Vail .

What's your favorite burrito place in SF?

I have not yet had a burrito in SF but I love eating in the North Beach area or at one of the "natural" places on Haight.   My favorite burrito place in Portland is the Laughing Planet. And my favorite Burrito place ever is Veracruzana in Northampton, MA.

How soon do you think a DI college will get a varsity lacrosse team on the West Coast? Maybe a PAC-10 school?

That is a great question and I really don't have an intelligent answer.  Soon I hope but as long as colleges choose to respond to title nine by cutting programs for men rather than adding them for men and women it will be tough to start a DI Men's lacrosse program.  

What are some good practice habits you've learned over the years and from whom?

In the sport of lacrosse you have to spend a ton of time practicing outside of practice.  There is not enough time in regular team practice to become a great (or even adequate) stick handler.  I have learned this from 25 years of playing lacrosse.   Also you can never be in too good of shape.  I learned this from Greg Vaughn, my HS coach.  And then it was beaten into me by my college coach.

Who was your favorite coach and why?

Scott Nelson.  He was my coach at Nazareth.  Obviously, I had been playing lacrosse before I went to Naz but Scott taught me how to really play and he taught me to love the game. 



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