I couldn't agree more. As a former Captain of the UM lacrosse team and teammate of Jon Paul (1989-1992), I can hardly say that I am unbiased. However, the previous post is absolutely correct in saying that Michigan lacrosse has a long history of being leaders and best. We won the Big Ten lacrosse tournament all 4 years that I played.
Now, Coach Paul has taken his teams to another level and done an absolutely incredible job of building a first-rate program at any level. The fact that he has been able to achieve this and attract top-notch talent with a non-varsity program is difficult to conceive.
But I know "JP" and I know exactly how he accomplished this amazing feat. Coach Paul is the most honest, hardest working, and classiest individuals that I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. He has built this championship program on blood, sweat, and tears by demanding the very best effort from his players, his coaches, and himself.
And it's not just about winning. Just look to last week's BYU game for confirmation. With a 42(!) game winning streak on the line, Coach Paul was put in the very difficult position of disciplining 6 of his players (5 of them starters!) in a rivalry game vs. a Top-5 opponent. Without hesitation, he made the decision to sit all 6 players and teach them some valuable life lessons. The team was forced to play with just 2 (out of 3) attackmen, as they were already short at the position due to injury. The team could have lost confidence when he suspended so many key players earlier in the week. They could have packed it in and given up when BYU went up 3-0 in the first quarter. Jamison Goldberg, the midfielder Coach Paul had to put at attack, could have panicked when he was covered all night by their best defender, a transfer from North Carolina. All of the freshmen that had to be bumped up into key roles could have frozen when the bright lights of a game like this were on them, but they didn't. David Rogers could have called it quits when he sprained his shoulder in the second quarter, making it tough for him to raise his arm at all, but he didn't. Finally, the suspended players could have sulked through the game, but they didn't. They were the team's biggest cheerleaders and led them in the Victors after Michigan came back to win the game.
Coach Paul is precisely the kind of coach that UM deserves and could be proud to called our own. In a day and age when "win at all costs" seems to be accepted, John Paul is a throwback to the times when a Coach does more than just run drills and call plays. Coach Paul teaches his players how to be winners...on the field and off the field.
Now, don't get me wrong. Winning on the field is still very important. After all, the win streak is at 44 games and counting. But it's the quality of these wins that is most impressive to me. Not one of those 44 wins was "bought" by sacrificing ethics or the high standards that Coach Paul demands from everyone within his program. All 44 wins have come 100% classy.
However, it is becoming increasingly evident that there is not much further room for the UM lacrosse team to grow. Coach Paul has taken this program to the top of the mountain and they will continue to distance themselves from even the best teams the MCLA has to offer, despite the fact they wear a giant bullseye on their jerseys each and every game as repeat Champions. But how much longer can this go on? How long before recruits see the lacrosse team's incredible accomplishments, not as a testament to their hard work and determination, but as a lack of challenging competitiion. How long before Coach Paul gets snapped up by a D1 team looking to rebuild their program?
The simple fact is that Coach Paul and the UM lacrosse program have outgrown the MCLA. Coach Paul will never rest on his laurels, and he will never allow his players to do so either. But without the challenge of D1 competition, I fear that we will lose Coach Paul to a less deserving school. Varsity lacrosse at the University of Michigan has been a long time coming. What better time than now? And what better person to lead Michigan than Coach John Paul?
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