By Chris Goldberg
Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 10/25/11
Grady Wise, a former assistant at Methacton, has been named head boys’ lacrosse coach at Phoenixville.
Wise, a North Penn grad who played club lacrosse at Temple, was am assistant the past five years at Methacton. He also plays for the Gryphos, a post collegiate men’s team.
Wise gave this interview with Phillylacrosse.com.
What is your coaching philosophy?
Wise: “To me, sports is really a metaphor for life. I am a dual goal coach: I want to teach the game and teach the athletes something about life. I try to instill these pillars in my program:
“*Belief – Confidence in our abilities and the potential to get better as a team and individuals. Believe in your coaches. Believe in yourself. Believe in our team.
“*Focus – Maintain clear sight of our objectives during practice and games, and in our studies.
“*Positive Attitude – Both in how we see ourselves and the team. This mind set is important in learning from failures and moving forward.
“*Hard Work – Everyday in preseason workouts, practice, games, and school. Pushing ourselves past our comfort zones. We strive to win every small battle.
“*Respect – We respect the game, coaches, teammates, the community, and opponents. All of our actions in school and out of school reflect the team and our program.”
What goals do you have for the 2012 season?
Wise: “Our goal as a varsity team this year is to compete for an opportunity to play in the PAC-10 playoffs. My goal at the JV level is to foster and build strong fundamentals. As a program, my goal is to renew and expand interest in the game of lacrosse in the community.”
What do you see as the strengths of the program? Areas of need?
Wise: “The program has a backing from the athletic director and an investment in infrastructure that will benefit lacrosse (a new turf field and the construction of another turf field). There is a core group of athletes that have played the game for many years and are truly interested in seeing the program grow.
“There is an established youth program where young players have an opportunity to learn the game. However, as of recently the numbers in the youth program have dropped. Phoenixville has a large group of athletes, yet many of these young men and boys do not play lacrosse. I would like to tap into the diversity of athletes that Phoenixville has to offer.”
Leave a Reply