Coach DiPietro Interview Transcript

Coach DiPietro Interview

0:03- Coach, Why do you think Long Island continually produces top-notch collegiate talent?

0:10- I think one of the reasons is due to the youth programs on the Island. I think there is a lot of history on Long Island starting with Manhasset and Garden City in the 1930s and programs like that that have youth programs that are so big they just spread to the other communities on Long Island. It’s one of those places where kids start playing at a young age so by the time they get to high school and college they have already played for 10-12 years.

0:38- How would you compare the players coming out of Long Island versus what is considered the other top hotbed in the country, Baltimore?

0:45- There is always that battle between Maryland and Long Island. The stereotype is that the Baltimore/Maryland player is more finesse and stick skills and things like that and Long Island is more physical and more hard-nosed and the guys scrape a little more but they both produce excellent players

1:09- Why do you think other areas such as Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Virginia, all areas that have a long and rich tradition of lacrosse, don’t produce the same amount of top players that Long Island does?

1:21- I think some reason is because I think the college coaches, a lot of college coaches got their start on Long Island or Upstate New York or Maryland and a lot of those coaches come back to these areas because they get certain types of players with a certain type of mentality so they like recruiting those types of guys.

1:41- Have you seen any trends on the college recruiting scene that already have top colleges going away from the traditional hotbeds like Long Island in search of players elsewhere and other states?

1:52- Definitely, as the sport continues to grow across the country, there are more and more teams, more and more programs, so its only a matter of time before some warm weather states where you can play all year long start catching up to places like Long Island, Maryland, but college coaches are definitely looking other places to find that diamond in the rough that they can’t get from here.

2:15- Do you think that as the sport spreads, states like Colorado, California, Texas, will eventually replace Long Island as the top place to go get players ?

2:23- I don’t know if it will replace because I think the sport is so ingrained in Long Island in the culture and the communities that I don’t know if it will ever replace it but I definitely think places like that will start to produce division one talent on a consistent basis every year.