June 24, 2023 - Dylan Sheridan has coached lacrosse for 15 years across all levels, but the foundation for both his playing and coaching careers were formed in D3 programs. After graduating from Western Reserve Academy (WRA) in Hudson, Ohio, Sheridan attended D3 Claremont McKenna College in California where he played football and starred on the MCLA lacrosse team. He graduated in 2006, a year before Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (CMS), the combined athletic entity for three colleges, began a D3 women’s lacrosse program.
In 2008, Sheridan began his coaching career at D3 Pfeiffer University in North Carolina, before moving to Lebanon Valley College in Pennsylvania in 2010. Subsequent coaching stops have included D1 programs at Denver University, Princeton University, Cleveland State University, where he was the program’s inaugural head coach in 2015, and Ohio State University. Coming out of the 2020 COVID year, Sheridan returned to his alma mater, WRA, as head coach for the 2021 season. The Pioneers had a record 3-17 in 2019 and were ranked 1688th nationally. In 2023, WRA finished 2023 with a 15-6 mark, good for a Top 20 national ranking from LaxNumbers.
He has coached club lacrosse for West Coast Starz and Spiders Lacrosse Club. During the 2023 World Championship, Sheridan is coaching for Team Puerto Rico.
You attended college in California and have coached for West Coast Starz in the past, what steps need to be taken to have more colleges host teams on the west coast?
I think there are a lot of factors at play when you talk about expansion at the collegiate level. Title IX is obviously the first barrier. Unfortunately, I think Covid set things back a few years as athletic departments that may have been considering adding lacrosse experienced budget cuts. It’s going to take a motivated group of administrators at several schools to work together to make it happen so they can save on travel expenses. In addition, many of those schools have strong MCLA programs with great traditions and cost the school nothing, which doesn’t really incentivize an athletic program to add it at the varsity level.
What do you feel are the positives and negatives to D3 Lacrosse?
The positives are huge. There are so many wonderful academic opportunities and lacrosse programs that offer perfectly matched competitive experiences for players of basically every level. The negatives are usually attributed to resource allocation. There’s never enough money to go around and the difference between the HAVEs vs the HAVE NOTs is often pretty substantial.
You send kids to some of the best D3 programs every year, do you feel there is a specific type of player that fits the D3 lacrosse environment?
The type of player that fits in the D3 environment is exactly the same kind of player that thrives at WRA. They appreciate independence. Value community. Do a great job of balancing academics and athletics by taking personal ownership of their roles and responsibilities. Compete really hard in every aspect of the student-athlete experience because they love the game and being a part of something bigger than themselves.
When it comes to recruitment, what are some tips you give your players at WRA?
The biggest piece of advice that I can give is that players need to train and practice more. Playing club and doing showcases/prospect days before you’ve put in the work on the field and in the weight room is putting the cart before the horse. The higher the ratio of training to evaluations the better your odds are at a successful recruiting process.
Win your match up off ball. High school athletes are so conscious of what they do when they have the ball or when their man has the ball that they lose sight of the fact that 5/6th of the time you’re off ball and to be successful at the next level you’ll need to develop that IQ and competitive edge.
What do you feel is one of the most underrated qualities high level players have, and how should young aspiring high level players adapt to this quality?
Talk. Talk. Talk. Challenge yourself to become a better communicator. Every problem can be solved if you’re able to effectively communicate with a teammate. That goes on the field and off. The best players in the world are all incredible communicators on both sides of the ball. They’re able to quickly diagnose, process, and communicate what’s happening and slow the game down for themselves and teammates.
What steps do you feel need to be taken to help grow lacrosse at all levels of the game?
I think we need more players to give back to the community by coaching and officiating. I’m worried about the travel team scene as it relates to youth lacrosse and its long term impact on the growth of the game. The more community based initiatives and free play opportunities at the youth level the better in my opinion. Games like box and sixes are also great introductory opportunities to lacrosse for beginners. I’d like to see the rules change to create uniformity across high school and college as well. There are a lot of ways we can improve and grow the game, but it starts with people and giving back.
You stop at a gas station, what 3 items are you picking up to carry you through the rest of the drive?
Trail mix
Bang Blue Razz
Beef Jerky
What is your pregame song?
The Godfather Theme Song - Performed by Slash from Guns & Roses.
In 2008, Sheridan began his coaching career at D3 Pfeiffer University in North Carolina, before moving to Lebanon Valley College in Pennsylvania in 2010. Subsequent coaching stops have included D1 programs at Denver University, Princeton University, Cleveland State University, where he was the program’s inaugural head coach in 2015, and Ohio State University. Coming out of the 2020 COVID year, Sheridan returned to his alma mater, WRA, as head coach for the 2021 season. The Pioneers had a record 3-17 in 2019 and were ranked 1688th nationally. In 2023, WRA finished 2023 with a 15-6 mark, good for a Top 20 national ranking from LaxNumbers.
He has coached club lacrosse for West Coast Starz and Spiders Lacrosse Club. During the 2023 World Championship, Sheridan is coaching for Team Puerto Rico.
You attended college in California and have coached for West Coast Starz in the past, what steps need to be taken to have more colleges host teams on the west coast?
I think there are a lot of factors at play when you talk about expansion at the collegiate level. Title IX is obviously the first barrier. Unfortunately, I think Covid set things back a few years as athletic departments that may have been considering adding lacrosse experienced budget cuts. It’s going to take a motivated group of administrators at several schools to work together to make it happen so they can save on travel expenses. In addition, many of those schools have strong MCLA programs with great traditions and cost the school nothing, which doesn’t really incentivize an athletic program to add it at the varsity level.
What do you feel are the positives and negatives to D3 Lacrosse?
The positives are huge. There are so many wonderful academic opportunities and lacrosse programs that offer perfectly matched competitive experiences for players of basically every level. The negatives are usually attributed to resource allocation. There’s never enough money to go around and the difference between the HAVEs vs the HAVE NOTs is often pretty substantial.
You send kids to some of the best D3 programs every year, do you feel there is a specific type of player that fits the D3 lacrosse environment?
The type of player that fits in the D3 environment is exactly the same kind of player that thrives at WRA. They appreciate independence. Value community. Do a great job of balancing academics and athletics by taking personal ownership of their roles and responsibilities. Compete really hard in every aspect of the student-athlete experience because they love the game and being a part of something bigger than themselves.
When it comes to recruitment, what are some tips you give your players at WRA?
The biggest piece of advice that I can give is that players need to train and practice more. Playing club and doing showcases/prospect days before you’ve put in the work on the field and in the weight room is putting the cart before the horse. The higher the ratio of training to evaluations the better your odds are at a successful recruiting process.
Win your match up off ball. High school athletes are so conscious of what they do when they have the ball or when their man has the ball that they lose sight of the fact that 5/6th of the time you’re off ball and to be successful at the next level you’ll need to develop that IQ and competitive edge.
What do you feel is one of the most underrated qualities high level players have, and how should young aspiring high level players adapt to this quality?
Talk. Talk. Talk. Challenge yourself to become a better communicator. Every problem can be solved if you’re able to effectively communicate with a teammate. That goes on the field and off. The best players in the world are all incredible communicators on both sides of the ball. They’re able to quickly diagnose, process, and communicate what’s happening and slow the game down for themselves and teammates.
What steps do you feel need to be taken to help grow lacrosse at all levels of the game?
I think we need more players to give back to the community by coaching and officiating. I’m worried about the travel team scene as it relates to youth lacrosse and its long term impact on the growth of the game. The more community based initiatives and free play opportunities at the youth level the better in my opinion. Games like box and sixes are also great introductory opportunities to lacrosse for beginners. I’d like to see the rules change to create uniformity across high school and college as well. There are a lot of ways we can improve and grow the game, but it starts with people and giving back.
You stop at a gas station, what 3 items are you picking up to carry you through the rest of the drive?
Trail mix
Bang Blue Razz
Beef Jerky
What is your pregame song?
The Godfather Theme Song - Performed by Slash from Guns & Roses.