July 8, 2023 - Nat St. Laurent is the only head coach in D3 Ohio Northern University history, amassing an overall record of 80-41 in eight seasons. He is also the only head coach in the five-year history of the PLL Redwoods Lacrosse Club. As of July 7, 2023, he has coached the Redwoods to a 20-20 overall record, including a trip to the 2019 championship where the Redwoods lost 12-11 in overtime.
St. Laurent began his collegiate coaching career at D1 Virginia Military Institute in 2005. He has additional experience coaching at the D3 level with Washington & Lee and Ferrum. He also spent time as an assistant coach with the MLL's Ohio Machine.
What are the positives and negatives to D3 lacrosse?
So many options for players to play. Great academic institutions. Negatives to D3 may be not having access to players all year round. The disparity of institution of support between programs.
What steps do you feel need to be taken to continue the rapid growth of the sport? Do you feel that there is a chance that lacrosse can out pace its growth, ie. have a massive explosion of growth that the sport isn’t ready to see? Or is the sport ready to explode?
I feel like the sport is exploding to be honest. I started coaching 20 years ago and it has changed so much in that time, for the better. Young people all over the country (world) are playing the sport. We need to promote diversity in our sport racially, socio-economically, and geographically. It has grown but we need to continue to grow in those areas. We will get there!
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?
They WANT to be coached up! The players at the professional level are constantly looking to improve and get feedback about ways they can improve their game. They are very detail and routine driven. Always looking to improve, they welcome feedback and constructive criticism.
What can kids in under-recruited areas do to get themselves on college coaches' radar?
Be authentic and reach out to schools that interest you academically, geographically, and financially. Attend prospect days, create a highlight link, and provide your academic profile (Unofficial transcripts, SAT/ACT scores, next year’s academic courses taken). Make sure to focus on your own recruiting process, do not try to keep up with others. Each person's recruiting process is unique to them. Focus on what's best for you and your family.
How were you able to build one of the top defenses in the PLL and in D3?
It starts with I am fortunate enough to have great players on both teams. We are very focused on what we do as a defensive unit, not so much what the offense is doing. We have set rules and non-negotiables that are clearly defined and reviewed often. I think keeping it simple is key.
What does a day in your life look like for your team in the spring?
Our guys are in class typically from 8AM to 3PM. We have a team meeting around 3:30PM and start practice then Monday through Friday practice ends around 5:30-6PM. We also lift on Tuesday and Thursday prior to practice depending upon players schedules. Saturdays we practice at 9:30AM followed by another lift until the season starts then we typically play on Saturdays.
How has your time coaching at the Divison 3 level impacted your coaching style in the PLL and vice versa?
I think they go hand in hand. Pro lacrosse (MLL and PLL) has really taught me to coach the “why” better. It has also allowed me to continue to learn from incredible players from some of the top programs in the country and take that back to ONU. Coaching D3 helps me coach at the professional level because I am coaching all year round, always working on relationship building, and staying current in the game at all levels.
We read your bio, and it talked about how you implemented the use of analytics in your coaching for the Ohio Machine, can you talk a little bit about how you use analytics in your coaching for the PLL and D3?
I learned a lot of this from Coach Bear Davis with the Ohio Machine. Many times you can look at a game's final stats and they will tell a story of the game. Maybe not the entire story, but much of it. We use analytics to determine what our goals will be for each season and individual games. We look for trends throughout the season of opponents and ourselves so we can do self scouts and make adjustments as needed. For example, a team can dominate the face offs of a game and still lose, which sometimes does not make sense. The use of analytics allows us to look at other stats like shooting percentage and clearing percentage and see the impact of those areas on the outcome of the game.
What advice would you give to coaches of all levels?
Get to know your players and truly care about them. They each have their own story and bring so much to the locker room and team. Encourage them to bet on themselves and be where their feet are so they enjoy the moment and their time playing this great game. It goes by way too fast for both the players, families, and we coaches.
You stop at a gas station, what 3 items are you picking up to carry you through the rest of the drive?
Mt. Dew, king size Snickers, and aux cord so I can listen to a book or podcast.
What is your pregame song?
My guys at ONU know! Right Above it by Lil Wayne (clean version of course!)
St. Laurent began his collegiate coaching career at D1 Virginia Military Institute in 2005. He has additional experience coaching at the D3 level with Washington & Lee and Ferrum. He also spent time as an assistant coach with the MLL's Ohio Machine.
What are the positives and negatives to D3 lacrosse?
So many options for players to play. Great academic institutions. Negatives to D3 may be not having access to players all year round. The disparity of institution of support between programs.
What steps do you feel need to be taken to continue the rapid growth of the sport? Do you feel that there is a chance that lacrosse can out pace its growth, ie. have a massive explosion of growth that the sport isn’t ready to see? Or is the sport ready to explode?
I feel like the sport is exploding to be honest. I started coaching 20 years ago and it has changed so much in that time, for the better. Young people all over the country (world) are playing the sport. We need to promote diversity in our sport racially, socio-economically, and geographically. It has grown but we need to continue to grow in those areas. We will get there!
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?
They WANT to be coached up! The players at the professional level are constantly looking to improve and get feedback about ways they can improve their game. They are very detail and routine driven. Always looking to improve, they welcome feedback and constructive criticism.
What can kids in under-recruited areas do to get themselves on college coaches' radar?
Be authentic and reach out to schools that interest you academically, geographically, and financially. Attend prospect days, create a highlight link, and provide your academic profile (Unofficial transcripts, SAT/ACT scores, next year’s academic courses taken). Make sure to focus on your own recruiting process, do not try to keep up with others. Each person's recruiting process is unique to them. Focus on what's best for you and your family.
How were you able to build one of the top defenses in the PLL and in D3?
It starts with I am fortunate enough to have great players on both teams. We are very focused on what we do as a defensive unit, not so much what the offense is doing. We have set rules and non-negotiables that are clearly defined and reviewed often. I think keeping it simple is key.
What does a day in your life look like for your team in the spring?
Our guys are in class typically from 8AM to 3PM. We have a team meeting around 3:30PM and start practice then Monday through Friday practice ends around 5:30-6PM. We also lift on Tuesday and Thursday prior to practice depending upon players schedules. Saturdays we practice at 9:30AM followed by another lift until the season starts then we typically play on Saturdays.
How has your time coaching at the Divison 3 level impacted your coaching style in the PLL and vice versa?
I think they go hand in hand. Pro lacrosse (MLL and PLL) has really taught me to coach the “why” better. It has also allowed me to continue to learn from incredible players from some of the top programs in the country and take that back to ONU. Coaching D3 helps me coach at the professional level because I am coaching all year round, always working on relationship building, and staying current in the game at all levels.
We read your bio, and it talked about how you implemented the use of analytics in your coaching for the Ohio Machine, can you talk a little bit about how you use analytics in your coaching for the PLL and D3?
I learned a lot of this from Coach Bear Davis with the Ohio Machine. Many times you can look at a game's final stats and they will tell a story of the game. Maybe not the entire story, but much of it. We use analytics to determine what our goals will be for each season and individual games. We look for trends throughout the season of opponents and ourselves so we can do self scouts and make adjustments as needed. For example, a team can dominate the face offs of a game and still lose, which sometimes does not make sense. The use of analytics allows us to look at other stats like shooting percentage and clearing percentage and see the impact of those areas on the outcome of the game.
What advice would you give to coaches of all levels?
Get to know your players and truly care about them. They each have their own story and bring so much to the locker room and team. Encourage them to bet on themselves and be where their feet are so they enjoy the moment and their time playing this great game. It goes by way too fast for both the players, families, and we coaches.
You stop at a gas station, what 3 items are you picking up to carry you through the rest of the drive?
Mt. Dew, king size Snickers, and aux cord so I can listen to a book or podcast.
What is your pregame song?
My guys at ONU know! Right Above it by Lil Wayne (clean version of course!)