Phi-Lacrosse-ophy Podcast Ep. 61 - Boston University Head Coach Ryan Polley

Ryan Polley - Head Coach at Boston University  01:02 Coach Polly's Coaching Journey  -Starting in high school -Introduction to lacrosse at Malvern  -The competition of other sports -Playing two years of basketball in college -Trying lacrosse -The decision to coach girls lacrosse and start a program  -Moving into the accounting world while coaching  -Leaving it all on the table to go to Yale  -Making the transition to Boston  -The experience of learning shooting space  12:30 Mentors and Stories Learned Along the Way -Coach Polly's Mother as a mentor  -The introduction to coaching  -Learning from coaches  -Learning how to do a career and coach -Learning from Andy Shay  -Learning about the life outside of lacrosse -Understanding recruiting philosophy  -Climbing out of the hole at Yale 21:50 Creating and Evolving the Culture at BU -The timing of everything  -The process of getting the job at BU  -Studying the blueprint of other club teams that had transitioned to D1 -Recruiting like a mad house at first  -Needing senior leadership at first  -Non-negotiables learned from Coach Polley's Mom -Time of collecting reflections after the Loyola game  -Accountability -Motor Hard Work  -Compete -Family  -Instilling accountability  -Reading books  -The cycle of leadership styles 33:19 Instilling Quality Control In a Culture -Starts with the assistants -Listening to the players opinions -Open dialog with the other coaches 35:53 Difference Between Hard Work and Motor -Hard work happens over a length of time  -Motor is in the moment  -Bringing a good attitude to a 6 am lift 37:01 Player Development Philosophy  -Part whole philosophy  -The first week of the year  -Working on skill development in smaller numbers  -Laying down a foundation of individual skills before complete team work  -Live vs scripted time during practice -Working on decision making in drills -The development of athletic IQ from Basketball 45:19 Offensive Philosophy  -Up Tempo-Free flowing  -The difference when you don't have a dominant player -More sharing of the ball -Taking the opportunities that arise -Playing 6v6 during the week -Using West Genny  -Using 4v4 and 5v5 drills 50:55 Defensive Philosophy  -Personnel based  -Best year was a "slide when you need to" year  -The use of the automatic slide defenses -Searching for an identity  -Balancing sliding early and being able to rotate efficiently 55:49 Playing in the Patriot League  -The coaches in the conference -Murderers row of a conference  -The parity of the Patriot League  -The changing of the guard  -The importance of being a 1 or 2 seed  59:57 Recruiting  -Starts with the transfers -Commitment to academics -Athleticism  -Stick skills-Toughness -Character -How to tell if a dodger is really breaking a defender down  -Judging IQ  -Assessing off-ball play -On ball vs off-ball play for defensemen  -Recruiting Canadians