The Hofstra lacrosse team has just finished up a scrimmage against Butler and Stony Brook. The players are huddled to the side dressed in grey, baggy sweatshirts and sweatpants. It's usually easy to tell the coach from the players - look for the loud, yelling figure who is dressed differently from the rest of the pack. But locating Hofstra Coach John Danowski is difficult. He's dressed the same as the players and standing amongst them, speaking in calm, quiet tones. E-Lacrosse's Mark Lutin caught up with Danowski to discuss Hofstra, the NCAA, local lacrosse and the state of the game.

E-LACROSSE: I have to tell you, I've been to a lot of games here, I have never seen you go berserk or pull a "Woody Hayes." What's the story? Are you really a calm person?

DANOWSKI: I have a hard time sometimes being super tough on players. It is something I have worked on -- I'm sure the players after the first three weeks here would disagree -- but I think one thing I have learned over the years is you have to be level-headed. There are so many plays in the course of a game, so many plays in the course of a season. When it's appropriate the guys will know when I am angry but I don't like to demonstrate it in front of other people. I don't think it appropriate to dress a student down or dress the team down in front of other people.


E-LACROSSE: I don't think I've ever seen you chew a ref out.

DANOWSKI: I work so hard watching what our own players are doing I don't have the time to watch the officials. Look when they miss the obvious call, I'll zing 'em under my breath but they are never going to win or lose a game for us. Games are won and lost by players.


E-LACROSSE: How about a brief biographical sketch. Where did you grow up, favorite sport, college?

DANOWSKI: I'm a local kid. I grew up right down the road in East Meadow. My favorite sport was whatever was in season. I played everything. I played basketball, football and lacrosse for East Meadow High School and then went to Rutgers University. I had thought about Penn, Ace Adams was the coach there and I wanted to play for him, but I had a football scholarship to Rutgers and that turned out to be the better situation for me. I ended up playing football there for three years and lacrosse for four years.


E-LACROSSE: At what point did you know you were going to be a coach?

DANOWSKI: The one thing I was sure about was that I would never, ever get involved with education or coaching. My father was a coach and a teacher. He coached football at Fordham University and later at East Meadow. My brother was a teacher and coach. So I was surrounded by teachers and coaches and as a result I was absolutely positive that the one thing I wasn't ever going to do was coach. Of course when you're young you are allowed to have such insight and knowledge.


E-LACROSSE: So at what point did you blow it?

DANOWSKI: Well, in fact, I ended up teaching but like a lot of professions in the '70s there was little demand for teachers and it was very competitive. I had a few teaching jobs but I was laid off. I ran a residence hall at Farmingdale College, I ran a residence hall at C.W. Post. I tended bar. I did everything kids in their 20s do to get by. I coached football, basketball -- I even coached a little lacrosse.

E-LACROSSE: Okay, when did the first break come?

DANOWSKI: When I was a graduate assistant in the movement science program at Columbia University in 1981, the job of head lacrosse coach opened up at C.W. Post. Three of us went down and applied -- me, Tony Seaman and I couldn't tell you the name of the third guy. Now, I had been playing club lacrosse that year for Tony and when he came back from his interview he said that if he gets the job I could be his assistant. I said, "Yeah, sure." I didn't tell him I was applying for the head job as well, but I was 25 or 26 and I figublack I was lucky enough just to get an interview. Well, Tony got the job and sure enough he made me his assistant coach. Then, as luck or fate would have it after a year Tony left to coach at Penn and I moved up to the head coach slot. I was 27 and head coach at Post -- a mater of being in the right place at the right time.


E-LACROSSE: Did you like it there?

DANOWSKI: I loved it there! I was a $4,000 a year part-time head coach; I ran a dorm and made $10,000 total. It was a terrific situation, terrific kids. They loved the school, loved lacrosse. My last year there we went 12-3 and the year after I left they made the tournament.


E-LACROSSE: And from there to Hofstra?

DANOWSKI: Again, I was lucky. In 1986, the position opened up here as a part- time coaching position, paying $6,000 a year. They had the lights, they had the turf, a great stadium, more scholarship opportunities. In all honesty, had it been a full-time position I probably would not have gotten it, but since it only paid $6,000 it limited the number of applicants. Plus I was a part-time guy and I knew how to do it part time; I knew how to get it done.



E-LACROSSE: Last year had to have been a great year for you.

DANOWSKI: It was. It was one of those years where all those cliches come true -- hard work, play your role, be disciplined, good team chemistry -- all those things held true. And the group of seniors we had were all tremendous leaders. They all accepted their roles and they all played those roles to the max.


E-LACROSSE: Beating Hopkins was a highlight?

DANOWSKI: Among a bunch of highlights. Losing in the beginning of the year to Loyola and Delaware were key because that allowed us to experience some things together as a team that we needed in order to bring ourselves together. And the truth is you don't know who you are until you experience some of the bad things, some of the disappointments. I look back at that season and see how much we were able to change from those early games and we were able to change only because a bunch of young men decided they wanted to change.


E-LACROSSE: Well, calling it a change is an understatement. From there you ripped off 13 straight wins. Looking over your stats I see that in '97 Hofstra was ranked 49th in goals; in '99 you were ranked 14th. A typical game for you in '97 was 8-7; last year it was 12-8. What happened?

DANOWSKI: We changed our philosophy. We originally felt we were limited offensively in terms of numbers so we tried to play "slow down." We tried to choreograph everything we did offensively and it worked. It did. We made the tournament in '96 and '97 but what we found was it was really hard to coach. You're asking these guys to be perfect. You're telling them that it has to be done this way. Every possession is so important. And once teams scout you they know how choreographed you are and they can figure out what it is you are trying to do - they know what to expect. When we got to the playoffs against UMass we trailed 4-0 after three-quarters. It wasn't until a long stick ran down and scoblack our first goal in the fourth that we made it a competitive game. After that season we realized it wasn't fun for the kids or fun for us. So we adopted a different approach; we would push the ball up the field. We played a more "fan friendly" style; a more open style that the kids enjoyed. Playing six on six lacrosse is so hard to do but by pushing the ball up the field it's an easier way to play offense and an easier way to score goals. For us it seemed to be the right system. All of this started really in '98 and I give cblackit to Sean Smith. He came in to help coach and he had experience with that style from his years as a college and high school coach. We were headed in that direction anyway but he came in and was very comfortable showing us some things we needed to see. It's a style that people enjoy playing but the hardest thing for players to adapt to is that we want to be wide open and be a transitional-type team but we need to remain disciplined. To beat the teams we face we must be highly disciplined. We want to be open and transition-oriented but we need to strike that right balance.




E-LACROSSE: How do you approach each season? What realistic goals does the team set?

DANOWSKI: The last couple of years our expectations have changed; our expectations have risen over the last few years. This year's team is young. The good thing about the new NCAA alignment with automatic qualifiers is that those conference games become so important. If you do not have a great beginning you can still rebound back. Making the tournament, obviously, is a goal but winning the conference, now that we have automatic qualifiers is probably going to be our rallying cry each year.


E-LACROSSE: And winning the conference means playing in an America East Tournament. How does Hofstra feel about that? Isn't that like forcing a top team like Tennessee to play that SEC championship game? It can only hurt them.

DANOWSKI: It's a basketball mentality. It's good for the sport and good for schools in our conference. A coach can walk in and say to his team; "Hey if we finish in the top four we have a shot at going to the tournament." Does it benefit us? Who knows? Overall it is good for us and if we are going to be champions we have to earn it.




E-LACROSSE: Speaking of earning it - that's some schedule you have! Open the season against UMass, followed by Loyola, Hopkins, and Princeton.

DANOWSKI: It's all the result of the new structure and finishing up with conference games. We had to move Hopkins from the end of the season to the beginning, we had no choice. On the other hand these are the games the students get excited about. These are the games people want to come and see. Sure we'd rather play them in May when people are more into it than in March. But this is the schedule we want to play. If you don't win it in your conference you want to make sure your non-conference schedule is strong enough to earn an at-large bid.


E-LACROSSE: Who does Hofstra like to beat? Who's your big rival?

DANOWSKI: Our schedule has changed a little bit but UMass has been a bit of a rival. Greg Cannella has done a great job up there, the games have been close over the last few years and we both recruit the same guys so, yes, UMass could be consideblack a big rival. The new rivalries will be created within the conference and through the conference tournament. The opportunity to play a team twice a year, possibly keeping someone out of the playoffs, knocking someone out of the playoffs, that is going to be exciting. There will be more attached to those games, there will be more at stake. I think you will see a lot of new rivalries develop and grow.


E-LACROSSE: You mentioned recruiting. Here you are in the middle of Long Island -- lacrosse country -- and yet I imagine a lot of good, talented kids end up off Long Island -- Maryland, Carolina, upstate. Is it hard to recruit?

DANOWSKI: Absolutely. I think it's a socio-economic issue. Many Long Island students are middle or upper middle class. Going away to school is a status thing. And let's face it, there are a lot of great schools where they can play lacrosse - Ivy League schools, Georgetown, Notre Dame, Duke -- the top universities in America. Guidance counselors are always telling these kids to go way to school and they want to go -- I was like that! Also, many of these athletes are students first. It's not a situation as it so often is with football or basketball. These kids are grade-conscious. But bear in mind that Hofstra today is different from Hofstra of 20 years ago and I think we can be successful on the Island but you are right, it is a tough sell -- just as I believe it is a tough sell to keep a Baltimore kid in Maryland. And as a result of that we probably pick up some of that slack. We get those Maryland kids and those Virginia kids that want to be in New York.


E-LACROSSE: How actively do you recruit?

DANOWSKI: The recruiting calendar has changed dramatically over the last five years. We send out a lot of mailings to juniors. We have a list of 9th, 10th and 11th graders. Of course we can't to send to 9th and 10th graders but we know who they are. If they are on a varsity roster, if we saw them in our camp or saw them in an elite camp, or during the high school playoffs or during Empire tryouts, we know who they are. We contact them by mail; we go and see them play. By July 1st of their senior year we have a list of kids we want to contact.


E-LACROSSE: Students and parents will want to know this: How receptive are you to receiving information form prospective players?

DANOWSKI: Oh, certainly. And we will respond. Sending in a video is a good idea. It's a good way for us to see and evaluate a player with whom we may not be familiar.


E-LACROSSE: Do you attend a lot of high school games?

DANOWSKI: Probably more so than a lot of colleges because of the density here on Long Island; we have so many high schools near us here on the Island. Also, because we have night games and sometimes evening practices, we can go to a 4:00 PM high school game and see them play.




E-LACROSSE: What are you looking for? What does a kid need if he wants to play at Hofstra?

DANOWSKI: We have a phrase (that we probably stole from our basketball coach Jay Knight) called getability. We may have heard through the grapevine that an athlete is interested in us. He is "getable." But obviously we are interested in getting the best athletes we can find. As with every sport -- "speed kills." It makes up for a lot of deficiencies. Maybe they are not the full package but they have one or two of those things we are looking for. Maybe he can score but he may not have the size other schools are looking for. Maybe he's a late bloomer, but you feel there is potential. Maybe there is something about him - character, work ethic, something. Everyone knows the blue chip kids, that's the easy part of recruiting. It's finding the other guy, the one who are going to grow into a good player, one that you can win with - that's the challenge.


E-LACROSSE: What camps are you associated with?

DANOWSKI: We have a series of day camps we run here on the island -- a varsity camp, an evening middle-school camp, an elementary school day camp. We found for our area and our population that has been the best way to go. I'm actively involved; very hands-on. We take pride in the fact that we only hire Hofstra people. We try to hire former Hofstra players who are involved with education and coaching. They have education degrees and are professional coaches. We can always bring in our own players but we'd rather have professional teachers and coaches.


E-LACROSSE: Let's talk about last year's NCAA tournament. Did Virginia surprise you?

DANOWSKI: Not at all! Dom Starsia and Chris Colbeck do a tremendous job coaching over there. I watched Connor Gill when he was senior in high school; he's a marvelous talent. They have a real nice mix of older students, marquee players, super defensemen, and good shooters.


E-LACROSSE: They seemed to be the quiet one, the sleeper of that final four.

DANOWSKI: It could have been. We liked Hopkins, after all they beat us. We saw Syracuse beat Princeton, so they were a strong contender. Even Princeton could have done it. It was that kind of tournament - many teams had a shot at it but Virginia was certainly not a surprise.


E-LACROSSE: Many lacrosse fans, especially those here on Long Island, felt Hofstra was screwed over two years ago when North Carolina scheduled a soft game late in the season to boost their record to .500 and Hofstra missed the tournament. Your thoughts?

DANOWSKI: I'll be honest -- the message has been clear from the NCAA committee -it's your good wins and we didn't have any great wins that year. Even if we had beaten Notre Dame on that final weekend that year, which we didn't, I still thought that we might not have gotten into the tournament. We had wins over Brown and Army and those teams did not make the playoffs. They were having a down year. But I did not have a problem with the way things shook out. That's why we have scheduled non-league games like we do because you are rewarded for good wins. Last year Navy was rewarded with a good win over Georgetown.


E-LACROSSE: Obviously, you are rewarded for good wins but there's a school of thought out there that says that losses to top teams carry more weight than wins over weak opponents - in other words, strength of schedule.

DANOWSKI: Look, in NCAA basketball its level -- everyone has 13 scholarships, almost every team has three full time coaches, so you can say the field is level. In our sport that's not the case. The maximum number of scholarships is 12.6 but most do not have the max. Some may have only nine or ten. Some have no full-time coaches; the field is not level so sometimes you do have to play a tougher schedule in order to get recognized. If you look at us we are example of that. In '96 we beat North Carolina and Hopkins. In '97 we beat UMass, Brown and Army and we were in the tournament. Last year, of course, we beat Navy and Hopkins and you have to beat those schools if you want to be recognized.



E-LACROSSE: How about opening up the tournament to 16 teams?

DANOWSKI: I believe sixteen would be great. We have never had the luxury of having a bye but if you look at those schools who get the byes they would probably say, "we don't want a bye, we'd rather play," because its too much time off in between. All it would cost us would be two more games. It would be the same number of weekends. But what I hear from the NCAA is that the women are way behind in opportunities to participate and until that is rectified we probably will not see an increase in the number of teams in the field.


E-LACROSSE: What about the concept of ensuring that a western team makes it. A good idea?

DANOWSKI: It good for the sport. You can make an argument that a western team might edge out a program that could beat that western team but we have seen Butler build a program. We have seen that Ohio State seems to care more about lacrosse. It's sad that Michigan State and Bowling Green do not exist because that would be good for the game.


E-LACROSSE: Lacrosse now seems to be a small, tight-knit fraternity. What would happen if the sport grew and expanded? What if one day the championship ship game was UCLA vs. Alabama? Would something be lost?

DANOWSKI: Great question. The sport would change dramatically and yes we would lose that folksiness, that fraternity. Certainly some coach's jobs would be in jeopardy for not winning. Our sport does not carry such a weight with it now. We want to win -- everyone does -- but right now we are more of a "gentleman's game" in a sense -- a true collegiate sport. With expansion it would be more of business. It would certainly be different.


E-LACROSSE: So unless Auburn has some surprises for us, who is going to tear up the NCAA this year?

DANOWSKI: From Hopkins -- A.J. Haugen, who is from, Bethpage - great kid, comes from a wonderful family; goalie Brian Carcaterra. From Virginia, I love how Connor Gill plays. I think their defensemen Ryan Curtis and Mark Koontz will have an impact. Ryan Powell at Syracuse, will be a force. There are a lot of great names out there.


E-LACROSSE: Who at Hofstra will shine this year?

DANOWSKI: The team aspect is so important to what we do. Defensively we have built upon team concept of everyone knowing their role. Longstickman Brian Spallina will probably stand out because he is so terrific between the lines. He's so relentless, a hard worker. Doug Shanahan, a gifted athlete who led our football team in tackles and interceptions will be a factor. On attack it would be a balance of people. Jay Sullivan will stand out defensively and certainly Mike Demeo in goal. But our success will be based how we play as a group. On certain days those guys will be invisible. Not because they have had bad game but because we share the ball and move it up and play as a group.


E-LACROSSE: Who will be in the Final Four this year - other than Hofstra?

DANOWSKI: The teams that were their last year will probably are back. Virginia and Syracuse look like they have a lot of their talent intact. Hopkins is right up there. Georgetown, from what I have heard, had a tremendous fall. You can't look past Princeton and I'm sure the Maryland kids feel they have something to prove after not making the tournament last year. It should be an exciting race.


E-LACROSSE: As we said before Long Island is Lacrosse Country. How involved is Hofstra with Long Island Lacrosse?

DANOWSKI: We do a lot. Our university sponsors P.A.L. days, we do ticket giveaways. We try to get the kids out here to see games. We hope they are rooting for Hofstra but as long as they come and watch good lacrosse that's the most important thing. We do coaches clinics. I have my assistants come in on weeknights and we work with youth coaches and answer their questions. We have done that for a couple of years.


E-LACROSSE: Hofstra Stadium seems to be the mecca for lacrosse on the Island.

DANOWSKI: That's true. The high school championships are played here. We go to all the games (and look for new talent). And you know the kids love seeing their name and face on that scoreboard.


E-LACROSSE: Will we see more NCAA tournament action here?

DANOWSKI: We are probably a drop too small for the final four but we are going to re-bid to have the quarterfinals return here or perhaps even the opening round.


E-LACROSSE: Traditionally, lacrosse has been THE sport at Hofstra. You guys are the "big men on campus." The past year your football team made a big splash, especially because of the quarterback and now the basketball team is ripping up their conference and flirting with a NCAA bid. Any jealousy there?

DANOWSKI: Not at all. We welcome it. We root hard for the football program. We know the coaches so well and we see the players all the time. Football and basketball draw more attention nationally and locally than we could ever do. The Daily News, The Post will cover football and basketball, will print the box scores. Sports Illustrated did a piece of quarterback Gino Carmazzi and recently on Speedy Claxton. I've been around long enough to appreciate and understand that. Obviously, Newsday has been great in covering us but last year our scores ran on SportsCenter and in the playoffs WNBC showed highlights. It was a first for us to be on network TV but that happens all the time with football and basketball. I wish it wasn't like that but that's how it is. And it does have a nice trickle down effects as well. The more people hear about Hofstra in general the more likely they are to consider it. We had 5,200 at the basketball game against Delaware. What a great atmosphere! That is great for the university.



E-LACROSSE: By the way, hate to ask it, but how is it when you do not make the playoffs and you have to host them, as you did two years ago?

DANOWSKI: Horrible!!!! (groan) You can't wait for the game to be over. You just feel that pain in the pit of your stomach and it's agony. You want to be out there playing.


E-LACROSSE: But there is a feeling of pride as the host, right?

DANOWSKI: (laugh) Yeah, yeah --- you'd rather be playing.


E-LACROSSE: And if you are the host and you play and lose, as you did to Hopkins last year?

DANOWSKI: That's okay. You were out there and you played. You had a shot. Anything is better than sitting and watching


E-LACROSSE: I read recently that more kids are playing lacrosse than ever before and youth leagues are growing. Yet, the sport is not growing as fast on the college level. Will these kids be boxed out?

DANOWSKI: Lacrosse is growing on the Division 2 and Division 3 levels. Brockport and Misercordia have added programs and you see other, smaller schools adding programs. It will not grow on our level until Title IX and other gender equity issues straighten themselves out. It certainly was not the intent of Title IX legislation to hurt men's sports but one of the easiest ways that an athletic department can rectify a situation is by dropping programs or not adding programs and that is part of the problem.


E-LACROSSE: While we are on the subject of growth, what's the story with high school lacrosse outside of Long Island and Maryland?

DANOWSKI: It's awesome! The Ohio area, particularly Columbus, is growing like crazy. There are some tremendous athletes coming out of there and we are recruiting there now as well. But it's more than that. Butler has goalie from Florida, a very good player. Notre Dame's goalie is from Tennessee Detroit has been putting out players. So aside from the usual places -- Long Island, Baltimore, the Syracuse area, Westchester, Rockland counties, you are starting to see a lot of areas produce.


E-LACROSSE: Here's a question for all those knuckleheads out there in the chat rooms -- Long Island lacrosse vs. Maryland lacrosse. Any difference?

DANOWSKI: I've heard this all before. The people that we have had from Maryland are no different than kids from the Island. Eric Fitez is from Maryland and he's one of the toughest kids we ever had, so I can't believe there is a difference in toughness or finesse. I think the sniping is great though and it leads to a fun rivalry. In all honesty, though, for many of us Baltimore IS lacrosse and there is something special about going down there to play. The way the newspapers cover it, the highlights on evening news. Lacrosse is important in Baltimore, more so than Long Island. Down there it's a second or third or even a fourth generation sport. We are just starting to make it a second-generation sport. Our fathers, the baby boomers' fathers, did not play lacrosse but our children are. We are finally becoming a second generation.



E-LACROSSE: We talked briefly before about how lacrosse is a small tighknit fraternity. Could you expand on that?

DANOWSKI: I love the coaching fraternity. Billy Tierney, Kevin Corrigan, Dave Cottle, Dom Starsia, Tom Hayes -- who was my coach in college -- Richie Meade, Peter Lasagna, Tony Seaman, who is my daughter's godfather, these are wonderful men. I have a son in 9th grade and if he is fortunate enough to play on the college level I'd be thrilled to have him play for any of these guys.


E-LACROSSE: It seems like genuine respect you all have for each other.

DANOWSKI: Like any group of competitors we want to beat each other's brain's in but we understand the big picture. Richie Meade and I will hug after the game. That may not seem very macho but I care about him and I know he feels the same. I know he wants to whup us on the field but I think we care for each other to be successful. We see each other so much -- Empire tryouts, high school games, North-South games, camps. Richie and I grew up together on Long Island, I played for Tom Hayes, I coached for Tony Seaman, Dave Cottle has become a close friend , Bill Tierney's nephew works for me. There are always subplots in this world of lacrosse. I played club lacrosse against Dom Starsia and he probably beat the crap out of me but those are the things that make it so wonderful. And these things all started way before any of us started coaching.



E-LACROSSE: If you were in charge for a day are there any changes you would make?

DANOWSKI: The only one I don't like personally is the two minute rule. For 58 minutes you have earned the right to work hard and go ahead and now you are penalized by having to keep the ball in a smaller area. It's almost impossible. And the strategy --do you shot, don't you shoot? It's so hard to tell a kid not to shoot.


E-LACROSSE: How about incorporating a shot clock?

DANOWSKI: We pride ourselves on playing good team defense and a shot clock would make it difficult for the offense. We'd adapt and it would be fun but coaches by nature are dinosaurs. We like the game the way it is but we would try to adjust if we had to. When you could have 9 long poles we rode with 9 long poles, when rules changed we complained about it but we adapted.


E-LACROSSE: I'm thinking back to the playoffs a few years ago when Princeton played Duke and they had a lead and just put on a passing exhibition whipping the ball around.

DANOWSKI: The coach enjoys that, the fans do not. The fans want to see up and down action and it's like that in any sport. Fans want to see the 60-yard touchdown passes the big plays and I don't blame them but there is a tremendous art in ball control but perhaps you have to be a coach to appreciate that


E-LACROSSE: Lacrosse obviously occupies 99% of your time, what else is going on?

DANOWSKI: My kids are so important to me. Both are in high school, both are three sport athletes. I try to go to as many games as I can and just hide in the corner and watch and enjoy.




E-LACROSSE: Do you think there is extra pressure on them because dad's a coach?

DANOWSKI: Yeah and I probably did it to myself when my dad was a coach. He was also the quarterback for the New York Giants, people knew who he was. There was never pressure at home, he never said you have to do this or be a starter but you felt you wanted to impress people because of your dad. I just ask the kids, "did you have fun, did you enjoy yourself today, what did you learn, did you enjoy the game and the competition." I want them to have good experiences. And, frankly, my wife has done a wonderful job instilling a work ethic in them.


E-LACROSSE: Obviously, your family is important to you -- professionally what are you proud of?

DANOWSKI: It has been a pleasure to watch the Hofstra program grow. The university deserves a lot of cblackit. As I said when I started it was $6,000 part-time job, not a lot of scholarships but the school made a decision that lax was important. We have full-time assistant, a part-time assistant, we are going to have a strength coach. The facilities, the locker rooms, weight rooms, all top notch. I'm also proud of so many of our former players. We keep a list of everyone who has played for me since 1986, what they are doing now, what their degrees are in. Thirty-five percent have post- graduate degrees or are in process of obtaining them. They come to games; they are loyal to the program. But success for them will be defined by being happy, by being good husbands, fathers, and workers.




E-LACROSSE: Have any gone on to become coaches?

DANOWSKI: Yes many at the high school level -- Bob Rao, Matt Capy, Dennis Bonn, Jablack Testa, Mike McGee, Rich Garguilo, Chris Bergersen, Brian and Rich Langtry, Scott Sullivan.


E-LACROSSE: It seems like you have planted some seeds.

DANOWSKI: I'd like to think that they had a good experience and have something to give back now.


E-LACROSSE: If lacrosse did not exist, what would John Danowski be doing?

DANOWSKI: It's funny but now I can't see doing anything other than being a coach. I love football, I miss it terribly, and I always wanted to be a head football coach and an assistant lacrosse coach in the same building but never got to do that.


E-LACROSSE: Well, you came pretty close.

DANOWSKI: That's okay, right now I have the best job in the world.




3/00