Quinn leaves legacy of success behind at
Middlebury
August 20, 2006
Nathaniel Badder
Published in Inside
Lacrosse
Coaches often joke that lacrosse is a lot like
a chess game. But few mean it quite so
literally as Middlebury’s Erin Quinn.
You see, Quinn never played lacrosse. He
did play defensive back for Middlebury’s football team and after graduating
in the spring of 1986, he stuck around the college as a graduate assistant
the following fall.
Going mostly on instinct, then-Middlebury
coach Jim Grube recognized some potential in Quinn – and needed a warm body
to assist with the varsity and to coach the JV lacrosse teams. So, he asked Quinn to join his staff that spring.
And so began Quinn’s
formal education in lacrosse, hunched over a small wooden coffee table in Grube’s office. The pair scratched a field onto the
tabletop, and with steaming mugs of Green Mountain
coffee in hand, spent hours upon hours moving chess pieces about,
simulating offenses and defenses, rides and clears.
After coaching stints at Tufts and Lake Forest, Quinn
returned to his alma mater in 1990 to assist with the football and lacrosse
teams once again. And, when Grube retired at
the end of that year, Quinn – short on experience but long on enthusiasm –
was the clear choice to replace him.
A number of top coaches have come to lacrosse late in life, and some have
even done so following superb careers in other sports. Bill Tierney was a
soccer coach at Johns Hopkins prior to taking over Princeton’s lacrosse
team, and Dave Urick coached football at Hobart long before he
started racking up DIII lacrosse championships. But
few, if any, have achieved success like Quinn’s without ever lining up for
a face-off (Tufts’ Mike Daly is believed to be the only other DI or DIII
head coach never to have played lacrosse).
In 15 years as the head coach of the Panthers,
Quinn, who has stepped down as the men’s lacrosse coach (and stepped up as
the college’s Athletic Director on July 1), amassed an overall record of
202-38 (.842). He coached in six national championship games, and
collected three NCAA Division III titles. Not bad for a guy who looks more comfortable with a laser pointer in
his hand than a lacrosse stick.
And, while he still
can’t stick behind-the-back shots into the top corners, Quinn’s long hours
of study have certainly paid off. Combined with his tireless work
habits (regularly logging 87-hour work weeks
during football season, not including road trips and recruiting phone
calls) and meticulous organization, he has developed an understanding of
the game and its nuances that belie his playing experience.
Says Matt Dunn, a 2002
Middlebury graduate and former Division III Player of the Year, “The
practice and game preparation was so thorough and full of effort that, at
times, the scouting reports were more to digest than your schoolwork.”
He continues, “He's most definitely a brilliant lacrosse mind. Tactically,
he made moves in preparation and adjustments in the middle of huge games
that showed his intelligence.”
But, his strategic
acumen alone doesn’t adequately encapsulate Coach Quinn’s truest talents. A
brief glimpse into his team huddle is far more illuminating.
The film Keeper of the Kohn (a documentary on
Middlebury’s long-time manager, Peter Kohn) captures a moment when Quinn
pulls the team together and boldly re-articulates its purpose. “We’re
not playing for pride here,” he says, his voice calm and certain.
“We’re playing to win the game!” Never
mind the fact that they were trailing Salisbury
10-4 at halftime of the 2003 National Championship game. Quinn was intent
on refocusing the team on the mission at hand.
Recalls Craig Westling, a 1988
Middlebury graduate, “It certainly put things into perspective for the
players. No feeling sorry for themselves.
No quitting. Just the coach extolling them
to go out and work harder than the other team.”
When Middlebury stormed
back to pull even with the Gulls at the end of regulation, Quinn again
gathered his troops. And again, his message
was succinct and absolutely convincing. “This is exactly where you want to
be,” he exhorted, “with the game tied, going into overtime in the
championship game.” There wasn’t a hint of
surprise in his voice. He had truly expected to be there.
That Salisbury
struck first in sudden death and took home the championship trophy hardly
seems to matter. What will resonate forever in those young Panthers
is their coach’s steadfast belief in them. When their battle scars
finally heal and their glory day stories have been repeated a time too
many, they will long remember that remarkable feats can be achieved when
you trust in yourself and work diligently to reach your goals.
This preternatural conviction is what has
ingratiated Quinn to so many of his players. They trust fully his ability
to put them in positions to be successful, and he knows well that they will
rise to every occasion presented. As a result, his teams, it can be said, always played to win, and never not to
lose. And his lasting impact - on the
Middlebury lacrosse program, and on each of the players that he coached –
may be just that; a legacy of expected success built on preparation,
perspiration, and cooperation.
Approachable, chatty (as evidenced by his
legendarily long-winded voicemail messages), and unassuming, Quinn has a
profound ability to relate to people. He is equally energetic and
engrossed when speaking to a freckle-faced third-grader at a lacrosse camp
as he is in a board room, addressing one of
Middlebury’s biggest donors.
A committed husband and loving father, Quinn’s priorities are firmly
set. Lacrosse, he understands, is only one piece of a student’s
education. And never should it interfere
with family obligations or academic pursuits.
Thoughtful, candid, and honest, he consistently preaches and models
behaviors that are appropriate both on the lacrosse field and in life
beyond the sidelines.
He is grounded, giving, and generous with his time, even during the
playoffs when free moments are fewer and farther between.
Quinn radiates a quiet intensity that helps to
convince teams of high-achieving student-athletes to subvert individual
goals in favor of collective success. By focusing close attention on
individuals’ strengths, and not dwelling on their weaknesses, he brings out
unforeseen talents in previously bench-bound young men. By keeping
the team’s mood loose, but workman-like, he preemptively wards off feelings
of drudgery and lethargy that can seep into and sabotage a long season.
Consumed by the journey and not the
destination, Quinn’s vision is far grander than winning games and hanging
championship banners. He says, “The emotion of that year [1992, his
first as head coach] really hit home – lessons that are bigger than winning
and losing. And, if you are doing things from a big picture
standpoint the right way, the winning takes care of itself.”
This sentiment is echoed by
Peter Ericson, a 1999 Middlebury graduate.
“This achievement of fulfilled potential, regardless of the outcome,
appreciation of the effort and synergy that exist to make such a moment
possible, and the humility and candor necessary to recognize these
circumstances for the blessings that they are is a lesson that Erin Quinn
helped me to internalize on many different occasions, and for that I am
thankful.”
So too are the many others for whom Erin Quinn
remains a willing mentor.
Do you know of any other coaches that have had success in lacrosse
despite never playing the sport? Email feature@insidelacrosse.com.
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