Class of 2022 New Transfer: Johnny Richiusa (NY: Penfield) FOGO Transfer from Canisius

[nyclax]

I watch this kids face offs vs Air Force. He's talented and he's scrappy the only issue he has which I said already is he's skinny and light. Some face offs he lost he was over powered and pushed around. If he puts on 15 - 20 LBs of muscle and gets stronger he can be a really good Fogo in the ACC. He's fast, skilled and scrappy.

he only won 4 of 12 faceoffs that game against a career 47% air force fogo

 

[AD31]

Yes and if u watched him u can see he's talented but he's very light so he gets pushed around. If he puts some size on I think he can be solid. He's definitely scrappy he battled every face off. He has fast hands to but he has to get stronger and put some size on or he will struggle. I kind of wish they would add the LIU kid being he's stocky and a strong kid. With the help of TD he can be solid and hold the fort down this yr while this kid gets bigger and stronger.

 

[AD31]

The LIU kid battled some good Fogos in the NEC. Zach Cole (St Joseph's), Alexander (Bryant), and Adam Shea (Hobart). He's short and stocky while looking very strong. He battles from what I have seen from him so with TD coaching him up I think he could be the answer this yr. This kid has to get bigger and stronger before he can be the guy.

 

[CrazyPeople]

I was with some guys this weekend close to the program. From what they know, the staff picking up Richiusa wasn't so much that they think he can compete in the ACC right now and more they were feeling the heat of not having anyone on the roster and the portal entries slowing down.

 

[JeremyCuse]

I was with some guys this weekend close to the program. From what they know, the staff picking up Richiusa wasn't so much that they think he can compete in the ACC right now and more they were feeling the heat of not having anyone on the roster and the portal entries slowing down.

I believe it, certainly think he could be successful here but clearly they needed to get someone in here who had experience (albeit one year) and if nothing else would give a quality depth option. Still feel they need to add another FOGO but adding Richisua when you look at the current depth chart and the fact it was July was a no brainer.

 

[Whitey23]

Crazy that TD’s presence alone can’t attract the top talent.

 

[CrazyPeople]

Crazy that TD’s presence alone can’t attract the top talent.

Agreed, but by Gait's own admission, TD is only at practice a couple days a week and missed about 50% of the regular season games. Hard to coach via zoom or text. Hoping he makes a bigger commitment to the program this coming year.

 

[nyclax]

Agreed, but by Gait's own admission, TD is only at practice a couple days a week and missed about 50% of the regular season games. Hard to coach via zoom or text. Hoping he makes a bigger commitment to the program this coming year.

Insanity that the volunteer assistant isn't at every game. Can't think of a single other serious program where that's the case

 

[Powellfan]

Insanity that the volunteer assistant isn't at every game. Can't think of a single other serious program where that's the case

It's definitely not a good look. The "draw" of having Ierlan on staff is a double edged sword, he's one of the best in the country at what he does, but because of this he has competing priorities. He misses games because he's playing for the Toronto Rock in the NLL.

He will definitely prove himself this season as a coach if the current crop of FOGOs is what the Orange roll out next spring.

 

[DoctahLexus]

It's definitely not a good look. The "draw" of having Ierlan on staff is a double edged sword, he's one of the best in the country at what he does, but because of this he has competing priorities. He misses games because he's playing for the Toronto Rock in the NLL.

He will definitely prove himself this season as a coach if the current crop of FOGOs is what the Orange roll out next spring.

Some TD is better than no TD. He is a volunteer assistant not an assistant coach, so if he has to miss some games due to other things that is fine by me. Not many other schools can say they have an assistant of any kind devoted exclusively to the faceoff x. In fact I am not sure if there is a TD equivalent anywhere. Is that not a good look for every other school?

 

[CrazyPeople]

Some TD is better than no TD. He is a volunteer assistant not an assistant coach, so if he has to miss some games due to other things that is fine by me. Not many other schools can say they have an assistant of any kind devoted exclusively to the faceoff x. In fact I am not sure if there is a TD equivalent anywhere. Is that not a good look for every other school?

Agree and disagree. It is great to have someone with that specific skillset on staff given how important FO are to the current game. However, vol assistants at other schools, especially on game day are huge. From running the substitution box, running the ipad on the live replay (something almost every major DI program is using right now), or helping coach goalies/riding/clearing/etc.

We were a mess last year with offsides and lack of organization from the box. That absolutely needs to be cleaned up and TD seems like the obvious person to run that part of the game.

 

[DoctahLexus]

Agree and disagree. It is great to have someone with that specific skillset on staff given how important FO are to the current game. However, vol assistants at other schools, especially on game day are huge. From running the substitution box, running the ipad on the live replay (something almost every major DI program is using right now), or helping coach goalies/riding/clearing/etc.

We were a mess last year with offsides and lack of organization from the box. That absolutely needs to be cleaned up and TD seems like the obvious person to run that part of the game.

Asking because I genuinely have no idea, but did our previous volunteer assistant run the box? Had to look him up (Steve Scaramuzzo) and do not recognize his face from the sideline. Seems like a task that would not ALWAYS be given to a teams volunteer assistant and I would guess it is often run by one of a teams actual assistant coaches

 

[nyclax]

What good is a FO guru on staff if he's not there to help FOGOs make in-game adjustments? There's only so much scouting/preparation faceoff guys can do. A lot of it is responding to what the other guy is doing in the moment, trying to get a step ahead of him and outsmart him. Maybe TD watches the games on TV and radios his comments into Petro.

 

[CrazyPeople]

Asking because I genuinely have no idea, but did our previous volunteer assistant run the box? Had to look him up (Steve Scaramuzzo) and do not recognize his face from the sideline. Seems like a task that would not ALWAYS be given to a teams volunteer assistant and I would guess it is often run by one of a teams actual assistant coaches

I think you'd be surprised its more often than not the vol running the box. Scaramuzzino and Costanza (our last two vols) both ran the sub box. It could be one of our other coaches but unfortunately, we have a head coach who doesnt do anything during the game, so we are already behind the 8 ball.

We don't necessarily need TD to run the box, but someone does. It would otherwise make sense to have March do it, while Gait runs the offense and Petro runs the defense.

 

[DoctahLexus]

I think you'd be surprised its more often than not the vol running the box. Scaramuzzino and Costanza (our last two vols) both ran the sub box. It could be one of our other coaches but unfortunately, we have a head coach who doesnt do anything during the game, so we are already behind the 8 ball.

We don't necessarily need TD to run the box, but someone does. It would otherwise make sense to have March do it, while Gait runs the offense and Petro runs the defense.

Did not know that about the past two coaches, but come on man. This "Gait does nothing during the game" line is tired. He is not as vocal or active as your average coach but to say he does nothing is simply not true. He is talking to March and Petro constantly during the games. He gets in the offensive huddle with March often. Certainly gets involved when it comes to ref negotiations and talks to individual players. It's really not a boatload different from Desko before him. Blanket statement like that is simply not true.

For our box concerns I would look at our teams general lack of discipline. Offsides penalties are a product of that just like excessive time in the penalty box for defense and the massive number of turnovers we had last year on offense. In other words I am not letting the coaching staff off the hook in any way because coaching is a massive part of that. Do you really think the main problem was that whoever we had running the box was constantly screwing up?

I just don't think the specific problem is bringing in TD and giving us a weapon that few other schools have. Even if he isn't on the sideline every game, what other volunteer assistant in the nation is seriously moving the needle on a teams possession time?

 

[AD31]

They call him a volunteer assistant but sounds more like he's just helping out the program whenever he can. The guy isn't getting paid so if he has to miss games you can't fault him. He's obviously not looking for a full time coaching job because those are usually the volunteers who are dedicated and trying to get there foot in the door. Having TD in any role especially this yr is an asset. If they need a volunteer assistant to run the box then they need to find someone else for that. I'm sure there is plenty of young former players who want to get into coaching and would love the job. Also with Gait he's the HC. Most HC allow their assistants to do their job during games. They only step in if necessary so u can't fault Gait for standing there like a HC is supposed to do. I'm sure he does plenty of coaching and makes plenty of decisions during the week. A good HC trusts his coaches.

 

[Powellfan]

I just don't think the specific problem is bringing in TD and giving us a weapon that few other schools have. Even if he isn't on the sideline every game, what other volunteer assistant in the nation is seriously moving the needle on a teams possession time?

A bunch of random thoughts:

The only other volunteer assistant I can name right now is Logan Wisnasukis at High Point and that’s mostly because it was announced recently. That’s not to say it’s not an important issue. This isn’t college football where the coach to player ratio is 1:1 (seriously just look at the list of coaches at Alabama). I think teams really should make the most of their resources and it’s too bad one of the coaches isn’t there full time. I would be interested to see how Phaup did in games where Ierlan was present and games where he wasn’t.

If you are going to have one coach dedicated to the faceoffs then you better make darn sure your getting good production from your FOGOs. There are a ton of other aspects of the game that need to be covered. Phaup was kind of a mess in 2021, I think he admitted as much, but Ierlan helped turn him into a PLL draft pick. That’s really impressive. He will have to prove his bonafides again this year with a group that on paper are pretty underwhelming.

The last coach I can think of that reminds me of Irelan is Jamieson Koester who was a fogo in college and really boosted Hopkins faceoff crew as a volunteer assistant. He left to become a full time Defensive Coordinator at UMBC and came back to Hopkins and leads a pretty good defensive unit there now. Curious if Ierlan wants to follow that sort of career path or if this is just a sort of hobby to him.

 

[AD31]

A bunch of random thoughts:

The only other volunteer assistant I can name right now is Logan Wisnasukis at High Point and that’s mostly because it was announced recently. That’s not to say it’s not an important issue. This isn’t college football where the coach to player ratio is 1:1 (seriously just look at the list of coaches at Alabama). I think teams really should make the most of their resources and it’s too bad one of the coaches isn’t there full time. I would be interested to see how Phaup did in games where Ierlan was present and games where he wasn’t.

If you are going to have one coach dedicated to the faceoffs then you better make darn sure your getting good production from your FOGOs. There are a ton of other aspects of the game that need to be covered. Phaup was kind of a mess in 2021, I think he admitted as much, but Ierlan helped turn him into a PLL draft pick. That’s really impressive. He will have to prove his bonafides again this year with a group that on paper are pretty underwhelming.

The last coach I can think of that reminds me of Irelan is Jamieson Koester who was a fogo in college and really boosted Hopkins faceoff crew as a volunteer assistant. He left to become a full time Defensive Coordinator at UMBC and came back to Hopkins and leads a pretty good defensive unit there now. Curious if Ierlan wants to follow that sort of career path or if this is just a sort of hobby to him.

I assume more of a hobby being he misses games. If he was looking for a full time job I think he would make sure he is there for everything to prove he's a dedicated coach who should be getting paid. I could be wrong but i would think if he wants a future in coaching college lacrosse he would be there every practice and game bright and early. Making this job his top priority for his resume alone. Being he doesn't I think he's just helping out when he's available. Could be wrong tho.

 

[nyclax]

The last coach I can think of that reminds me of Irelan is Jamieson Koester who was a fogo in college and really boosted Hopkins faceoff crew as a volunteer assistant. He left to become a full time Defensive Coordinator at UMBC and came back to Hopkins and leads a pretty good defensive unit there now. Curious if Ierlan wants to follow that sort of career path or if this is just a sort of hobby to him.

Jamison was a two-way middie who also took faceoffs. He was definitely not a "faceoff, get off" guy

Agree though, you need your volunteer asst to be full time. College teams are only allowed three assistants. Not having one of them half the time is a big deal. They do a lot.

 

[AD31]

Jamison was a two-way middie who also took faceoffs. He was definitely not a "faceoff, get off" guy

Agree though, you need your volunteer asst to be full time. College teams are only allowed three assistants. Not having one of them half the time is a big deal. They do a lot.

So 2 paid assistants and 1 volunteer is the max? If that's the case I wouldn't list TD as a volunteer being he misses so much time. Hire a dedicated volunteer and let TD help out when he can.

 

[OrangeXtreme]

Help wanted:

Full time "volunteer".

No pay. No benefits. Must be available from January to Memorial Day Weekend.

Professional NLL players need not apply.

 

[CrazyPeople]

So 2 paid assistants and 1 volunteer is the max? If that's the case I wouldn't list TD as a volunteer being he misses so much time. Hire a dedicated volunteer and let TD help out when he can.

That would be a NCAA violation. Your only allowed one volunteer. TD helping out when he can + a dedicated volunteer would be 2 volunteers.

 

[CrazyPeople]

Help wanted:

Full time "volunteer".

No pay. No benefits. Must be available from January to Memorial Day Weekend.

Professional NLL players need not apply.

This is misleading. Volunteers at Michigan and Ohio State among other top programs make $50k plus with camps and prospect days. Many programs use that as ways to get their volunteers salary type money.

 

[OrangeXtreme]

This is misleading. Volunteers at Michigan and Ohio State among other top programs make $50k plus with camps and prospect days. Many programs use that as ways to get their volunteers salary type money.

They're not getting paid to coach. They're getting paid for the side hustle.

And current pro lacrosse players still can't be considered because of a possible conflict on weekends. Tough to run a camp in Syracuse if your PLL team is playing across the country.

 

[Shrmdougluvr]

This is misleading. Volunteers at Michigan and Ohio State among other top programs make $50k plus with camps and prospect days. Many programs use that as ways to get their volunteers salary type money.

No.

Maybe over the course of the year they are pulling in $50k by aligning with club programs, working multiple camps, private training, etc., but the Volunteer Coaches at Michy and OSU are not making it from the universities (or their subsidaries) alone. Michy has one prospect camp this year.