Syracuse hires Pat March, former Princeton OC | Syracusefan.com

Syracuse hires Pat March, former Princeton OC

Maryland native

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Atlanta Blaze already listing March as the SU Offensive Coordinator -

"Pat March was named Syracuse Assistant Coach on September 3rd, 2019. March was the Offensive Coordinator at Princeton from 2016 to 2019. Under March, Princeton finished third (in 2018) and second (in 2017) in Division I in scoring offense, and the Tigers averaged 14.2 goals per game in those two years combined."

Coaching Staff - Atlanta Blaze MLL Team
 
This seems like a good hire for the Orange - strong offensive background and he brings youth to a staff that is in need of it. The numbers Princeton have put up the last few years have been really impressive.

Some of the questions I have - how much of Princeton's success was Sowers and how much is it the system he plays in? Xanders states that March is a strong recruiter, hopefully this is true because SU really needs a sparkplug in this department. That said, the PU recruiting hasn't been overly great for a number of years. Lastly, March's main responsibility has been on the offensive side of the ball, but Princeton hasn't been to the NCAA tournament in years. That is a little concerning.

All things considered this is an exciting hire and I feel good about it. I think it checks most of the boxes I was looking for in a coach, most of all this doesn't seem like a huge risk. They went outside the Orange "family", which I'm sure feels like a big step for the program, but it looks like they got a guy who has accolades on his resume. Plus I like the fact that he's been coaching a professional team in the off-season (have to think that Blaze head coach Liam Banks put in a good word for him with the staff). Also the Blaze lead the MLL in scoring, another good sign. Overall, thumbs up.
 
This seems like a good hire for the Orange - strong offensive background and he brings youth to a staff that is in need of it. The numbers Princeton have put up the last few years have been really impressive.

Some of the questions I have - how much of Princeton's success was Sowers and how much is it the system he plays in? Xanders states that March is a strong recruiter, hopefully this is true because SU really needs a sparkplug in this department. That said, the PU recruiting hasn't been overly great for a number of years. Lastly, March's main responsibility has been on the offensive side of the ball, but Princeton hasn't been to the NCAA tournament in years. That is a little concerning.

All things considered this is an exciting hire and I feel good about it. I think it checks most of the boxes I was looking for in a coach, most of all this doesn't seem like a huge risk. They went outside the Orange "family", which I'm sure feels like a big step for the program, but it looks like they got a guy who has accolades on his resume. Plus I like the fact that he's been coaching a professional team in the off-season (have to think that Blaze head coach Liam Banks put in a good word for him with the staff). Also the Blaze lead the MLL in scoring, another good sign. Overall, thumbs up.

Didn't Princeton really clamp down on their academic requirements?

One of the reasons why Tierney left. March can cast a wider recruiting net at Syracuse.
 
This seems like a good hire for the Orange - strong offensive background and he brings youth to a staff that is in need of it. The numbers Princeton have put up the last few years have been really impressive.

Some of the questions I have - how much of Princeton's success was Sowers and how much is it the system he plays in? Xanders states that March is a strong recruiter, hopefully this is true because SU really needs a sparkplug in this department. That said, the PU recruiting hasn't been overly great for a number of years. Lastly, March's main responsibility has been on the offensive side of the ball, but Princeton hasn't been to the NCAA tournament in years. That is a little concerning.

All things considered this is an exciting hire and I feel good about it. I think it checks most of the boxes I was looking for in a coach, most of all this doesn't seem like a huge risk. They went outside the Orange "family", which I'm sure feels like a big step for the program, but it looks like they got a guy who has accolades on his resume. Plus I like the fact that he's been coaching a professional team in the off-season (have to think that Blaze head coach Liam Banks put in a good word for him with the staff). Also the Blaze lead the MLL in scoring, another good sign. Overall, thumbs up.

You are definitely asking the right questions. Sowers is at the highest level of talent in the nation right now which certainly could boost the stats in March's resume (looks like they came in at the same time). One thing that I think matters less in this case is that Princeton hasn't been to tourney in quite some time. By any measure it would appear that in the last three years the offense has held up their end of the bargain, while areas like defense and faceoffs have seriously under performed. At least for last year, Princeton was top 10 in points per game, assists per game, turnovers per game (fewest), 11th in goals per game, and 19th in shot percentage (we were 27th). All that with a 7-7 finish on the season and it's tough to see March as the weak link that lead to those losses. The combo of being 39th in Defense and 57th in faceoffs seem like the key factors in their lack of success last year.
(Source: www.ncaa.com/stats/lacrosse-men/d1/current/individual/410)
 
I think the fact that he’s had recent success with two different teams with two different groups of talent shows how good of a coach he is. He doesn’t just run a system and cram guys into it. He takes advantage of the talent he has and adapts his offenses around it.
 
‘06 graduate of Mt. St. Joseph’s HS in Baltimore, a member of the MIAA “A” Conference, arguably the best HS Lax conference in the country. I’m sure he has connections.

Also, the Atlanta Blaze are leading the MLL in scoring in his 1st year as OC behind an attack of Tom Palasek, Randy Staats, & Shayne Jackson (OCC ‘10). They’re offensive #s are pretty crazy. They lead the league in SH% & SOG %. The crazy part is that they actually lead the league in goals while being dead last in the league in shots, 48 less than the 2nd lowest.
 
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Personally, like the hire a lot. Outside of the norm for the program, as they always hire from within. Also has shown results at Princeton. You flat out cannot argue with how the Tigers averaged 10 goals a game the year prior to his hiring, then averaging 15 under March. Regardless of new personel (Sowers) thats impressive. Also a much needed injection of youth to the coaching staff. Really hope Xanders is right when he says March can recruit.
 
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Young with a proven track record can’t really beat that! I’m excited to see how this helps our team evolve. We stayed the same for too long, I think this is a spectacular higher.
 
Promising history for sure and so many pieces to work with now...

Some say bad timing ..I say great timing ...

A deep run this year with March on the sidelines could restore recruiting and the program to greatness for years to come.
 
‘06 graduate of Mt. St. Joseph’s HS in Baltimore, a member of the MIAA “A” Conference, arguably the best HS Lax conference in the country. I’m sure he has connections.

Also, the Atlanta Blaze are leading the MLL in scoring in his 1st year as OC behind an attack of Tom Palasek, Randy Staats, & Shayne Jackson (OCC ‘10). They’re offensive #s are pretty crazy. They lead the league in SH% & SOG %. The crazy part is that they actually lead the league in goals while being dead last in the league in shots, 48 less than the 2nd lowest.

Former Orange attackman Liam Banks is the head coach of the Atlanta Blaze soi am sure he was consulted during the process.
 
I'll be the first to say it (I think)... any concern Donahue is still around? Hoping he is given the freedom to install what has been successful in Princeton.
 

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