College Crosse Prospectus: Miyashita To Canisius; Player Movement

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD MORNING, College Crosse Nation, from Lake Placid, New York! Thanks for making us a part of your day! Here are your links for August 4, 2017.

What You Missed

We have a new Crossecast to get you ready for the weekend if you’re up here!

The Hofstra Pride extended head coach Seth Tierney’s contract in a multi-year deal.

Lacrosse The Nation

Happy Placid Weekend everyone! I went up to Whiteface Summit and it was pretty darn beautiful!

I had a fun night out on the small town, met a ton of people, and found out that former Notre Dame Fighting Irish goaltender Shane Doss is a fan of this site! So if Shane is reading this, hi there! And if he sees this and tells me this, well, a round is on me!

Today’s schedule is linked here.

Also, a player from Ohio Wesleyan’s alumni team had his life saved yesterday after suffering a heart attack!

John Sussingham, a lacrosse player for Ohio Wesleyan's alumni team, suffered a heart attack around 5 p.m. Wednesday during a game in the Lake Placid Summit Classic - but with the help of trainers and emergency medical technicians, he is alive and in stable condition.

"I'm feeling great," the 54-year-old from Brookfield, Connecticut, said Thursday afternoon by phone from his room at Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital in Plattsburgh.

When Sussingham collapsed during play, athletic trainers at the game stabilized him with an automated external defibrillator, according to George Leveille, founder of the tournament. EMTs and other volunteers then performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation and brought him to CVPH, which is known for its heart center.

But there was notable news around the college lacrosse landscape yesterday.

The big one that I found out while driving to Placid was former Canisius Golden Griffins attackman and Canisius Hall of Fame inductee Mark Miyashita is the new head coach for the Golden Griffs! He’ll be the fourth head coach in program history, taking over for Randy Mearns, who left to become the first ever head coach of the St. Bonaventure Bonnies.

"I am pleased to have Mark Miyashita lead our program as the next head men's lacrosse coach at Canisius College," [Bill] Maher said. "Mark is one of the most accomplished lacrosse players in the history of our program and has worked throughout his professional playing career to build his coaching resume. After finishing his playing career, he turned his full focus toward coaching at the collegiate level and has become a respected coach and recruiter at the Division I level. As an alumnus, Mark understands the history of our program and we look forward to him leading our team to the MAAC Championship."

Miyashita returns to Main Street after four seasons as an assistant coach at Sacred Heart University, helping the team advance twice to the Northeast Conference Tournament. Serving as the Pioneers' offensive and recruiting coordinator, Miyashita built and orchestrated a Sacred Heart attack that ranked second in the NEC in scoring offense (11.33 goals/game) and featured four of the top 10 players in the league in points per game in 2017. He also played a key role in the program's improvement in the classroom as the team's cumulative GPA rose more than a quarter of a point during his time with the Pioneers.

"My family and I would like thank Bill Maher and Dr. Terri Mangione for the opportunity to lead the Canisius Men's lacrosse program as its next head coach," Miyashita said. "We are excited to return to our alma mater in Western New York to help develop not only great lacrosse players, but more importantly, great young men that will be leaders on campus and in the community during their time at Canisius and beyond.I look forward to building upon the core foundation that is in place and am excited about the next chapter in Canisius lacrosse."

A few Division I coaches raved about the new hire.

University of Denver head coach Bill Tierney: "I am really excited for Mark and for Canisius College. I think it's a great match for both parties. With Mark being an alumnus, he brings a lot of passion for the school. As a lacrosse coach, Mark brings a lot of knowledge and a lot of experience with him. Every time I've watched Mark coach, recruit, or just be with his family, he does it with 100 percent effort. I'm really proud of Mark and proud of Canisius for giving him this opportunity. I know he'll do a great job and I look forward to the future of Canisius lacrosse under his guidance."

Cleveland State head coach Dylan Sheridan: "Coach Miyashita's background as a teacher, his Division I coaching experience, and his legacy as one of the best players in program history make him a unique candidate for the position. Mark's love for Canisius and family ties to the region make him the perfect choice to lead Griffs Lacrosse into the next chapter. I am thrilled for him and his family and wish them all the best."

Sacred Heart head coach Jon Basti: "I have had the privilege of working with Mark for the last four years. He is a hard worker and his effort is one of the biggest reasons why the Sacred Heart Men's Lacrosse program is on the upswing. He a consummate professional, a great person, and a great friend. He is very excited about the opportunity to return to his alma mater and I know he will do a great job. Mark, and his family, will always be part of our family here at Sacred Heart and we wish them the best of luck in their new adventure."

And Miyashita is ready to roll at his new job!

This completes this year’s edition of the Coaching Carousel. Below is the carnage that ensued:

The Assistant Coaching Carousel is still spinning, as Georgetown, Michigan, and now Sacred Heart are among schools that have openings to fill.

Speaking of coaches moving, looks like Kevin Conry and his squad are now in Michigan!

We can also report on some transfer news. Former Johns Hopkins Blue Jay midfielder Drew Supinski is transferring to Notre Dame, according to multiple sources. He’s playing this weekend on the Mesa Fresh team, along with a ton of other former Haverford School grads and a few other notable players.

There’s been a few other transfers floating around as well. We’ve tracked them down all here:

Shoutout to the Fairfield Stags for winning this year’s first ever CAA Team Academic Excellence Award for men’s lacrosse! GET YOUR GRADES UP!

A great story from Vidya Rao of NBC News on two guys from the University of Tampa who’ve made Signature Lacrosse a booming lacrosse company!

Dan Soviero, 22, founded Signature Lacrosse out of his University of Tampa dorm room, and convinced a high school lacrosse teammate and friend, Nick Martin, to transfer from the University of Delaware and join him selling customizable lacrosse balls. The duo has seen enormous growth, with nine employees and $1.5 million in sales over the last year. Through all that, they still finish each other’s sentences and have a tight bond. “We clearly have agreements in place,” said Soviero. “We set clear expectations, and are very transparent in our communication with each other. If you do that from the very beginning, then if anything happens, you can just refer back.”

They have a shared vision and definition of success

Soviero and Martin decided off the bat that money was not their goal; instead, both wanted to use their company as a vehicle to foster leaders and create a chain reaction whereby those leaders inspire leadership in others. “We spent hours and hours in high-intensity conversations on this topic — the business’ success doesn’t scratch the surface of what we can accomplish,” said Soviero. “Nick and I knew we could just sell lacrosse balls and we could walk away with $1.5 to $2 million a year, but that’s not what we wanted out of our lives. We sacrificed that to challenge each other further. We shot ourselves in the foot to make a better play.”

Soviero both dropped out of school to focus on Signature Lacrosse (though both say they intend to finish school in the future). It’s good to know well before that point whether partners are willing to make that kind of sacrifice, and what milestones the business needs to hit, be it revenue or otherwise, Issen advised.

Manager love!

Reade Pickert of Bloomberg highlights how small sports, such as the NLL, have found a home on Twitter.

“We’re not on the big linear networks,” NLL Commissioner Nick Sakiewicz said in an interview. “We may be someday when those networks may want our content and they want our audience, but for now, OTT is the absolute best way,” he said, using the acronym for over-the-top viewing.

Until recently, small leagues had few options for national exposure. Unable to attract large audiences like football and basketball, they often received no rights fees or even paid to get their games on the air. Other times, they maybe had just their finals on live TV. Independent digital production companies, like Sportsrocket Inc. and NeuLion Inc., have enabled smaller sports to economically reach more viewers.

While moves by minor sports to online streaming aren’t likely to threaten traditional outlets like ESPN, the business models these leagues are establishing may be a window into the future of sports broadcasting. More consumers are shutting off their cable subscriptions in the internet era, and even ESPN -- one of the most-watched networks in the U.S. -- is crafting a streaming-video service that people could buy without having cable.

“There’s a flexibility now to be able to offer up content directly to your audiences and get money in return for it,” said Lee Berke, chief executive officer of the consulting firm LHB Sports, Entertainment & Media Inc. “Why not create your own network?”

A friendly in case you missed it in the CCBLL:

Philly Jawns

We had a fight at Eagles Training Camp yesterday! Also, the Eagles had a fun touchdown celebration after Nelson Agholor caught a pass.

World News

Suge Knight has been indicted for threatening F. Gary Gray, the director of the Straight Outta Compton movie.

Video of the Day

Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey answers questions about themselves, thanks to Google’s autocomplete:

That’s it for today!! I’ll see you out there!! Make sure you follow us on social media!

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Managing Editors: Safe Fekadu, Chris Jastrzembski, Ryan McDonnell