Four fresh faces step up to join Guilford College’s coaching staff this school year for women’s lacrosse and men’s football. These eager individuals are tackling the changes these positions entail and setting high standards for their seasons with contagious passion.
“I look for people with passion for the game of football, people that care about other human beings, and people that have drive or effort,” said Head Football Coach Chris Rusiewicz of his three new hires.
“I look forward to working with all the athletes, getting to know them, and hopefully taking the program to the next level,” said new Assistant Football Coach Derek Jones.
“At the end of the day, we’re trying to change the outlook on what everyone sees us as,” said Assistant Football Coach Treiston Burnette.
Women’s lacrosse welcomes a new head coach from Bard College. She is eager to utilize her past experience and help the team progress this year.
“The thing I’m looking forward to most is just the team,” said new Head Coach Sarah Lamphier. “I’m planning on having our first team meeting next week and having (the team) tell me what changes they want to make.”
Alongside their teams, these new coaches are making pretty hefty changes as they settle into their new positions.
“I think the biggest change is being moved to a new area and getting to know the kids on a one-on-one basis,” said Jones.
“I was living in Connecticut, so this is my first time living down south; I just got married on Saturday, so changing my name is going to be a big difference,” said Lamphier. “The whole reason I took this job was because I saw the success Guilford already had in women’s lacrosse and I saw so much room to do more and do better.”
Although some of the coaches are facing big changes, others are working to accommodate new roles within their sport.
“I’ve done this for the last four years; I was a student assistant, and now having my own position, the biggest difference is just learning more about actually managing charts and offensive rotations,” said Assistant Football Coach David Clark.
“Before, our head offensive coach did all that stuff, so now it’s just me learning a little bit more about what goes into the charts.”
These coaches are working to embrace the changes facing them and channel their energy into making their teams the best they can be.
“I want to be Old Dominion Athletic Conference champs,” said Clark. “I think we have the personnel, I think we have the staff that works hard week in and week out to do it.”
“First off, I want to win the conference championship,” said Burnette. “The next goal would be a personal goal: I want to have the best linebacking (corps) in the whole ODAC. Following that, I want to have the best linebacking corps in Division III.”
“My goals are to up all of our team and individual stats,” said Lamphier. “Whatever we’ve accomplished in the past, hopefully we can do a little bit more than we did.”
The hard work and dedication contributed by these ambitious new coaches should help their two Guilford teams achieve success in their seasons.
