Ward Sutlive, sports editor
As of July 2, Berry’s new Men’s Lacrosse Coach is Ned Kaish. Kaish is leaving behind his position as an assistant coach at Lenore Rhine University that he held for seven years. According to Kaish, one thing that drew him to Berry was the sense of community he saw. Kaish knew a good deal about Berry College, because he grew up in Marietta, Georgia. He also had former high school teammates that played lacrosse at Berry and spoke highly of the school, which led him wanting to experience that for himself.
“To me, it’s a very unique, small campus that gives a college experience that not every college gives, and they support athletics extremely well,” Kaish said.
According to senior Midfiedler Finn McClendon, a new coach will be beneficial to the lacrosse team, especially after what he thought to be a lackluster finish to the end of the last season. The team ended their previous season facing off against Southwestern University in an away game, where they lost. McClendon wants to make sure that history doesn’t repeat itself, and based on his past interactions with Kaish, he believes that the coach’s experience is exactly what the team needs in order to succeed this season.
“I don’t think it was our best game overall,” McClendon said. “The other team definitely jumped out ahead of us, and we just couldn’t get back into it.”
As a new coach, Kaish wants to build community with his players. He has already begun working to achieve that goal by meeting with his players one on one. He has also begun brainstorming team activities for his players to participate in, such as community service.
“I want to see these guys outside of the two hours of practice every day,” Kaish said. “We’re really going to build our relationships by how much we can all be together as a group.”
Ned Kaish in his office. Kaish attributed his love for Lacrosse from his father, who grew up in Upstate New York where Lacrosse is popular. Kaish would grow strong relationships with his players and coaches, which would inspire him to coach.
After submitting an application, Kaish was evaluated for the job by a committee of Berry Sports staff which was led by Director of Athletics Angel Mason. After narrowing down the list of applicants, the ones remaining sat down for zoom interviews. The candidates were narrowed down even further, with only a handful being brought on to the campus for a tour and an interview. The lacrosse team had some input in the selection process and were impressed by Kaish.
“We consider multiple things, but I think what brought him out front was his knowledge of the sport, and his teaching elements,”
Mason said.
According to McClendon, Kaish will be working to make the team as a whole play faster. Mclendon welcomes this change because he believes that he and his teammates have played far too slow in the past, particularly when it comes to passing and catching the ball. Practices will be changed to reflect this new playing style, particularly the way the team does ball transitions. They will mix both catching and speed, in the hope that their new strategy is their ace in the hole for the season.
“The team sentiment is that we’re excited to have our new coach here,” McClendon said. “There’s going to be changes, but we’re excited.”
Kaish described his coaching style as upbeat and energetic. He wants to give each practice everything he has and make those two hours the best part of his player’s respective days. Kaish plans to begin practicing after Labor Day in order to see where everyone is at as a player. Towards the end of October, he will hold a false scrimmage to see how everyone has improved and what changes need to be made. He will also use that event as an opportunity to look for leaders among the players.
“To me, it’s a very unique, small campus that gives a college experience that not every college gives, and they support athletics extremely well,” Ned Kaish
“He seems like a great guy, and he has a lot of experience coming from a team that won a Division II National Championship, especially in offense,” McClendon said. “I think that was something we lacked in the past couple of years, so having him on the team is super exciting for me.”
According to Mason, there were several factors that led to Kaish’s hiring. One of them was his connection to several different successful programs, such as the division two teams that he has coached in the past having a great deal of wins when he was with them. Mason also cited Kaish’s familiarity with the region as another reason for his hiring. She believes that his connection with this area of Georgia could be very beneficial for building strong relationships with possible recruits.
“I think that he’s a good teacher of the skills of lacrosse,” Mason said. “I think he’ll be able to build strong relationships, and I think that he’s going to be a really good recruiter for us.
According to Kaish, someone who has previously only worked with Division II teams, his time in Division II has been a bit of an adjustment period. The main reason for this is that there is generally two to three weeks less practice for a Division three team. As a result, Kaish has had to change the way in which he plans practices, making them more intensive and focusing on the most important elements of lacrosse.
“It’s been a little chaotic, but I’m excited to get settled in this week and with school starting, I’ll really get a chance to be around these guys,” Kaish said.
Mason, as Kaish’s onboard administrator, has helped him get settled in. Mason believes that Kaish will be an excellent addition to Berry College as a whole. “We’re really excited that he’s here and has joined us, and we’re looking forward to him taking over the program,” Mason said.
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