The recent success of the Pioneers men’s lacrosse program has come in part due to the enthusiasm and hard work of its young offensive coach, DU alumnus and Denver Outlaws player Matt Brown.
“I pride myself on my energy, my passion for lacrosse, and my passion for the program here at the University of Denver,” said Brown.
His strategy as a coach is to focus on his players’ strengths and by doing that he puts them in the best position to succeed.
“Coaching is like recipe where you put together these ingredients, these athletes and you make them into a delicious meal,” Brown said.
So far he has been very effective and his style complements the overall plan of one of the best coaches in the history of the NCAA: Bill Tierney.
“Learning from him has been phenomenal,” Brown said. “He is a total commander and chief. It is his aptitude for making players believe in themselves, now we’re ranked 5th in the nation, the highest we have ever been ranked, but even before that we had to believe that we belonged. That is his greatest strength as a coach.”
Brown has learned from other great coaches along the way too he says, not just Tierney.
“Former DU head coach Jamie Munro recruited me to play at Denver and was the one that got me into coaching field lacrosse, and I am forever grateful for that,” said Brown.
In addition to Munro, Brown credits Paul Delmonte and Dave Lough as two men that had an effect on his coaching career.
Despite all of these coaching influences, Brown sees none of them comparable to his father, who coached him from a young age.
“Although he was not a lacrosse coach, he always knew how to bring the best out of me as an athlete, and he managed to develop his players and often beat more talented teams,” Brown said.
Brown was drafted in the fourth round of the Major League Lacrosse Supplemental Draft by the Denver Outlaws.
Brown brings a lot to the players and coaching staff at DU and is obviously a key ingredient to the continued success for the Pioneers in the post-season, where they will try to advance further than they did last season, when they lost in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
