EVANSTON WILDKITS LACROSSE MONTHLY NEWSLETTER | December 2024

Austin Curtis - Varsity Assistant Coach

I grew up in Utica, NY as an only child where I played basketball all my life because the older kids that I grew up around were basketball players. I started playing lacrosse in 8th grade when a friend from my basketball team asked me to play defense for the team. I played "modified" (7th & 8th) lacrosse for Whitesboro school district (NY) in 2008, Whitesboro high school and the CNY Road Hawks until 2011, and at Jacksonville University from 2011-15. I played in Australia in 2016 until I moved back to NY where I coach at Hamilton College from 2017-2020. I moved to Illinois in 2021 where I started coaching for True Lacrosse and now run a regional and box program for True, Evanston youth, and serve as the varsity assistant here at ETHS.

What inspired you to start coaching lacrosse?

To be honest, I always said that I never wanted to be a coach. I graduated college and went to play in Australia and didn't coach because I was so against it at that time. I didn't think it was for me based on my experience with coaches as a player. That changed when I moved back home from Australia and was stuck there due to family health issues. I was approached at a winter men's league game about possibly helping out at Hamilton college because they had recently lost their assistant coach and wanted to fill it before the spring season. With my background, they thought I might be a good fit. I was very reluctant, but really didn't have much else going on at the time and the thought crossed my mind that "if I don't do this, who will? Am I just perpetuating the experience that I had as a player?". So, I went to meet the staff. I had a great conversation with both coaches and thought I would give it a chance. While I was at Hamilton, I learned what coaching could be. It was so different from my experience as a player and I fell in love with it. I learned that it could be about relationship building and trust. It could be about teaching the game the right way, not the right way for this instance. It could be about life lessons and not winning meaningless games. Ultimately, I found what I had missed out on and wanted to make sure that other kids didn't have the same experience that I did with their coaches.

What's your favorite memory from playing or coaching?

By far the hardest question for me to answer. I love every second of playing and coaching lacrosse. I have been frustrated with plays and outcomes, but I am so lucky to have found this beautiful game. There are very few things that I enjoy more than running around with a stick in my hands, playing with and against friends. To pick a singular moment is honestly an impossible task for me.

Favorite player/coach?

I would say there are 3 coaches that come to mind when I hear this question. The first 2 are Scott Barnard and Cam Stone, who are the coaches at Hamilton College. Like I said in my first response, they helped me understand what coaching could, and should be, and I will forever be grateful to them for that. The other is my first ever lacrosse coach. He was the modified lacrosse coach when I first started playing in 8th grade and he was only 5-6 years older than me. He was an odd dude to say the least, but... he heard that I wanted to play lacrosse at Syracuse and asked me how serious I was about that statement. I told him I was serious and he told me how hard it was going to be and that he would help me achieve that goal. He strung sticks for me, stayed after practice to time my sprints, watched film with me, researched conditioning tests that college players typically ran (440 & 2 mile 🙂) and made a plan to help me pass them, worked with me on off days and out of season to reach those goals, and much more, which I am sure sounds crazy to everyone reading this. He only ever wanted to be around the game he loved and help someone reach their potential. It takes an "odd" individual to work that hard for someone they just met, all because they see some potential. Eventually we became very good friends, and I still talk to him on a regular basis. It was obviously not the typical relationship between a "coach" and player, but I owe a lot of what I was able to accomplish to him and the dedication he had to making me a great lacrosse player. I love him as a coach then and friend now, but at the time it was tough... I truly would not have been able to do any of this without him pushing me though and I will always appreciate him for that, probably more than he will ever know.

Favorite book or movie? Why?

This may sound silly at face value, but my favorite book for a long time was always "Oh, the Places You'll Go!" by Dr. Seuss. Ironically enough, it was a gift from my first lacrosse coach when I graduated high school (?) and I revisit it every so often. It's funny to see the things that apply when you are in different phases of your life. It made the trip with me to Chicago, and I reread it to help me write this and different parts jump out now than the last time I read it. It's worth a read or a reread if it has been a while. I think it is a good reminder to push through inevitable adversity and not to be complacent or allow yourself to stay stuck.