
I hope everyone enjoyed a few days with friends and family over Thanksgiving. I am blessed to be at Ohio State and more importantly, have the opportunity to work with and teach our student-athletes every day. Not to mention, it is always nice to finish off the week with a big win vs. the Wolverines! As we gear up for the Holiday season, we wanted to bring you up to speed on our most current

Ohio State Men's Lacrosse Head Coach Nick Myers
events for Buckeye Lacrosse.
In September, we hosted the Lindner Family Memorial Golf Outing. We were lucky enough to have the event at our Scarlet Course here on campus. It was a beautiful day and another chance to recognize Dan and his family, as we raised more than $10,000 for the Aidan W., Daniel P., and Angela M. Lindner Memorial Athletic Scholarship Fund. The alums gathered to watch the Buckeye football team down the Ohio Bobcats the next day.
October 8 marked the annual Alumni Game, which this year was held at the Harmon Family Football Park. It was a great night of fellowship, and as we like to say, no one lost that night. It was an ideal opportunity for the men to make connections with other Buckeyes. The group of about 40 alums ranged from current pros to players from the 60s and 70s.
Fallball wrapped up with a trip to Delaware for scrimmages vs. Navy, Delaware and Siena. It was an opportunity to play three great opponents and gave us a chance to play a lot of different guys and combinations. It helped us develop the identity of our team and get an evaluation on a number of players in an actual game setting. It really stoked the competitive fire among the men for the spring. Staying healthy through all three scrimmages made the day even more of a success. If you haven’t already, visit OhioStateBuckeyes.com for a highlight video from the day.
We are excited about having five captains this year –seniors Jarred Bowman, Conor David, Scott Lathrop, Bryce Woodson and junior Brock Sorensen. The group will establish a solid core for our team. They all have different strengths and complement each other well. The parents, players and alumni can all be proud of the group leading the squad into the spring season. We had a number of players indicate they were interested in leading the team before practice began and they auditioned throughout fall camp. The team voted on the final leaders, and we introduced them at the banquet.
The freshman class has adapted well into our system and the Buckeye Lacrosse Family. They have done all we’ve asked, dealing with all of their responsibilities – academics, conditioning, practice load and adjusting to college life. They have assimilated into the Buckeye Lacrosse Family easily. The upperclassmen have taken the lead to show them the way.
The biggest addition to the Buckeye lacrosse Family is JJ Snider, a fourth grader who has battled with medulloblastoma. We adopted him through the Friends of Jaclyn Foundation, a non-profit, charitable organization formed in 2005 that improves the quality of life for children with pediatric brain tumors and their families. Our men have really enjoyed having JJ and his family (his parents, Jodi and Mike and his siblings Rudy, Michael, Sarah, Mary and Joanna) a part of our family. They have visited us at practice, where we gave JJ his own lacrosse stick, and were special guests at the banquet. We have been to see a few of his flag football games, and visited with him at the hospital when he went in for an MRI. The guys, and everyone surrounding the program, have really been able to develop a relationship with JJ. We are excited to have him on our sideline in the spring! He has a website, http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/jjsnider, if you would like to learn more about his story or leave him a message.
Our men have been working hard in the community this fall as we have already surpassed 250 hours of service. Nearly every weekend a group has been connecting with various organizations, from heading to JJ’s games, to working with Lacrosse the Nations, to again helping out at an Honor Flight Reunion. Engaging in our community is a priority, and the men have embraced it.
Pat DeBolt is the newest member of our staff, coming to Ohio State after serving as the volunteer assistant coach with Duke last season when it claimed the NCAA title. Pat played and coached at Hofstra University before spending last season down in Durham. We are pleased to have his expertise on staff as he will be working primarily with our goalies and faceoff guys.
Our Buckeye lacrosse family has grown by THREE since last season ended. Julie and I were blessed with Mason on Mother’s Day (May 9). Coach Dobbins and his wife Erin were joined by Colleen Oct. 5 and Coach Baxter and his wife Marika added Rae Nov. 10.
This season we have contests with five NCAA tournament teams from a season ago, including two national semifinalists, and will take on three of the four ACC teams. The non-conference schedule is one that will test us every week and prepare us for conference play. This year we will play Fairfield in the ‘Showdown in the Shoe’ as we look to set another NCAA attendance record. The ECAC will be one of the most competitive conferences top to bottom again this spring. New in 2011 is the conference tournament which will decide the AQ (automatic qualifier) to the NCAA’s. The seven teams will battle for a top 4 finish in the regular season to earn a spot in the league tournament in May.
The future of Buckeye lacrosse is growing stronger with the signing of our most recent recruiting class. We are very excited about the ten young men that signed NLI’s this month. The character of this group is exceptional and we expect big things out of all the men as they prepare to put on the Scarlet and Gray next fall. We will be sending out a formal release after the Holiday season.
As we move into the 2011 season, we need your continued support. This will be the third year of our 11th Man campaign. The program was designed to provide an easy way to support the Buckeye Lacrosse Family. We are very thankful for the support of all of those who have joined the elite club and those that have made donations to the general fund here at Ohio State. For more information on the 11th Man campaign, please see the brochure attached. We thank you for the continued support and wish you and your family all the best this holiday season.
Happy Holidays and Go Bucks!
Nick
NICK MYERS
Head Coach | Ohio State Men’s Lacrosse
Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium | 2450 Fred Taylor Dr. | Columbus, OH 43210
T 614.292.5188
F 614.292.2675
myers.877@osu.edu
OhioStateBuckeyes.com