2025 IAC and WCAC Playoffs Results and Commentary

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Prep email to families says they are going to be conducting a nationwide search. So doesn’t look like they have landed on someone.

Maybe they will get someone from another elite boarding school.

“Nationwide search”?

Hilarious. How’s that going to work? Who is going to do that? Danny Paro? With football about to start (which is his #1 priority.)?

I guess “nationwide search” sounds good in a letter to anxious parents.

Coach Paro will not put any effort into the boys lacrosse search.
Glennon is going to hire whoever is in his ear.

Glennon doesn't make this decision. Fr. Van Dyke is in charge.

OK. But the same thing still applies. Van Dyke will hire whoever is in his ear.

[Anonymous]

The idea that Prep is “actively speaking” to a candidate suggests some sort of aggressive outreach by the school. That’s not going to happen. Anyone who is a candidate will have approached Prep first reacting to the published opportunity and/or the coaching “grapevine”.

They’ll look at those who apply and then choose the candidate that represents the path of least resistance. Important in this will be the coach’s connections to the school and alumni and to Catholic education (especially Jesuit schools.)

This idea of “fitting in” at the school with staff, faculty and alumni is at least as important as winning.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Prep should poach a boarding school coach who'd rather be in a more metropolitan area and support with their boarding. Also someone N. ot already tied to their family and alumni base.

Posted by someone who doesn’t understand Prep.

Not being tied to or at a minimum acceptable to the Alumni base is a recipe for a short career at Prep. Ask Scott Urick.

Maybe they’re referring to that 4day boarding school up a few miles north. That would be a huge win.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Prep should poach a boarding school coach who'd rather be in a more metropolitan area and support with their boarding. Also someone N. ot already tied to their family and alumni base.

Posted by someone who doesn’t understand Prep.

Not being tied to or at a minimum acceptable to the Alumni base is a recipe for a short career at Prep. Ask Scott Urick.

Maybe they’re referring to that 4day boarding school up a few miles north. That would be a huge win.

Why would a successful high school coach with other interests in Baltimore switch to an almost entirely new environment where the previous coach was fired after being moderately successful?

There will not be any significant bag of money to entice someone like there was at SJC to bring in a legendary NY high school football coach. This would be far too disruptive on Rockville Pike.

[Anonymous]

Giblin is 62. Again, no chance.
Kubik - no chance. He's not a head coach, he's 56 and doesn't want to be a head coach anymore.
No chance on Mitchell. His brother tried at DM and he has a club to run along with all the camps and tournaments they have their fingers in.
McGettigan isn't a good coach without Kubik.
No academy school is going to switch without a huge compensation package and that woud wreck the payscale at GP. They don't operate in the black right now. Van Dyke is too aware for this to happen.
Ridiculously out of touch move by GP to allow this to happen without a plan in place.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Giblin is 62. Again, no chance.
Kubik - no chance. He's not a head coach, he's 56 and doesn't want to be a head coach anymore.
No chance on Mitchell. His brother tried at DM and he has a club to run along with all the camps and tournaments they have their fingers in.
McGettigan isn't a good coach without Kubik.
No academy school is going to switch without a huge compensation package and that woud wreck the payscale at GP. They don't operate in the black right now. Van Dyke is too aware for this to happen.
Ridiculously out of touch move by GP to allow this to happen without a plan in place.

Agree with all of this.

Dan Paro caved to the demands from some disgruntled GP alums who are clueless when it comes to the local lacrosse landscape.

I don't see why any boarding school head coach especially from New England would take the job unless the they are from the area (or spouse is maybe from the area and wishes to be back home) Boarding schools generally offer much better compensation packages and include free housing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Giblin is 62. Again, no chance.
Kubik - no chance. He's not a head coach, he's 56 and doesn't want to be a head coach anymore.
No chance on Mitchell. His brother tried at DM and he has a club to run along with all the camps and tournaments they have their fingers in.
McGettigan isn't a good coach without Kubik.
No academy school is going to switch without a huge compensation package and that woud wreck the payscale at GP. They don't operate in the black right now. Van Dyke is too aware for this to happen.
Ridiculously out of touch move by GP to allow this to happen without a plan in place.

I’m not sure applying your “logic” to this is as appropriate as you think it is. I know both Giblin and Kubic and when it comes to Prep (for Kubic) and lacrosse (for Giblin) “logical” doesn’t immediately spring to mind as a descriptor. I think either one is a possibility and can’t be dismissed by a wave of the hand. I said “possibility” not “probability”.

For Prep a winning lacrosse program is a “nice to have” not a dire necessity. This isn’t Baltimore. The decision they make will reflect this. So while “blue sky” predictions might be entertaining they aren’t tethered to reality or to Prep’s history of hiring and the rare firing of coaches.

When Prep chose to accept Giblin’s resignation there wasn’t any plan in place. Scott Urick kind of fell into their lap. He was local, available and associated with a Jesuit college.

Those rooting for a “bombshell” choice are going to be disappointed. Vandyke and Glennon want the complaining to stop and Paro wants someone who will accept a “second place” in the athletic hierarchy behind football. And unlike at SJC there aren’t any big bucks alumni that will finance a established, big-name coach.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

For Prep a winning lacrosse program is a “nice to have” not a dire necessity. This isn’t Baltimore. The decision they make will reflect this. So while “blue sky” predictions might be entertaining they aren’t tethered to reality or to Prep’s history of hiring and the rare firing of coaches.

Agree here, but "winning" being relative. The expectation is not that they go undefeated every year or be in the national top 20, but they do want to be in the IAC race and "best in the DMV" discussion basically every year. Most importantly they don't want to get killed by Landon or lose to schools like St. Christopher's.

[Anonymous]

For Prep a winning lacrosse program is a “nice to have” not a dire necessity. This isn’t Baltimore. The decision they make will reflect this. So while “blue sky” predictions might be entertaining they aren’t tethered to reality or to Prep’s history of hiring and the rare firing of coaches.

When Prep chose to accept Giblin’s resignation there wasn’t any plan in place. Scott Urick kind of fell into their lap. He was local, available and associated with a Jesuit college.

Those rooting for a “bombshell” choice are going to be disappointed. Vandyke and Glennon want the complaining to stop and Paro wants someone who will accept a “second place” in the athletic hierarchy behind football. And unlike at SJC there aren’t any big bucks alumni that will finance a established, big-name coach.

Ok so why was Urick let go?

Prep cares immensely about their lacrosse program, otherwise they wouldn't have pushed him out. His overall record and number of IAC Banners during his time period, wasn't elite but it wasn't poor by any means either.

Prep has plenty of big name donors, however they aren't people like Plank who are sports obsessed and will write blank checks to bankroll a HS athletic program.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

For Prep a winning lacrosse program is a “nice to have” not a dire necessity. This isn’t Baltimore. The decision they make will reflect this. So while “blue sky” predictions might be entertaining they aren’t tethered to reality or to Prep’s history of hiring and the rare firing of coaches.

When Prep chose to accept Giblin’s resignation there wasn’t any plan in place. Scott Urick kind of fell into their lap. He was local, available and associated with a Jesuit college.

Those rooting for a “bombshell” choice are going to be disappointed. Vandyke and Glennon want the complaining to stop and Paro wants someone who will accept a “second place” in the athletic hierarchy behind football. And unlike at SJC there aren’t any big bucks alumni that will finance a established, big-name coach.

Ok so why was Urick let go?

Prep cares immensely about their lacrosse program, otherwise they wouldn't have pushed him out. His overall record and number of IAC Banners during his time period, wasn't elite but it wasn't poor by any means either.

Prep has plenty of big name donors, however they aren't people like Plank who are sports obsessed and will write blank checks to bankroll a HS athletic program.

“Immensely”? Nah!

The manner and timing of ending Urick’s tenure suggest otherwise. Would a school who was immensely interested in a sport let the coach of that sport go at the end of July a few weeks is before the start of school? Would they do so without a secession plan in place?

I’ll agree that there aren’t any big donors that are sports focused. St John’s, for example, has a number of them.

What I have experienced at Prep is a relatively small slice of the school including alumni care about lacrosse. Those that do care are passionate. The parents care right up until their son walks off the stage at Graduation.

Van Dyke, Glennon and even Paro are oblivious to the “local lacrosse world”. What to some appears as some sort of emergency or great opportunity for bold action, appears to them as needing to replace a coach with someone who appears qualified and that has no obvious disqualifiers.

[Anonymous]

Why was the Prep Coach let go?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Giblin is 62. Again, no chance.
Kubik - no chance. He's not a head coach, he's 56 and doesn't want to be a head coach anymore.
No chance on Mitchell. His brother tried at DM and he has a club to run along with all the camps and tournaments they have their fingers in.
McGettigan isn't a good coach without Kubik.
No academy school is going to switch without a huge compensation package and that woud wreck the payscale at GP. They don't operate in the black right now. Van Dyke is too aware for this to happen.
Ridiculously out of touch move by GP to allow this to happen without a plan in place.

I’m not sure applying your “logic” to this is as appropriate as you think it is. I know both Giblin and Kubic and when it comes to Prep (for Kubic) and lacrosse (for Giblin) “logical” doesn’t immediately spring to mind as a descriptor. I think either one is a possibility and can’t be dismissed by a wave of the hand. I said “possibility” not “probability”.

For Prep a winning lacrosse program is a “nice to have” not a dire necessity. This isn’t Baltimore. The decision they make will reflect this. So while “blue sky” predictions might be entertaining they aren’t tethered to reality or to Prep’s history of hiring and the rare firing of coaches.

When Prep chose to accept Giblin’s resignation there wasn’t any plan in place. Scott Urick kind of fell into their lap. He was local, available and associated with a Jesuit college.

Those rooting for a “bombshell” choice are going to be disappointed. Vandyke and Glennon want the complaining to stop and Paro wants someone who will accept a “second place” in the athletic hierarchy behind football. And unlike at SJC there aren’t any big bucks alumni that will finance a established, big-name coach.

Not too sure about your knowledge. The obvious misspelling of Kubik; lacrosse is definitely a "must-have" given the demographics of their football and basketball team and the need for full pay students; Giblin didn't resign, he was dressed down and fired for his final straw bar fight; Urick wasn't the first coach after Giblin; and Bidwill has more money than Plank - way more, and he tossed over $25 mil for the stadium; and not many realize GP and the other high end schools in the area run in the red. The only reason they can operate is by way of donations.

Paro can't stand the new dynamics of recruiting grade school families for athletics. GP has increasingly swung back to giving football and baseball scholarships after caving and going back to giving basketball scholarships. At his age, he just wants to be left alone about any sport, including football. He and many in charge at GP can't seem to figure out the new dynamics of getting into a good university beyond getting good grades.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Giblin is 62. Again, no chance.
Kubik - no chance. He's not a head coach, he's 56 and doesn't want to be a head coach anymore.
No chance on Mitchell. His brother tried at DM and he has a club to run along with all the camps and tournaments they have their fingers in.
McGettigan isn't a good coach without Kubik.
No academy school is going to switch without a huge compensation package and that woud wreck the payscale at GP. They don't operate in the black right now. Van Dyke is too aware for this to happen.
Ridiculously out of touch move by GP to allow this to happen without a plan in place.

I’m not sure applying your “logic” to this is as appropriate as you think it is. I know both Giblin and Kubic and when it comes to Prep (for Kubic) and lacrosse (for Giblin) “logical” doesn’t immediately spring to mind as a descriptor. I think either one is a possibility and can’t be dismissed by a wave of the hand. I said “possibility” not “probability”.

For Prep a winning lacrosse program is a “nice to have” not a dire necessity. This isn’t Baltimore. The decision they make will reflect this. So while “blue sky” predictions might be entertaining they aren’t tethered to reality or to Prep’s history of hiring and the rare firing of coaches.

When Prep chose to accept Giblin’s resignation there wasn’t any plan in place. Scott Urick kind of fell into their lap. He was local, available and associated with a Jesuit college.

Those rooting for a “bombshell” choice are going to be disappointed. Vandyke and Glennon want the complaining to stop and Paro wants someone who will accept a “second place” in the athletic hierarchy behind football. And unlike at SJC there aren’t any big bucks alumni that will finance a established, big-name coach.

Not too sure about your knowledge. The obvious misspelling of Kubik; lacrosse is definitely a "must-have" given the demographics of their football and basketball team and the need for full pay students; Giblin didn't resign, he was dressed down and fired for his final straw bar fight; Urick wasn't the first coach after Giblin; and Bidwill has more money than Plank - way more, and he tossed over $25 mil for the stadium; and not many realize GP and the other high end schools in the area run in the red. The only reason they can operate is by way of donations.

Paro can't stand the new dynamics of recruiting grade school families for athletics. GP has increasingly swung back to giving football and baseball scholarships after caving and going back to giving basketball scholarships. At his age, he just wants to be left alone about any sport, including football. He and many in charge at GP can't seem to figure out the new dynamics of getting into a good university beyond getting good grades.

You are right about the spelling of Kubik’s name. But you are wrong about Giblin not resigning. The reason GP accepted his resignation was the incident at Caddy’s. That and the significant number of people on campus that Giblin had rubbed the wrong way over the years. He had resigned or threatened to resign in previous years and they talked him out of it or acquiesced to some of his “asks”. This was another attempt by him to get what he thought he needed to stay competitive. But this time they just accept his resignation.

Prep will continue to field a team and they will seek to be competitive. But they just won the IAC in 2021 and 2023 and they finished in 3rd this year at 3-2. If they lose a few full-pay kinds to Gonzaga of SJC it won’t move the needle all that much. I’ll stick with it’s a nice thing for them to have not a “must have”. And their choice of new HC will demonstrate that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Giblin is 62. Again, no chance.
Kubik - no chance. He's not a head coach, he's 56 and doesn't want to be a head coach anymore.
No chance on Mitchell. His brother tried at DM and he has a club to run along with all the camps and tournaments they have their fingers in.
McGettigan isn't a good coach without Kubik.
No academy school is going to switch without a huge compensation package and that woud wreck the payscale at GP. They don't operate in the black right now. Van Dyke is too aware for this to happen.
Ridiculously out of touch move by GP to allow this to happen without a plan in place.

I’m not sure applying your “logic” to this is as appropriate as you think it is. I know both Giblin and Kubic and when it comes to Prep (for Kubic) and lacrosse (for Giblin) “logical” doesn’t immediately spring to mind as a descriptor. I think either one is a possibility and can’t be dismissed by a wave of the hand. I said “possibility” not “probability”.

For Prep a winning lacrosse program is a “nice to have” not a dire necessity. This isn’t Baltimore. The decision they make will reflect this. So while “blue sky” predictions might be entertaining they aren’t tethered to reality or to Prep’s history of hiring and the rare firing of coaches.

When Prep chose to accept Giblin’s resignation there wasn’t any plan in place. Scott Urick kind of fell into their lap. He was local, available and associated with a Jesuit college.

Those rooting for a “bombshell” choice are going to be disappointed. Vandyke and Glennon want the complaining to stop and Paro wants someone who will accept a “second place” in the athletic hierarchy behind football. And unlike at SJC there aren’t any big bucks alumni that will finance an established, big-name coach.

Kubik is nothing if not unpredictable. If you suggested even a few years ago that at some point he would be coaching and then teaching at hated-rival Landon, I would put the chance of that happening at 0.0%.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why was the Prep Coach let go?

It certainly wasn’t Urick’s record. Although this year’s team was not as good as most.

The Alumni have an outsized influence at Prep. It’s the one group they pay attention to. And there are a number of Alumni who are interested in the lacrosse program and have enough knowledge of the game to be able to comment on the quality of the teams Urick was fielding.