Podcast: Kevin Orcutt on embracing the underdog role at Marshfield (Mass.)

In this episode of the "Chasing The Goal" podcast, the guys talk with Marshfield (Mass.) High School head coach Kevin Orcutt.

On this episode of New England Lacrosse Journal’s “Chasing The Goal” podcast, hosts Kyle Devitte and Owen Hart talk with Marshfield (Mass.) High School head coach Kevin Orcutt.

Following his playing days at Merrimack College, Orcutt began his coaching journey, eventually establishing Cohasset as one of the top programs in the MIAA.

In 2004, he started a lacrosse program at Quincy (Mass.) High School and led the Presidents to the MIAA tournament three times. Next, he went to Abington (Mass.) High School, where he turned a 2-16 team into a strong Division 3 program with two consecutive tournament berths.

Orcutt has also coached in college. Currently, he serves as the head coach at Marshfield (Mass.) High School and is the founder/president of the EMass Hawks club program.

Watch the full podcast below on YouTube. It’s also available on all major podcast platforms. If you enjoy it, please leave a rating and a review. Watch more episodes on the Chasing the Goal podcast channel.

Here are some excerpts from the pod.

Kyle Devitte: Let’s set the scene with your background as a player and then how you became a coach. Where’d you grow up and how did you start playing lacrosse? 

Kevin Orcutt: There’s not much folklore about me. I grew up in Pembroke (Mass.), but I was an Army brat (and) grew up in Germany, actually. Came over here, never saw lacrosse, played hockey and played soccer at a pretty high level. I went to Merrimack and I wasn’t as good as I thought it was. … I just picked up lacrosse to kind of make some friends and stuff like that.

I was an OK player. I was nothing special, by any means. I only went to school for a year and about three years later, I was coaching at Derby Academy in Hingham, a small private school that turned out a lot of good lacrosse players back in that time. The athletic director kept on me about coaching lacrosse and I said, “I’m not your guy.” And then, finally, I kind of caved because he was a really good guy. And I guess at that point, I had to kind of find ways to educate myself and it was a different experience. I’m old. So it was a different era as far as trying to educate yourself on a sport.

Owen Hart: You mentioned the Duxbury game and how big of a deal that was for your (Marshfield) guys. You beat them at the start of the year and I think a lot of people maybe called that a fluke, or didn’t really believe that it would happen again. I get the vibe that you like being the underdog; you like telling people that nobody believes in us. What was that like going to that atmosphere and beating Duxbury in a crazy game?

Kevin Orcutt: We just knew. The weird part for us is that three of the Duxbury kids coached for me in my club. The Hulett brothers (Colin and Braeden) and Sam Wien used to play for me. Thomas Sheehan used to play for me. Jack Sovik used to play for me. So, I didn’t have to scout. I spent no time on film. I’m like, I taught these kids. I know exactly what they do. So we just knew what our matchups were. 

But I also know what my team can deal with. It was like watching two groups of kids that I’ve coached, for a better part of seven or eight years, battle with each other and see if they picked up on each other’s weaknesses and strengths.

So, it was really cool. I love being the underdog. No one ever thinks anything of me because there was nothing elite about me. No one has ever thought that about me. And I hate that. That’s the one thing that really bothers me about lacrosse is the whole elite tagging of things.

@TheKyleDevitte
kyle.devitte@laxjournal.com

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