Podcast: New St. Sebastian’s coach Mike Silipo talks ISL, simplicity

New St. Sebastian's coach Mike Silipo joins the guys on the "Chasing The Goal" podcast this week.

On this episode of the “Chasing The Goal” podcast, hosts Kyle Devitte and Owen Hart are joined by new St. Sebastian’s head coach Mike Silipo.  

After nearly a decade at Boston University as the offensive coordinator and recruiting coordinator, Silipo left the Terriers last summer and was hired at Sebs. His appointment was one of the more impactful moments of the prep lacrosse offseason, as he inherits a squad full of Division 1-committed players eager for success after last season ended with an OT loss to Tabor in the ISL semifinals.

Silipo started his coaching career at Williams. He also spent three seasons as the defensive coordinator at Ithaca College, his alma mater, where he guided the Bombers to the NCAA Division 3 tournament twice, advancing to the quarterfinals in 2016.

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 talk a little bit about your transition. You were at BU for quite some time, helped build up that program and build up that offense. I think at one point you were interviewing for other D-1 openings and and things of that nature. How did this opportunity at Sebs get on your radar and then materialize? 

Mike Silipo: I was lucky enough to spend nine years with Ryan Polley on the Boston University staff. It was an awesome time being the offensive coordinator and recruiting coordinator. I’m very blessed to have had that experience. I’ve actually got to thank COVID. Not many people would, but I have to. During that time, you weren’t allowed to travel and recruit, so everything was on the computer. And I got into youth coaching.

Pete Sessa is a really good friend of mine and Scott Singer, who’s now with 4 Leaf, brought me in to help them with their 3D youth that summer. I started to coach young kids, because the NCAA can’t mess with you, in terms of a rules aspect, when you’re dealing with anyone who’s lower than a ninth-grader. So just through that network, through that training, I met some people who are on the board at Sebs and went to Sebs, and are in love with the school.

This job of being the head coach at Sebs came up and I took it more and more seriously. It was a great opportunity to be a head coach. I had tried with Fairfield, I had tried with Dartmouth, (and) had turned some other coordinating positions down that just weren’t right. Mostly because my wife and my family are here, and I’m a family-first guy. And that’s a big thing; Coach Polley and I were all about at BU. So I had a call with the administrationa and that got things going.

Owen Hart: What’s been your process of trying to maximize who to play where, who to play with who, adjusting middie lineups and all that? How have you gone about trying to maximize your offensive units and how to utilize each person on the field? It’s hard when you don’t have as much time (as in college).

Mike Silipo: This is probably going to be my hardest coaching year because everything that (former coach) Adam (White) built, which he did an incredible job building over the years, I’m blowing up and doing completely different. The guys have to learn everything from scratch. The season, including playoffs, is 10 weeks – with a week break right at the start.

I was very lucky to have a Division 1 opportunity where you literally had guys for eight months, and you could really build out and take your time and play with some things after you built a baseline.

I’ve always been a big believer in less is more, simplicity is king. The hardest thing to cover is speed, right? That’s the speed of passing and catching, the speed of dodging, the speed of motion. The more confusing you get in terms of, ‘I’ve got to move here then I’ve got to go there,’ the tougher it is to make reads.

I feel that the offensive system I ran for 12 years (at BU) will fit in that tight window.

@TheKyleDevitte
kyle.devitte@laxjournal.com

More Episodes