Podcast: Marty Bowes on the main keys to youth development

Marty Bowes is the director of coach and player education for Mass Youth Lacrosse. (Courtesy photo)

On this episode of the “Chasing The Goal” podcast, hosts Kyle Devitte and Owen Hart are joined by Marty Bowes of Mass Youth Lacrosse. 

Bowes has had an interesting career as a player and coach. While he runs his own business with Compete Lacrosse Academy, he is well-known for being an incredible utility player in Major League Lacrosse with the Boston Cannons and Florida Launch.

Bowes started playing lacrosse later than usual and eventually worked his way up to walking on at the University of Hartford before making the transition to the pros. After a coaching stint at St. Michael’s College, Bowes recently began working with Mass Youth Lacrosse as its director of coach and player education.

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: You’re now working for Mass Youth Lacrosse, which is super-exciting. Can you tell me how that happened and what your role is with that organization now? 

Marty Bowes: I think last time we talked, I was doing more of contracting and consulting work with them, and it sort of just naturally folded into a full-time position. The title is director of coach and player education, and we are setting up year-round support. The coaches are what we’re focusing on. But of course, that also includes player clinics all around the state. So, I work closely with some of the other staff.

Shout out to Erin Brogan, she’s the director of operations. She crushes a lot of stuff that sort of overlaps with what I’m focused on. Especially creating resources for coaches, both in person and online, and then really showing up for them. We’ve got about a little under 4,000 coaches in our league, and about a thousand of them get turned over every single year. So you have about a thousand new coaches coming in that are either coaching for the first time, coaching a new age group or coaching a different gender. Maybe they played men’s lacrosse (and) now they’re coaching their daughter’s team. A lot of these coaches need support and help with that. So during the season, especially in April and May, I’m physically driving to coaches’ practices to help.

Owen Hart: Speaking of challenges, you mentioned it earlier, the parents who don’t really know what’s going on, and then they’re trying to get involved and land on planet lacrosse with all of us crazies and psychos, and they don’t understand any of the rules and how to do it. What advice would you give to those parents trying to join up and help out? 

Marty Bowes: First off, if you’re trying to coach, step onto the field and coach. If you’re going to be a parent on the sideline, just observe. There have been studies done that are fascinating, where basically they found out parents who are the most calm on the sidelines end up giving their kids the most beneficial experience. Athletes that make it to the highest levels — professional athletes, Olympians — they have the calmest parents on the sidelines.

And it’s like, why is that a thing? Well, because when they’re shouting “Shoot” or “Run” or “Get it,” every time the kid hears your voice, you’re taking a decision-making moment away from them. They’re hearing you now, and they have to comprehend you and analyze what’s happening on the field.

@TheKyleDevitte
kyle.devitte@laxjournal.com

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