Sean Kirwan's Dartmouth Team Made Breakthrough this Fall

Justin Lafleur is an associate athletics director for varsity athletics communications at Dartmouth College.

When asked how to describe the fall, one word immediately came to mind for first-year Dartmouth head coach Sean Kirwan.

Growth.

“The fall featured a lot of evaluation, a lot of learning as a staff of who these guys are, what this program is and with what’s been laid in the past, where we go from here,” Kirwan said. “Most importantly, learning what makes them tick and learning their strengths, on and off the field, so we can better serve them as coaches to help them become the best possible versions of themselves.”

Coming to Dartmouth as one of the most highly regarded offensive minds in the lacrosse — a reputation he built after serving as offensive coordinator for two national championship teams at Virginia — Kirwan takes over a Big Green program that hasn’t been to the NCAA tournament since 2003.

Despite the drought, there isn’t an empty cupboard for Kirwan. Dartmouth is coming off a 6-6 season in 2023, marking the program’s most wins since 2008, and looks ready to take that next step, both within the Ivy League and nationally.

“We’re ready to win,” fifth-year defenseman Andrew Johnston said. “We care about each other and this program, and we’re confident and excited for the opportunity to usher in a new era of Dartmouth Lacrosse. We're working through this change together, between coaches and players, to set a new standard.”

Kirwan quickly noticed how close the players are.

“It’s very obvious that they care about each other,” he said. “It's a group of 42 best friends. In a lot of ways, that’s great; it’s what you need. You want guys to enjoy being around each other. It definitely makes it easier to commit to something bigger than yourself.

“But at the same time, one of the hardest things in sports is holding your best friends accountable to a higher standard. That’s something we’ve continued to grow with all fall, and we’ll always have to continue to improve in that area. That doesn’t happen overnight.”

Kirwan understands what needs to improve, while also appreciating what’s already in place.

“I commend these guys and the relationships they’ve built,” he said. “We really feel lucky as a staff that this is a culture that’s far from broken. We have a lot of work to do still, but we have a good core foundation to build from.”

Speaking of his staff, Kirwan brought on former York College and current Philiadelphia Waterdogs standout Matt Whitcher as defensive coordinator, former Virginia attackman Mikey Herring as offensive coordinator and former Tufts All-American faceoff specialist Kyle Helfrich as faceoff and goalie coach.

They enter with valuable coaching experience as well. Whitcher and Herring were both coordinators at their previous stops — York and UMBC, respectively.

“Our coaching staff has done a great job pushing us, on and off the field, to elevate the standard of Dartmouth Lacrosse,” Johnston said. “We really appreciate the constructive feedback from a group of coaches with such valuable experiences, both coaching and playing.”

Valuable experience in a new regime is crucial in establishing credibility while working through growing pains. This fall wasn’t always easy.

“We definitely saw some struggles and some adversity, and there were times when things seemed to get a little bit worse before they got better,” Kirwan said. “But I commend the guys and the commitment they have to the process, staying present-minded and not getting discouraged. Because of that mindset, we felt like we saw some breakthroughs over the last couple weeks.”

One breakthrough stemmed from a commitment to basic fundamentals.

“Because of that commitment, we’re able to play at a faster pace and tempo than we were to start the fall,” Kirwan said. “In the beginning, whenever we tried to crank up our pace and our tempo, things got a little sloppy and chaotic, so we really made a commitment to taking care of the little things.”

Johnston can attest.

“The most tangible change I noticed this fall was the pace of play during practice,” he said. “This has helped us improve our conditioning and play faster, ultimately making us more dynamic.”

The Big Green focused on themselves this fall, opting not to play any outside competition. It was an intentional decision by Kirwan.

“Everything is so new, so I didn’t want to feel the need to rush to be ready to play a game,” he said. “I would rather do things the right way, and I’m very happy with that decision.”

Around the middle of October, approximately one month into fall practices, was when Kirwan saw the breakthrough he’d been hoping to find.

“Guys just stuck with it, and eventually, things started to click,” he said. “There was a commitment to understand the importance of the little things and base fundamentals.”

Fifth-year faceoff specialist Mitchell Myers described the fall as “all about maximizing the efficiency of every second together.”

“Coach Kirwan and the staff did a great job of keeping us on track,” said Myers. “I've been so proud of the effort and enthusiasm every one of the guys brought to the fall, and the underclassmen are rallying under a strong leadership team. It’s going to be a great spring.”

The Big Green have high aspirations to compete for Ivy League and national championships. But moving into the winter and then spring, which is quickly approaching, Kirwan wants the program’s mindset to be focused on the process.

“We’ve challenged our team to be present-minded, just take it day-by-day and try to get a little bit better, and not worry about tangible goals,” said Kirwan. “If we stick to the process and learn how to hold each other accountable and play to a higher standard, our goals will at some point take care of themselves.”

With Dartmouth College in quarters, final exams have already completed. Winter break ends when athletes return to campus in January ahead of official practices beginning a few weeks later.

“As we finish up the fall term, we’re excited to be around these guys again in January and get back to work,” Kirwan said. “Right now, it's just about getting a little bit better each day to give ourselves the best chance to be successful.”