Detroit Country Day (Mich.) and Juiced Cherries coach Chris Garland started playing lacrosse at age 15. The sport led him to Hampden-Sydney and a career inspiring others to see its transformative value.

Chris Garland
Age: 43
Farmington Hills, Mich.
Member Since 2002

FRESH START

I could only imagine how many more kids would play lacrosse if there were more coaches who had the courage to ask. With the specialization of lacrosse and prevalence of club sports, you see less kids like me who started playing as a high school freshman. That doesn’t happen much anymore. It took me a long time to figure this sport out, and I was fortunate to watch high-level lacrosse.

VHS DAYS

There were so few games on television that I had to record them when they came on. I probably watched the 1995 DIII national championship game [between Hobart and Washington College] 30 or more times.

TOUCHED BY GREATNESS

Mark Millon walked up to me after a game [at a UMass camp], tapped my shoulder and told me, “You’re a college lacrosse player,” and walked off. That was a pivotal moment that helped me practice and play harder later.

HSC FOR LIFE

When I graduated, I moved to Charlottesville and coached sixth-grade lacrosse. Seven or eight kids I coached from [now] Lakeside Middle School ended up at Hampden-Sydney. I wasn’t a four-year player, but I had so much faith in my institution. That’s how highly I think of my time at HSC and Coach [Ray] Rostan. He’s a truly great man.

LIKE A GLOVE

We’re very proud of our kids and their parents who are dedicated to us and Michigan lacrosse. We’re honored and humbled to be able to serve.

TEACHING HISTORY

Historians play a critical role in our society, as they help people unlock and understand the past. While traveling the nation, I’ve learned about the regions where I’ve taught and my students’ backgrounds. Over the past few years, we’ve seen a distortion of historical facts, and some aren’t inquisitive enough to conduct their own research to learn about our nation’s past. Therefore, I love teaching the subject matter.

WORDS TO LIVE BY

This isn’t a money-making venture, and we’re not a monolithic club. We keep working until you tell us to stop. College is a match to be made, not a prize to be won.

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People Garland singles out as the most transformative in his lacrosse life — Richard Freeman, JJ Pearl, Rusty Ward and Gary Mitchell. “They taught me how to run an organization and be a consummate professional,” Garland says, adding of Freeman, “When my father passed away, I was drifting a bit. Richard changed my life.”

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Schools in Virginia, Texas and Maryland at which Garland served as an assistant coach before getting his first head coaching opportunity at The Blake School in 2009.

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Goal scored by Garland with his father in attendance at Hampden-Sydney. He was gravely ill with cancer at the time. “I didn’t play in the final four,” Garland says, “but that was a very special moment for me.”