Harvard's Wojcik intent on following his own path
Chris Wojcik understands that how he molds Harvard over the next several years and the program’s standing in the Ivy League and the rest of the college lacrosse landscape will be compared to his predecessor’s results with the Crimson.
And that’s fine as long as fans and observers understand that Wojcik is intent on meeting his goals, not those of his predecessor, John Tillman.
“The pressure that I put on myself is the pressure that I’m saddled with,” Wojcik said Monday. “I don’t know the answer to that question other than I certainly have high expectations from myself and for this team and for this program. It certainly doesn’t come from my predecessor. It comes from me wanting to be the best I can be and the team and myself pushing each other to be the best that we can be.”
Named the Harvard coach on July 12 after Tillman had departed for Maryland, Wojcik seems to be the perfect candidate as he played both soccer and lacrosse for the Crimson and was an assistant coach there for five years before serving a two-year stint as the assistant head coach at Penn.
“I think the transition, while it hasn’t been seamless, has gone as well as it could,” Wojcik said. “Having been a player, an alum, an assistant coach, and now back as the head coach, it certainly helps. There’s certainly a steep learning curve when it’s your first time as a head coach, but knowing the campus, knowing the admissions process and knowing what it’s like to be in the shoes of a student-athlete at Harvard has helped my transition.”
Other notes:
*After a spirited competition in the fall, Wojcik said he is leaning towards starting sophomore Harry Krieger over junior Christian Coates in the net. Krieger, a Timonium native and St. Paul’s graduate, recorded a 10.75 goals-against average and a .495 save percentage in nine starts last spring, while Coates posted a 9.62 goals-against average and a .520 save percentage. “Both of them played a lot last year, and Christian’s improved,” Wojcik said. “We’re expecting him to play, and I would say it’s the two of those guys right now with Harry being the starter right now.”
*The return of three starting attackmen in senior Dean Gibbons (27 goals and 14 assists), junior Jeff Cohen (29, 8) and junior Kevin Vaughan (15, 8) and a starting midfielder in junior Terry White (13, 6) gives the Crimson a building block in the offense. “So we’ll be experienced on the offensive end,” Wojcik said. “In general, we have a number of guys that played key roles last year. … We certainly have, at every position on the field, guys that have played well and guys that have experience in the last few years. We have a number of freshmen that could make an impact, but at the same time, at every position, we have experience.”
