This story first appeared at USLIA.com
By Josh Blumenthal
Pioneer Collegiate Lacrosse League Correspondent to USLIA.com
***This is the second installment of the Pioneer League Coaches interview***
Recently we had a chance to sit down with University of Connecticut head coach Tim Davis and get his thoughts on the season at hand as well as Connecticut lacrosse. Currently Coach Davis has led his team to a 1-2 Pioneer League record, taking ranked teams New Hampshire and Rhode Island to the wire.
After playing his college days in a Connecticut uniform, Davis has taken over the head coaching reigns in Storrs this season. While a member of the Husky squad, Davis played for four years as an attack man and was awarded both Pioneer First and Second team awards.
JB: What do you think about lacrosse in the state of CT?
Coach Davis: I believe that Connecticut produces some of the best lacrosse players in the nation.
JB: Where do you see the USLIA going?
Coach Davis: I see the USLIA continuing to expand, especially on the east coast. I believe more teams are looking into joining the USLIA from our area, and the competition will grow fiercer.
JB: What do you think about having a Heisman or Tewaaraton Trohpy for the USLIA?
Coach Davis: I don’t believe this is in the near future for the USLIA. In order to have an award of this caliber, teams will need more exposure and the voters will need to be able to follow each nominee's season, not by just statistics, but also by watching how they play and handle different game situations.
JB: What are your thoughts on your team thus far?
Coach Davis: I believe my team has enormous potential. UConn has some of the best raw athletic talent I've seen in the Pioneer League, but with the weather situation, a lack of field practice has really hurt our ability to harness our potential and sharpen our team play.
JB: Although you are 1-2, you have taken to premiere teams in the Pioneer League to the wire, your thoughts on that?
Coach Davis: I am very proud of the way my team performed in our two losses vs. URI and UNH. In both games, UConn amassed around 12 penalties and looked very sloppy in the offensive side of the field. By the time we face these teams again in the playoffs, I guarantee that this will not be the case, and the Huskies will come out on top.
JB: Any closing thoughts?
Coach Davis: To the rest of the USLIA Leagues, I would just like to add that the Pioneer League, even in one year, has grown and each team is much stronger than last year. Which ever team makes it out of the PCLL tournament, I expect them to go far in the national tournament, giving the dominant teams from the south and west a run for their money.
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