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On Tuesday, Gary Gait announced the addition of assistant coach Dave Pietramala, who is regarded as one of the greatest defenders in the game. The new Syracuse men’s lacrosse head coach brought in Pietramala to replace Lelan Rogers, who was the Orange’s defensive coordinator since 2008.

Pietramala most recently spent 20 seasons as the head coach at Johns Hopkins, leading the Blue Jays to two national championships and seven Final Four appearances. As a player, he was part of Johns Hopkins’ 1987 NCAA title-winning team and received the Lt. Raymond Enners Award for the nation’s best player in 1989. Gait received it in 1988 and 1990.

Pietramala is the only person to have won an NCAA title as a player and head coach. He joins offensive coordinator Pat March to round out Gait’s coaching staff.

“When this one came, it didn’t take a whole lot of thought to realize that it was a good fit, the right fit and one that I would enjoy,” Pietramala said of the job offer. “I did joke with Gary and Pat and say I don’t have much blue and orange in my wardrobe, but when I went up to meet Gary, I quickly went out and made sure I bought a tie that had some blue and orange in it.” 

Here are three takeaways from Pietramala’s opening press conference: 

Working alongside Gait

When asked how his new role alongside Gait as an assistant fits into his longer-term plans, Pietramala said the goal is always to eventually be a head coach. At SU, he doesn’t feel the need to “show up and then run out the door,” he said.

The chance to work with and learn from Gait, who Pietramala called the greatest lacrosse player ever, is “an opportunity … probably unlike any other,” he said.

“He’s a great teacher of the game,” Pietramala said. “My opportunity to work alongside him, and learn the game from a different perspective, I think is truly beneficial to me.”

Gait’s equipped to handle the pressure that comes with figuring out how to bring Syracuse back to Championship weekend, Pietramala said. Pietramala said he’s “enjoyed immensely” his conversations with Gait thus far and appreciates that the new head coach thinks outside the box.

How Syracuse’s defense will improve

Pietramala said he’s thrilled to hear that Syracuse feels like it has something to prove. “To be honest with you, I sit in that same boat as well — I feel like I’ve got something to prove as well,” he said.

The Orange allowed 20 or more goals in two games during the 2021 season for the first time since 1977 and 18 or more in five games for the first time since 1974. 

Syracuse needs to build a foundation and work from the ground up, he said, and he looks forward to focusing on player development.

Pietramala was there in person for Syracuse’s NCAA Tournament loss to Georgetown and watched a number of other SU games on TV this season, he said. The first priority is building relationships, trust and respect, and that all comes before defensive scheming, he said.

Recruiting

The first thing Pietramala did when the opportunity arose was look at SU’s 2021 and 2022 recruiting commits, he said. He watched some film, too. 

The new defensive coordinator has already had the chance to go on the road and recruit, and competitiveness is the most important attribute that he’s looking for in a future player, he said. SU’s looking for size, athleticism, length, lacrosse IQ and communication skills too, he said, but it’ll be important to cater defensive schemes to personnel.

“If it doesn’t fit the pieces of the puzzle, we’re never going to put that puzzle together well,” Pietramala said. “We’ll fit our schemes to what the personnel says it should.”

During the 2021 season, Pietramala said he stayed close with the Class of 2023 and 2024 while working at Legendary Sports Group, which could potentially prove beneficial for SU recruiting.

Published on June 17, 2021 at 4:34 pm

Contact Roshan: rferna04@syr.edu | @Roshan_f16