Nick Myers is now in his fifth season as head coach for the Ohio State men's lacrosse team. Myers took over the program July 10, 2008 after three seasons as the top assistant for the Buckeyes.
Under Myers, the Buckeye Lacrosse Family continues to set and surpass goals each year. After 26 Buckeyes were named Ohio State Scholar-Athletes in 2010, the team exceeded that with a program-record 28 honorees in 2011 and had 27 in 2012. The program has worked with a wide variety of organizations on campus and around Central Ohio, increasing the number of volunteer hours each year to bypass 700 in 2011-12. In 2009, his first season at the helm of the Buckeye program, Myers led Ohio State (8-8) to a spot in the Great Western Lacrosse League championship game after a third-place finish in the league's regular-season standings despite losing two All-Americans and four all-conference selections from the 2008 squad that reached the NCAA quarterfinals.
Under Myers' tutelage, senior All-American Joel Dalgarno, who finished his career as Ohio State's all-time leading goal scorer and ranks second all-time in points, led the GWLL and was sixth nationally with 3.81 points per game. Dalgarno was joined on the All-GWLL first team by senior defenseman Scott Matthews and another five Buckeyes earned spots on the all-conference second team in midfielder James Green, attackman Jeff Ryan, defensemen Scott Foreman and Matt Kawamoto and goalie Brandon Freeman. Twenty-one Buckeyes were named Ohio State Scholar-Athletes and 16 received Academic All-Big Ten honors.
Continuing the "Showdown in the Shoe," Ohio State surpassed its own national men's lacrosse records for regular-season and on campus attendance set in 2008 when it took on No. 3 Notre Dame in front of 30,192 fans April 25, 2009 in Ohio Stadium.
In 2010, the Buckeyes (7-8) faced one of the toughest schedules in the nation as they began play as a member of the ECAC Lacrosse League. The squad had a 5-2 ledger at home, and highlighting the home slate was the third-annual Showdown in the Show when the Buckeyes topped Air Force with a record attendance of 31,078. Myers and his staff guided Logan Schuss to league rookie of the year honors as he because the first Buckeye freshman to nab All-America honors after leading the ECAC in points per game. Schuss was a first team all-conference selection, while senior Scott Foreman nabbed a second-team spot.
The 2011 season saw the Buckeyes (8-8) earn a spot in the inaugural ECAC tournament. The team was 5-2 at home, including a 13-8 upset of No. 3-ranked North Carolina Feb. 19 in Ohio Stadium, the program's first win over a Top 3 opponent in history. A record 28 Buckeyes were invited to the Scholar-Athlete dinner, with a league-high 10 Ohio State players named to the ECAC All-Academic team. Kawamoto picked up ECAC Defensive Player of the Year accolades and was one of four Buckeyes named to the all-conference teams, joining Schuss on the first team with Joe Bonanni and Dominique Alexander second team honorees. Kawamoto went on to earn a USILA All-America honorable mention nod. Kawamoto picked up ECAC Defensive Player of the Year accolades and was one of four Buckeyes named to the all-conference teams, joining Schuss on the first team with Joe Bonanni and Dominique Alexander second team honorees. Kawamoto went on to earn a USILA All-America honorable mention nod.
The 2012 campaign saw the Buckeyes earn a spot in the ECAC tournament semifinals after finishing second in the regular season with a 5-1 league ledger. Schuss was named the ECAC Offensive Player of the Year and joined Bonanni on the USILA All-America third team; the duo were joined by Greg Dutton and Keenan Ochwat on the All-ECAC team. Kawamoto and Bonanni were named the first USILA Scholar All-Americans in program history.
Myers, who began his coaching career as the volunteer coach for the Buckeyes for two seasons (2002, '03), spent the 2004 and '05 campaigns as the top assistant coach at Butler before rejoining the Buckeye staff in 2006.
As the top assistant under Joe Breschi his last three seasons, Myers served as the offensive coordinator for the Buckeyes, oversaw recruiting and handled other aspects of the day-to-day operation of the men's lacrosse program. In 2008, Myers helped guide the Buckeyes to a share of the Great Western Lacrosse League regular-season title and an at-large berth into the NCAA tournament. The team downed Cornell on the road for the program's first NCAA tournament victory and berth in the quarterfinal round. He was the offensive coordinator as the Buckeyes ended the season third in the NCAA in scoring offense (13.2 goals per game) and extra-man offense (45.7 percent). Ohio State ended 2008 ranked seventh nationally. Myers also was on the Buckeye staff when the squad earned a spot in the NCAA tournament in 2003, the first appearance in program history, and shared the GWLL title.
Myers played for Springfield College in Massachusetts, earning Division III All-America honors in 2001. He was a three-time All-NEWMAC selection and was the 2000 conference player of the year.
A native of Kennebunk, Maine, Myers graduated from Kennebunk High School in 1997. He was a two-time high school All-American and participated in the 1997 North-South All-Star Game.
Myers graduated from Springfield with a degree in sports studies/physical education in 2001. He married the former Julie Cowles, also a Springfield College graduate who now is a physical education teacher at Walnut Springs Middle School, Aug. 19, 2006. The couple, whose first son, Mason, was born in May 2010, lives in Columbus.
Myers' brother, Pat, was a four-year letterwinner for the Buckeyes from 2000-03, a two-time All-Great Western Lacrosse League honoree and the conference rookie of the year in 2000. He now is the first assistant coach and offensive coordinator at North Carolina after stints at Cornell and Bucknell.
This is Nick Myers
Hometown: Kennebunk, Maine
High School: Kennebunk
College: Graduated from Springfield in 2001 with a degree in sports studies/physical education
Family:wife, Julie; sons, Mason and Zachary; mother, Miriam Myers-Burch; father, Fred Myers; brother, Pat Myers; sister, Ali Burch
Lacrosse career:NEWMAC Player of the Year in 2000 ... Division III All-American in 2001 ... three-time All-NEWMAC honoree ... 221 career points ... had 91 points as a senior, the second-highest single-season total in program history.
Coaching career:Ohio State, head coach (2008-present); Ohio State, assistant coach (2006-08); Butler, assistant coach (2004-05); Ohio State, volunteer assistant coach (2002-03)
Assisted under:Joe Breschi (Ohio State), Stan Ross (Butler), Craig Kahoun (Butler)
Coaching highlights:Coaching highlights: On Ohio State staff when Buckeyes earned first NCAA tournament bid (2003) ... member of Buckeye coaching staff in 2008 when squad reached NCAA quarterfinal round for first time and shared GWLL title ... 27 Buckeyes earned all-conference honors the past four seasons ... squad finished 2008 third nationally in scoring offense, (3.18 goals a game) and extra-man offense (.457) ... coached four Buckeyes to All-America honors in 2008, as well as selections in 2009, `10, `11 and `12 ... in his four seasons at the helm 92 players have been named OSU Scholar-Athletes.
Away from lacrosse:Enjoys spending time with friends and family
Coaching Vision
I look at coaching as an opportunity to teach and impact young men who hold a burning desire to play the game of lacrosse. As a teacher I feel you must first seek to understand, before you are understood. The delicate balance of family, religion, education, lacrosse and free time in a student athlete's life are the backbone of successful teaching. Three values and beliefs reinforce my optimism that doing the right thing will prevail. The first is collaboration, the second is consensus, and the third is empowerment.
I understand the importance of building trust with players and committing every bit as much as they do to studying and learning the game. The common goal of sacrificing for something intangible is what drives a team and brings them together. It is a game that consumes me, rewards me and has ultimately shaped who I am. My driving force is to provide every student-athlete the opportunity to have this experience and to grow as a young adult. The student-athlete experience is not a four-year commitment; it is a life long commitment. There is nothing more rewarding than watching a young man come in open to new ideas and move on seasoned and prepared for the challenges that lie ahead.
To be the best player and the best coach you must be a student of the game. To understand the history of the sport of lacrosse, to study the role of each player on and off the field, to see the entire picture of each players' role and what they bring to the team's success is the legacy of coaching I get to pass along. I have been truly blessed with the opportunity to teach the game I love and a game which has impacted me in such a tremendous way. I cherish the rewards received as a coach working with student-athletes and working to gain a better understanding of the ups and downs of the profession every day. I rely on experience and an incredible circle of both family and mentors I have been associated with to guide me on this journey. Each day represents my continued effort to grow and learn in pursuit of my vision as both a teacher and coach. When all is said and done, this is the legacy I pass down to each player I have the privilege of working with that they take into their own future endeavors.
