‘W&L After Class’ Podcast Releases New Episode Featuring Gene McCabe In this month’s episode, McCabe, head men’s lacrosse coach and assistant director of athletics for compliance, discusses how competitive sports provide those moments that feed the soul in the midst of a changing world.
I think that the values that we espouse here really matter. They’ve stood the test of time for me.”
~ Gene McCabe, head men’s lacrosse coach and assistant director of athletics for compliance
When Gene McCabe remembers treasured moments, his memory recalls more of a feeling, captured in the experience of his players. He’s acquired many accolades during his coming 19 years as Washington and Lee University’s head men’s lacrosse coach – such as three ODAC Coach of the Year honors, three IMLCA Region Coaching Staff of the Year, four ODAC championships and, most recently, the 2024 Virginia Sports Information Directors Coach of the Year for lacrosse – but those distinctions aren’t the moments that immediately come to mind.
“When I feel the most accomplished as a coach is when I can see just the pure joy in the eyes and in the body language of my players — just the purest sense of joy and elation when you can help be part of something that creates that for young people,” said McCabe.
In the latest episode of the “W&L After Class” podcast, he and Associate Director of Lifelong Learning Ruth Candler discuss the sanctuary of sports and the calling McCabe feels in cultivating that place for his student-athletes.
In this episode, “Kindling Moments of Pure Joy,” McCabe takes listeners to the beginning of his sports background and articulates how lacrosse and football, and the childhood mentors surrounding those games, gave him structure and identity as teenager. He details how his journey from a Bates College student-athlete to a high school coach and social studies teacher landed him the job in Lexington, Virginia. He talks of the challenges facing student-athletes, the change he sees in collegiate sports with NIL deals and how he works to instill core values in his players and provide them with a safe haven within their changing and pressurized landscapes.
“I think part of my job is to help keep all of this in perspective,” he said. “Lacrosse needs to be something that when you walk across that bridge, into that beautiful landscape that is Wilson Field, you look forward to going over there; it’s not an added pressure. There’s some pressure that goes along with competitive athletics, but it is a place that will feed your soul and lift your spirits, because you get to do something you love to do with a bunch of guys you love to do it with. I try to keep that, try to bottle that energy and use the three hours that we get and the culture of our lacrosse program in a way that they can learn resiliency, learn compassion, learn empathy, learn how to dig a little bit deeper but also keep it in a healthy space.”
“W&L After Class” entered its fifth season on Feb. 13. The season started with Rob Straughan, the Crawford Family Dean of the Williams School and professor of business administration, who described his journey at W&L, the evolution of the Williams School’s distinctive approach within a liberal arts curriculum and the exciting initiatives on the horizon, including the new Williams School building. This season also includes Wythe Whiting, professor of cognitive and behavioral science, who discussed the complex connections between mental health, sleep, physical activity and cognitive functioning; Paul Youngman, associate provost and the Harry E. and Mary Jayne W. Redenbaugh Professor of German, who details the ever-changing roles W&L has played in his life; Mark Drumbl, Class of 1975 Alumni Professor of Law and Director of the Transnational Law Institute, who explains the function and limitations of law through his research and teachings in mass violence and human rights; Jenefer Davies, professor of dance and chair of the department of theater, dance, and film studies, who built W&L’s dance program to be a place where the liberal arts education flourishes; Lisa Alty, John T. Herwick, M.D. Professor of Chemistry, who detailed the 37-year evolution of her teaching at W&L and her passion for the pre-health curriculum; and Melissa Kerin, professor of art history and the director of the Roger Mudd Center for Ethics, who reflects on the pivotal role storytelling plays in the conversation of ethics, whether in regard to medical care or in respecting cultural heritage.
The podcast series began in spring 2020 and is a collaborative effort of Lifelong Learning, Alumni Engagement and the Office of Communications and Public Affairs. Each episode invites listeners to experience conversations with W&L’s expert faculty, giving listeners worldwide a chance to stroll the Colonnade in the comfort of their homes. W&L faculty members discuss their teaching, research and special interests. Previous topics include poetry, witches, cybersecurity, theater and free speech.
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