From goalie mask to coaching staff

Last season, the men’s lacrosse team knew Dave Hoger as a friend and fellow teammate, and this year they can add coach to the list. Hoger was offered an assistant coach position with the men’s lacrosse team (EUML) recently after graduating from Eastern University in May 2012. “It has been a pleasure having Dave both as a player and a coach.” said Kevin Wallace, EUML head coach. “He is a great role model and leader, the way he lives his life is great inspiration to those around him. I have always had tremendous respect for Dave and that continues with his new role.” But the transition was anything but easy. “It was difficult to jump into the coach role after being a player for four years” said  Hoger. “I had to go from teammate to authority figure, but having the guys that we did on the team helped make the transition much smoother.”
However, being a captain helped to lessen the stressful transition. Captains hold a special type of authority on the team and serve as role models to the younger players. “I’ve been very close with Dave on and off the field since coming to Eastern, and I can honestly say that no one has had a bigger impact on me: emotionally or spiritually” said senior EUML co-captain, William Johnson.
After making the transition, Hager found out that coaching was more interesting than he had imagined. He finally had answers to questions he developed throughout his time as a player. For example, the reasons for how practices were run and why certain players are put in certain positions. He found out about the position before graduating in 2012. Coaching has always been a passion for him and he couldn’t be happier to stay at Eastern.
“Dave Hoger (or, Shaq, as the guys like to call him) is the heart and soul of the Eastern lacrosse team” said Johnson. “Like hello, there’s an award named after him!” And who better deserving of their own award than Dave Hoger himself. The “Hoger Ever Ready” Award was presented to Dave last year in his honor. In the future, this award will be presented to the person on the team who is willing to go above and beyond to do what they need to do for the betterment of the team.
Coming in as a freshman in 2008, Hogerwas one of 24 members on the team, and over his college career he has only seen improvement. After lots of serious recruitment, the team has grown to double the size seen in Hoger’s freshman year, loaded with talented players.
The Eastern University Eagles are coming off their best season yet and have high hopes for this upcoming spring season. Coach Hoger has high expectations for the team and would love to take them deep into the tournament and get Eastern University’s name out nationally as a lacrosse powerhouse. The team knows what it takes to be the best and to get to the next level, so it will be interesting to see how well they do this year.