Coach Wehrum diagramming Xs and Os at a Herk vs Army B team, West Point circa 1982, click the image to enlarge it.
An interview I did with my Junior College (Herkimer County Community College) Coach, Hall of Famer Paul Wehrum. He is the only Junior College Coach in the National Hall of Fame and he served as US Team Coach in 1998. After three undefeated seasons, 15 consecutive regional championships, and 7 National Championships, coach retired as a Full Professor of Physical Education from the State of New York. He's now the head coach at Union College.
Coach what were the keys to developing your successful career at Herk?
“The primary things were having an emphasis on the academics [by doing things like] only two hour practices. Using you as an example, I concentrated on your academics but also pushed you hard lacrosse wise and did the same with my other players. I made sure kids enjoyed both athletic and academic success and I would not let them give up because a teacher graded your paper and failed you. I encouraged them not to give up; most of our kids did not have great success in the classroom in high school. Then when players went on to good schools, their success naturally brought more players to Herkimer through word of mouth [and kind of a chain migration with repeat players from the same communities coming to Herkimer] from Croton, Baldwin, Yorktown, West Genesee, Irondequoit, and Homer.
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