By Todd McElwee

The sun was shining on first-year Towson men's lacrosse coach Shawn Nadelen Saturday. Escaping the doldrums of wintry Baltimore for the sun of northern Florida, the Tigers' new front man earned his first victory, defeating Jacksonville, 12-10, during his debut contest. On Monday, Nadelen spoke with PressBox about hit initial triumph.

PressBox: How did it feel to get your first win?

Shawn Nadelen: I was happy for the guys. They battled a lot through the fall and the spring and preseason practices. It felt good to start the season off with a win, especially against a talented Jacksonville team. It was a good battle for us. I'm glad the guys showed some resolve and ability to bounce back.

PB: Is it different winning as a player as opposed to being a head coach?

SN: That's a great question. Winning is great in both aspects. Winning as a coach definitely makes you think about the game a little more and how it unfolded. Winning as a player is knowing we made enough plays to get the win. As a coach, you kind of dissect it more, whether we narrowly won by making one more play or it's a convincing win. Either way, you nitpick the game a little more.

PB: Did you hear from any of your former Johns Hopkins teammates or Towson alums?

SN: Yeah, it was great. The response was almost overwhelming. I got my phone in the locker room and I had over 20 text messages and about 50 e-mails from alumni of the program, former players I coached and friends and family. That's great to hear. People are following the program and excited for us to win.

PB: Quick turnaround with Hopkins Friday.

SN: We flew down and flew back. The guys enjoyed it on the bus ride to the airport and the plane ride. The Southwest people were great. They allowed our guys to get on the microphone and lead the plane on the singing of some tunes. The guys enjoyed it, but when we arrived back at Towson Saturday night, I told the guys it was a good win, but let's refocus because Sunday morning, we focus on Hopkins.

PB: How was practice Monday morning?

SN: It was a little bit of a battle. We came a little flat. We watched some film before we practiced and I think the guys saw that we didn't play as well as we thought we did. Winning as a player is a little different than winning as a coach. We showed some of the good things we did and what we did wrong and how we need to correct them.

PB: Did you learn anything about yourself Saturday?

SN: It's funny as a coach, and I learned this as an assistant and continue to learn this as a head coach, you don't have as much control as you think you do come game day. Once that whistle blows, it's your players making decisions and plays that you've coached them to make. That's always a tough thing to handle. I was just trying to keep myself in tune with the feeling of the game and the opponent is something I'm learning to do as a head coach rather that just worrying about what's going on in the defensive end and what they were trying to do offensively.

Posted Feb. 14, 2012