Exclusive Interview with Lindsay Carlile, The New Interim AD

What’s the plan for sports this year?

Well, I think we want to continue the tradition of excellence on and off the field, both academically (with so many scholar athletes) [by] competing. We want to run the race to win. More than that, pillar one is our focus this year, and Collosians3:21 is our focus this year. ‘In all that you do, work at it with all your heart. Do this for the Lord, and not for man.’ We want you to play for the Lord, and that’s our focus. Our heartbeat is to see you guys keep perspective as we bring home some Championships

You have some big shoes to fill, with Todd Zell leaving. Are you nervous?

I’m excited. I’m excited to see what God has planned for this year. I don’t claim to know everything there is to know about the World of athletics. I am excited to learn from the coaching staff, as well as other ADs.

This is going to be my eighth year coaching lacrosse. I was on staff at the FCA at that time.
I came here as the assistant Athletic director two years ago, and I had the primary focus of creating our Center for Coaching Excellence, and I have been working on developing programs for grades 7-12, primarily focusing on creating perspective Coaches have a great platform in the lives of student athletes. We have the ability to help you grow spiritually as well as to help you become the best athletes you can be. in that sense, I do much of the same thing this year as have been doing these past two years. There are more responsibilities, and I am going to tackle those as they come up. Our primary focus is serving the coaches and student athletes here, and that is what I am trying to do.

Do you have any concerns of performance in our Athletic programs following the serious overturn of coaches this year?

I have no concerns whatsoever. They are more than capable and competent. God has
really blessed us with exceptional coaches that have come on board, and they are excellent at
what they do. That said, I have very high expectations for them as coaches, and they know that going in.

Do you see multisport athletes continuing to change the trend?

It is no secret that multi sport athletes are valuable to all programs. The cross-training that happens is important, it gives the mental breather you need. While sport-specialization has its benefits, I don’t think those benefits transcend the value of multisport athletes. This is something we really emphasized with our new coaches, not only physically sharing the athlete, but understanding how these athletes work. Hopefully the coaches can sharpen each other and get the most out of these athletes. When I was at Ohio State this summer, someone told me over and over again that then would not consider athletes if they only played one-sport, so D1 schools are looking for it. I look back and if I had missed out on the opportunity to play multiple sports, it would have been the biggest regret of my life. I will never discourage a kid from also participating in another sport because the benefits are exceptional, not just physically, but spiritually as well. Any good coach will take a good athlete over some kid who was coached well. You want an athletic kid who is able to adapt and be coached. The more sports and coaches you are exposed to, the more wisdom you are gonna get, and I just can’t see how that wouldn’t translate well into the multiple sports as you are competing.