Week 4 – Organizational Culture

Week 4 provided me with a new understanding of the organizational culture of Richmond Men’s Lacrosse. When looking at a coaching staff at any level, it is easy to assume that the head coach controls all. While this is true in some aspects of the program, every member of the program no matter their role is essential for the success of Richmond Men’s Lacrosse. The coaching staff treats each other with the utmost respect and equality. The relationships between each member are very interesting given the past. Coach Chemotti was the offensive coordinator at Loyola University Maryland during Coach Richards’s senior year. Coach Richards was the faceoff and wing play coordinator for the Cornell Big Red during Coach Hogan’s playing career at Cornell. These relationships are deeply rooted in family.

The values, attitudes, and expectations about work within Richmond Men’s Lacrosse can be summed up in three words. DTC. Discipline, Toughness, Compete. These are the values, attitudes, and expectations in everything we do as a program. The Spiders are unlike any other program in the history of NCAA division one lacrosse. Richmond is the only program to make the NCAA tournament in its first year of existence. They rank in the top 4 of wins within the first four seasons of existence. No other program has made it to seven straight conference championships. This is because of DTC. The coaching staff is not like other coaching staff. They are known all around the country for their hard work and commitment to excellence. Together, Coach Chemotti and Coach Richards have built Richmond into a top 20 program in just eight short years. The Spiders play one of the hardest schedules in the country each spring because the staff believes it is the only way to get better and the results speak for themselves.

DTC is the norm and every person involved in the program understands this. This starts from the moment a coach contacts a prospective player. The entire staff makes it clear what they expect from players but also what players can and should expect from the staff. Accountability goes both ways. Staff and players hold each other accountable in a respectful manner. The history of the program allows for accountability to happen successfully and organically. Coach Chemotti constantly emphasizes the importance of attention to detail. When we travel as a team we all wear the same thing, a coat, and tie. When we eat meals as a team before games we all wear the same thing. On gamedays, we all wear the same thing down to the socks on our feet. Players are not allowed to have long hair that touched their collar. It is the attention to detail that is the biggest strength of the success of the organization. Any coach or player, former or current will admit to this. With incoming players continuing to rise in skill level and athleticism, attention to detail can only make this program stronger not just on the field, but also in the Richmond community.