The buzz of anticipation and excitement spreads through the bus as the University of Oregon Men’s Lacrosse team starts their journey on Friday morning. The final itinerary emailed the night before reminded the players to arrive at 8 a.m. sharp for the 12-hour bus ride. The players’ tired faces reveal they are keyed up and excited, but too tired to express it vocally. Players load their lacrosse bags into the bottom of the chartered coach bus, and cram their way in to find an open seat. Freshmen and sophomores have to double up in the seats, while juniors and seniors each have their own row. The 35-man team is bound for Missoula, Montana, in pursuit of the Pacific Northwest Collegiate Lacrosse League (PNCLL) championship. And nobody really cares about the crowded bus ride. It’s crunch time and the team is focused on lacrosse.

          One passenger, Andrew Clough, boards the bus for the first time in two years. He seems just as nervous and anxious as the rest of the team as he sits quietly at the front of the bus. Clough graduated from the University of Oregon in 2006 but a recent turn of events has him boarding the tournament bus again. This time he’s not a player. Now he’s the Ducks’ head coach.

          A lot can change in six months. Andrew Clough took an assistant coaching position with the University of Oregon Lacrosse team in the fall of 2007 after Head Coach Joe Kerwin left the team for a California coaching job. Due to conflicts in coaching style between Clough and new Head Coach Benjamin Tiller, Clough stepped down in what he now describes as the biggest heartbreak of his short-lived coaching career. But coaching lacrosse isn’t easy, especially for a club team where the staff is volunteer and expenses are player-funded. A combination of arguments between coach and players, along with a four-game losing streak, resulted in Tiller’s untimely departure. The team approached Clough and asked him to step in as interim head coach to finish the season.

           Clough is “happy that the team wanted me to step in even though I left earlier in the season. It’s nice to know that everybody still has respect for me.” The Ducks are on the brink of ending their season and, for the senior players, this bus trip to the PNCLL tournament may be their last chance to play lacrosse at such a competitive level.

           Clough, a North Virginia native, started playing lacrosse in the fifth grade. His father played lacrosse, and Clough continued playing through high school. Lacrosse is in his blood and it’s only appropriate that he continued to play all the way into college. He joined the Ducks’ team in 2004 and played midfielder for most of his three seasons. He speaks proudly of Oregon’s winning tradition, which he personally experienced in PNCLL championship games for all three of his playing seasons. Now, two years later, Andrew Clough is once again part of the Oregon lacrosse team.

           The first practice with new Head Coach Clough began with players chatting and laughing about inside jokes and antics. Clough rallied the team for his first speech. The sting of four losses was still on everyone’s mind and the team was eager to hear what Clough has to say. But he didn’t focus on the recent past. Instead, he reminded the team that they are part of a winning tradition, and he encourages them to focus on the road ahead.

           If Clough had any doubts about what he signed up for, his first game a week later only highlighted the enormity of his challenge. Andrew Clough’s first head coaching gig for Oregon was against defending National Champion Brigham Young University at Pape Field in Eugene. On a sunny day in April, the spectators enthusiastically filled the stands, intent on watching a BYU–Oregon rematch of the fateful 2007 championship game.

           The BYU players outnumbered the Ducks three to one, with a troupe of coaches surrounding the playing field in matching white polo shirts. The Ducks took the field, silent but focused. Music filled the stadium as the Ducks began putting on their helmets, gloves and cleats to warm up. Clough paced the field, dressed in an Oregon polo shirt and khakis, patting players on the back and getting ready for business. As the clock signaled the verge of the game-start buzzer, Clough gathered the Ducks together for a pre-game speech. The intensity and focus spread among the players as if this game was a matter of life or death. Nobody spoke, nobody laughed, and all eyes were on Clough. The players nodded in agreement with every word Clough uttered about playing fundamental lacrosse. Most importantly, he said, “Have fun out there, guys. It’s going to be a fun day.”

           One week later – with a loss to BYU behind him – Clough sits in the bus focused on what he hopes to bring to the team: “Winning the PNCLL championship and making it to the national tournament.” Clough understands his role as a growing coach and describes himself as a ‘guide’ to help the team achieve its goals. “I feel I have a more inclusive coaching style. I put a lot of trust in the players and in their abilities to play the game. I want them to trust my decisions,” says Clough. 

           Although Clough is still learning how to motivate players, he believes that motivation ultimately comes from within. “In the end I can only be a guide; I can’t be a force. I can help make a difference, but I can’t be the difference,” explains Clough.

          Clough believes that for this team to be successful, it needs to have a chip on its shoulder. “That’s what it takes to be a truly great lacrosse player,” explained Clough, “…it really requires you to have an attitude problem, and channel that attitude into lacrosse.” He emphasizes some obvious training requirements like practice, lifting weights, conditioning, and passing against the wall everyday.

           Clough made his decision to start coaching when he became frustrated as a player who was unable to voice his opinions. He began to coach summer tournament high school lacrosse and realized he was developing communication and life skills that would be essential for surviving in the real world. “It’s gone beyond playing the game and developing the skills. You hit a mental state of mind when you play. I understand the world and myself through the sport,” said Clough.

           If attitude is what it takes to win a lacrosse championship, this team may be headed to victory. A team of 35 players with a collective chip on its communal team shoulders begins a journey where the destination is sure but the outcome is unknown. The Ducks graduated six of last season’s top players, many of which were all-stars. They went from National Champion contenders in 2007 and 10th in the National rankings to 16th during in the polls released a week before the trip to Missoula. They lost their head coach three weeks before the regional tournament and have won only one of the last six games they played. But the Ducks have a winning tradition, unprecedented camaraderie, and something to prove.

           Still hours away from their Montana destination, players are coiled in their bus seats, listening to iPods and watching movies. Some players are strategizing for the upcoming games while others try to sleep. Andrew Clough is wide-awake.