Dwayne Stewart is a former Albany Dane and current head coach at SUNY-New Paltz. This week he speaks about his coaching career and the mentors who have shaped his lacrosse journey.

Building a program isn't an easy task, a task made more difficult in the face of a global pandemic. Coach Stewart believes relationships between players and coaches are built primarily on the field and in the locker room, two places where contact has been severely limited this year. To combat this he's placed an increased importance on communication, wither it be through email/text/zoom he's making sure he is a constant presence in his players lives.

In the face of great adversity as players, the Hawks players have doubled down on academics achieving an impressive 3.12 GPA this past semester. While Dwayne values the experience of an in person class, he's proud of what his team has achieved virtually.

Wither it be working as an assistant for podcast co-host Ryan Kuhn, playing for and learning from Albany head coach Scott Marr, or leaning on Paul Carcaterra to help get recruited, Dwayne has been blessed by being surrounded by great lacrosse people.

Coach Stewarts team, SUNY- New Paltz proudly plays in NCAA Division 3. For more information on D3 lacrosse click here.