Friends, Parents, Alumni of ND Lacrosse

Late yesterday afternoon I accepted a position at Harvard to become the next Head Coach at the University.

It would be a tremendous understatement to say that this was one of the most difficult decisions of my adult life. As you all know Notre Dame is more than the physical buildings or the history and traditions. It is an ethos, a spirit that permeates the place and ultimately seeps into your bones and your own being. You transmit it to your children and extended family and if you are luck they embrace it as well.

I was fortunate enough to be here long enough to see and feel all of that happen and more. I was able to Coach and mentor my Godson Will Corrigan and watch my own son Pierre become a great, selfless, kind, team first middle for ND, just as Will had done and modeled before him. I watched my daughter compete at ND and blossom into a beautiful smart woman now heading to Med School. I proudly watched my wife firmly establish herself as a talented and compassionate physician in town as she delivered 100's of babies into the world, many of them connected to ND in some way. I spent more nights in hotels rooms on the road with KC, Brian Fisher, Rob Simpson, Matt Karweck, Kevin Anderson, Neil Hutchinson, Jon Rodak, Kevin Dugan, Jason Lamb than I can remember. What I will remember of those nights are the stories, and the laughter in the retelling that never seemed to get old.

I was able to meet and get to know 100's of players and their parents. The players, some who are now firmly in their 40's with their own young families and others just starting the real world as graduates are some of the finest people I've ever met. They were open to the message of what ND was about and the pathway it could provide for their sons as people, players and members of the ND Community. They embraced the uniqueness of my family and welcomed them as their own making all of my kids feel like they were part of the brick and mortar of Arlotta. Your sons, the players were a joy to coach, a pleasure to mentor, cared for each other, protected one another, competed at the highest level and left here fortified for the world with their values enhanced and intact to face the world.

That true success is the ultimate honor for a coach, to know you played a role in delivering on the promises made in recruiting, having young men embrace the opportunities and see the finished product shine, on the practice field, in the locker room, on the graduation stage, in the NCAA Tourney or in their personal and professional lives.

I watched Coach Corrigan steward the program to incredible heights, proud of the part I played as his assistant coach. He saw that your 4 years here should be more than what happens on the field. His radical candor regarding what ND Lacrosse should be about invigorated our recruiting and set the trajectory for the last 15 years. I was honored to be his assistant and proud of all of our accomplishments together. I will forever grateful that he took a chance on me in the summer of 2006 to come back to ND.

If you are reading this and you are a former player that I coached, thank you for believing in the vision we had for ND and the program. If you are a parent, I hope we delivered on what was promised and that your son left here the kind of man, teammate, person, son you hoped he could If you are an alum, thank you for supporting this special place, and making myself and family feel so welcome and appreciated.

I can't thank you all enough for my time here, you all gave me more than I could ever give you in return.

Take Care & God Bless.

GB