The Man Behind the Metz
How David Metzbower transformed UNC’s offense BY RYAN BOYLE
CEO, TRILOGY LACROSSE T
hat was Apple Shampoo. I knew you knew. On March 12, former Princeton and three-
time U.S. midfielder Matt Striebel attended the North Carolina-UMass game. A fan approached him. “Why were you talking with the equipment manager?” the fan asked.
“What do you mean?” Striebel
replied. “You know, the guy dressed like the
team manager.”
Striebel chuckled. Few know that the unassuming man, North Carolina offensive coordinator David Metzbower, is the greatest offensive mind in the modern era of the sport. And that Metz(y), as Striebel and I have known him since he coached us at Princeton, would have it no other way. When Metz arrived at Chapel Hill, the Tar Heels hadn’t been to championship weekend in more than two decades. Littered with All- Americans and blue-chip recruits from some of the most storied high schools and clubs in the country, they routinely came up short in the postseason. Head coach Joe Breschi had changed the culture and was on the brink of a special season. He turned to a fellow Loyola Blakefield (Md.) alum to help get North Carolina over the hump. Most people thought 2015 would be the Year of the Tar Heel, with household names like Bitter and Sankey running the show. But after another quarterfinal exit, this time at the hands of
16 LACROSSE MAGAZINE » July/August 2016
Maryland, everyone jumped off the bandwagon. North Carolina’s 3-3 start this season, following a 14-9 loss at UMass, did little to inspire confidence. They forgot about Metz.
Unencumbered by expectations and with an offensive roster that resembled the land of misfit parts, how did North Carolina pull it off? How did Metz create an offensive juggernaut that defeated the vaunted defenses of Notre Dame, Loyola and Maryland on the way to the Tar Heels’ first NCAA title since 1991? Above all else, the man has no ego. He truly doesn’t care who gets the credit and deflects praise toward his players. Or as he said, “I just try to get them in the right spots.” In an era when coaches micro- manage every aspect of their program — recruiting, timeouts, haircuts — Metz empowers his players in a way that few others do. This level of trust is liberating.
Fusing the philosophical and practical elements of offense, Metz focuses on individual technical skills, instinctual smaller-unit IQ development. He solicits feedback from players when crafting game plans to create confidence and buy-in. Lastly, he does not adhere to one master system. Rather, he looks at players as chess pieces, fusing specific talents with custom-built sets. Patrick Kelly, a standout high school attackman, struggled to catch on as a scorer in college. Metz converted Kelly to a midfielder and worked on his outside shooting. He scored 29 goals this season, even accidentally converting on a “possession shot” intended to
A Publication of US Lacrosse
©JOHN MECIONIS (RB); ©KEVIN P. TUCKER (DM)
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