Joe Opron is the Director of Lacrosse Operations at George Washington University. GWU’s MCLA program has been in great shape under Opron since their arrival to the MCLA. After being the team’s head coach for three seasons, and being the driving force behind the team’s successful bid to join the MCLA in 2013, Opron will step off the sideline and into the Director of Lacrosse Operations role. He will provide overall leadership and administrative support to the program and serve as a mentor for the players and coaches.

What is the best way for players to get on your recruiting radar?

Our Recruiting Coordinator, Nick Stensen, does a great job of getting out to as many recruiting camps as his schedule and our budget will allow. However, we are limited in the amount of players we get to see each summer, so it’s important that recruits provide a quality highlight film as early in the process as possible. Off the field, we look for excellent academic credentials and evidence of a sincere interest in George Washington University and Washington, DC. While we try to review and respond to all inquiries about the program, those that quickly demonstrate that the recruit has done his homework about GW will be rewarded with much more attention from our staff.

What type of player’s do you primarily look for, a raw athlete or refined lacrosse player?

There’s a place for both in every good program and both can contribute immediately at the MCLA level, so we primarily look for players who have a genuine passion for the sport. Our student-athletes aren’t on scholarship and don’t always have the same comforts afforded to NCAA Division I athletes, so to be successful, you have to love what you’re doing and love putting in the work to get better.

What areas of player development would you recommend players to focus on?

All players, whether they played at a top 25 high school or at a school far outside the traditional hotbeds, can best prepare for the college game by hitting the wall and getting serious about diet and exercise. In my experience, the most overlooked of these is diet. Players need to remember the axiom “garbage in, garbage out.” A strong workout is wasted when it is followed by pizza and soda, but a balanced diet will allow serious athletes to get the most out of their hard work.

What type of student-athletes find MCLA programs to be the best fit for them?

The best fit is going to be unique to each student-athlete, but I truly believe that the MCLA is potentially a great fit for all but the very top blue chip recruits. Considering that the majority of the US News and World Report Top 100 schools have MCLA lacrosse programs, serious student–athletes who have not considered at least one MCLA program should see that as a red flag signaling that they may need to revaluate how they’re approaching the college selection process.