The last time that Marist assistant Men’s Lacrosse coach and offensive coordinator Tyler Perrelle was on the sidelines for the Red Foxes, the team was competing nationally. With him back on the staff, they look forward to doing that again.
Perrelle has a top-tier resume, coaching over eight All-American players during his time at Division II school UTampa, and shipping off two of his former Binghamton Bearcats to the Big 10; Both of which became top point-getters at their respective schools.
At Tampa in 2019, the Spartans won their sixth straight Sunshine State Conference title, advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals, and earned a No. 8 national ranking. He coached the team’s offense, which produced 309 goals (14.7/game), third-most in the nation for a Division II program.
To put that stat into perspective, Marist scored 177 goals last year, good for just over 11 a game. The 309 scored in the 2019 season when Perrelle was over-seeing the offense in Tampa, is nearly impossible to do in Division I lacrosse. He looks to bring this speedy and strategic attack back to Poughkeepsie in 2025.
As a player at Binghamton, Perelle tallied 110 points from the midfield position, second all-time in school history. He also notched 55 assists.
Perrelle has always been a master motivator, but why do his player development techniques work better than others? If you ask the former Binghamton star, it all starts with a winning mindset.
“You’ve got to go into every game with the mindset that you are going to win… this allows the guys to play freely,” Perrelle said. “Instead of thinking too much out there, they just go out there and play hard.”
Perrelle was a crazy athlete in high school, but lacrosse always had a soft spot in his heart. He was not 6’5 and he didn’t have dazzling speed or power, but Perrelle played harder than anyone else on his team; that’s where his love for coaching came in.
“That’s what we try to do: play hard. It’s something that I’ve always embraced as an athlete,” said Perrelle. “I try to take it with me no matter what I do, in life and in coaching.”
Not only does Perrelle preach this “play bigger than you are are” attitude, but he sees it in this year’s team.
“The guys that we have on our team are very similar to how I am,” said Perrelle. “Smaller, gritty type guys that are going to go all-out no matter what’s going on or who we are playing against.”
When searching for the best-equipped player for his offense, there are a few things that jump off the page for Perrelle.
“It’s totally changed over time,” Perrelle said. “It used to be who’s athletic, big or strong, but now it’s who has the intangibles; the stuff you can’t coach. Which guy is going to run through a wall for his team?”
Perrelle wants a tightly wound locker room – a locker room that will do anything for each other and their coaches. He also wants “coachable” players. Although that may sound like a broad term, it’s what truly can make or break an athlete’s development.
“I need a guy who wants to get better,” said Perrelle. “Even if the stick skills are lacking a bit, that’s our job as coaches.”
This goes back to the point of how much intangibles mean in the game of lacrosse. It’s not always about who’s the fastest, strongest or even the biggest, but who is going to do anything it takes to win; that’s Perrelle’s way. He also acknowledged the firepower that this Red Fox team has on offense, stating that he’s looking forward to working on the “little, tiny” details of their game.
“Throwing shot-fakes or footwork, that kind of stuff,” said Perrelle. “That’s what I love to teach, a player who wants to get better,”
A coach can teach all the skills he knows, but there is no remedy for teaching a mindset and attitude.
Giving players feedback is much easier said than done, and every coach has a different technique. How does one tell another to be better? Well, Perrelle likes positive reinforcement, as well as building a strong relationship with his athletes.
“I try to be as positive as possible, obviously there’s times where we miss a pass in practice, but I’m a big three-strike guy,” said Perelle. “I also acknowledge that everyone learns differently, whether it be one-on-one conversations, pulling a guy aside or having a meeting.”
Perrelle’s player development techniques have not gone unnoticed here at Marist. The players are looking forward to having him back on the staff, as well as head coach Dave Scarcello.
“We are incredibly fortunate to have Tyler rejoining us at Marist,” Scarcello told Marist Athletics. “Not only was his offensive knowledge a key factor in our team’s ability to compete nationally, but he also brings an attitude that aligns with the standard built for Marist Lacrosse. I’m very excited for our players to learn from Tyler and his unique perspective of the game.”
The players are stoked and the coaches are ready as Marist looks to compete nationally once again. Shiny new tools and a plethora of offensive weapons are lined up for the Red Foxes, but it’ll all come down to execution.
Perrelle looks to lead this Red Fox offense to a tournament berth and beyond, but the team is going to take it one game at a time, playing fast and physically, with the goal of being a nightmare to line up against.
Edited by Ryan Eichem and Ben Leeds
Graphic by Quinn DiFiore; Photo from Marist Athletics
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