Coach Radebaugh was a leader as a player having captained the Virginia squad twice and winning numerous honors as a player. He was named to the All-America team three times, twice honorable mention and once first team. We have all heard the old saying that great players do not neccessarily make great coaches, but this great player has the qualities that seem to fit the bill. The respect he had as a player will certainly carry over into a difficult situation of going from teammate to coach.

Lax.com: Talk to us about the feeling of winning the championship last year?

Coach Radebaugh: It was pretty unbelievable. When you're growing up watching college lacrosse it's your dream to play in the final four and win a championship. It was just great to be able to win it with 42 of my best friends in the world. We gelled at the right time and it was great to be able to win it for coach and get the burden off our shoulders.

Lax.com: If you were allowed to play again this year would you, and how much do you miss it?

Coach Radebaugh: I would definitely want to play again this year. I didn't really miss it that much because after the championship win last year I felt like it was a great way to end my career by graduating and going out on top. However, with this week of pre-season excitement and all the hype, I'm definitely missing it right now.

Lax.com: How do you make the transition from teammate to coach? Have there been any problems?

Coach Radebaugh: It's actually been great. I was a little bit worried about it at first because you go from being a teammate and a friend to being a coach and how do you expect to tell them what to do in practice. We respected each other a lot last year and we kinda' coached each other on the field on what we thought we should do. This year they have really accepted what I've had to say and it's really going well.

Lax.com: Can you still party with the boys?

Coach Radebaugh: Not really, not as much. I actually live with David Bruce who graduated last year, but he is a graduate student and after having redshirted due to injury he is playing this year.I still hang out with him.

Lax.com: Do you see yourself being a head coach in the future or is this short term?

Coach Radebaugh: I don't know, actually I would like to do a few things. I don't want to do this straight through for the rest of my life. I'll probably do this for a little while and then try something else and see how the world treats me. I can always come back to coaching and I enjoy it very much, but I want to try other things.

Lax.com: What will your coaching duties be this year?

Coach Radebaugh: I've been working primarily with the face-off guys and helping coach Colbeck with the offense. We talk about offensive schemes, but I am more of an individual coach and talk to the players about what they should do in certain situations.

Lax.com: Do you plan on playing pro either indoor or outdoor or both?

Coach Radebaugh: I actually got drafted this year by the Philadelphia team, but after speaking with coach Resch I realized I would miss a lot of practices and I didn't want to do it half way. I wanted to give it my best, and so I decided not to do that. Who knows, if I am living in a different city or things are different I would love to play, and both my brothers are playing for Philadelphia so it would be nice to be able to play with them.

Lax.com: Your family could practically field a team of its own. Who is the best Radebaugh lacrosse player and would your brothers agree?

Coach Radebaugh: HaHaHa. I actually think Ned may have been the best. Not many people hear of him, but he played two years at Johns Hopkins, his freshmen and sophomore years, and won two championships. He was an incredible player, but he didn't play after that due to a family issue.

Lax.com: Do you have any predictions for tommorrow's game, number one and two in men's div. I, Syracuse vs. Virginia?

Coach Radebaugh: I think it's going to be an unbelievable game. We're so excited for it here in the office. It's supposed to be a really nice day, we're playing it up at Clockner because we couldn't handle the amount of fans. There are already 8,000 pre-sold tickets and we're expecting 12,000. We've played them 8 times since Dom's(head coach) been here, the record's 4-4; and the goal differential has been like 1.85. You know it's going to be a great game.

Lax.com: No predictions?

Coach Radebaugh: No, I can't really give a prediction. I think it will be a one or two goal game. It could go either way.

Lax.com: Will it be low scoring or high scoring?

Coach Radebaugh: It will probably be in the mid teens. You usually don't get below that in a Virginia-Syracuse game.