Bill Belichick, lacrosse aficionado, knows where Brady would play
It’s no surprise there’s a Bill Belichick Field out there, named after the New England Patriots coach. It is a bit surprising that it’s a lacrosse field in Uganda.
Maybe it’s because of the stereotype of football coaches, Belichick’s own robotic ways when talking about football or just that we can’t imagine a football coach being that detailed and great while having any other interests, but it’s always a bit startling when we hear of Belichick having any hobbies other than figuring out how to shut down an opposing quarterback.
That’s what makes Belichick’s infatuation with lacrosse so interesting. The same guy who often won’t speak more than four words at a time about football had a great interview with Lacrosse Magazine’s Paul Carcaterra that turned into a 24-minute video. Belichick’s love of lacrosse isn’t a secret; he played in high school and college, his kids played lacrosse in college and his daughter Amanda is the coach of Holy Cross’ women’s lacrosse team.
Still, there’s just something about Belichick gushing about … well, anything that makes for a fun piece.
One of the best parts of the interview is when he’s playing catch with Carcaterra, and Carcaterra starts asking him about his Patriots players and how they’d fit in lacrosse.
On tight end Rob Gronkowski: “If I could teach him any stick work, I’d put him at crease attack. Let him go out and clear out and go to the goal.”
On receiver Julian Edelman: “He’d be a good midfielder.”
Then he was asked about Tom Brady, and a funny exchange ensued.
“Put him in the goal” Belichick said.
Goal?
“He can’t run,” Belichick said, in a lighthearted jab. “I mean. can’t run. Can’t dodge.”
The rest of the video is light and amusing, and discusses Belichick’s history with the sport and the work his foundation does with lacrosse (the foundation was responsible for that field in Uganda). There are a few pictures of Belichick from his lacrosse past, including one of a certain hippie-looking future Hall of Fame coach in a team photo, at the end of the second row from the top:
Throughout the interview, it’s clear Belichick knows the game and still enjoys it tremendously.
You get the feeling that with a different turn of events here or there, maybe Belichick would be considered an all-time great lacrosse coach instead.
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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @YahooSchwab
