Grow the Game®

Kevin Seibert Bishop Kelly Lacrosse 2011
Share on facebook
Share on twitter
Share on linkedin
Share on reddit
Share on whatsapp

Idaho Lax: Interview With Kevin Seibert, Bishop Kelly High

Our Idaho Lax interview series continues with Kevin Seibert, a senior defenseman at my alma mater, Bishop Kelly High School in Boise, ID. I’ve been given the opportunity to be an assistant coach at BK this year, handling the defensive side of the ball, so that makes me Kevin’s coach. And honestly, I couldn’t be more thrilled to be coaching Kevin and the rest of the Knights at BK this year.

Seibert is one of six outstanding longpoles on our team, three of whom are seniors, and he recently committed to play NCAA Division 3 lacrosse at Carthage College in Wisconsin next year. He’s a solid take-away pole whose off-ball game is just as developed as his on-ball. We sat down to talk about the upcoming 2011 season, his recruitment process and what exactly kids his age do for fun in Idaho. Enjoy.

Kevin Seibert Bishop Kelly Lacrosse 2011
Seibert at the 2010 Denver University Summer Camp

Why defense? Did you start out playing lacrosse with a longpole or was it an acquired taste?

Kevin Seibert: I started playing defense pretty much from the beginning, and then I just fell in love with it and continued to get better each year and just stuck with it.

What was your 2010 season like? What are you guys looking to improve on in 2011?

Kevin Seibert: My 2010 season was a little rough for me personally. I got injured in a preseason tournament but was good to go by tryouts. Then I got a concussion the first game of the season. It was hard sitting on the sidelines instead of being in there helping my team. But after I was able to play the season was very enjoyable with some very exciting and close games towards the end of the season. What we want to improve for 2011 is definitely work on our communication between our defenders and midfielders to have a smoother slide package, we also would like to be able to run our offense as a cohesive unit and not a one man show like some teams do.

We heard a rumor that the seniors on your team were asked to design the new uniforms. What will you guys be wearing this season?

Kevin Seibert: It is true that the seniors got to design our own jerseys for this year. Our goalie Craig Patrick took the lead on this and we came up with Nike Six Nations. We kept it simple with White home jerseys and Black away jerseys.

Kevin Seibert Biship Kelly Lacrosse 2011
Seibert clearing the crease for goalie Craig Patrick

Unlike our other Idaho Lax interviewee, you were born and raised in Boise, ID. How would you describe lacrosse in Idaho for all the east coast readers out there?

Kevin Seibert: Lacrosse in Idaho is indeed different from the East Coast. For starters since it’s new out here we don’t have parents and grandparents who have played the sport, making it hard for kids to develop good stick skills early on. There is also the issue of coaching, players normally don’t receive proper coaching until high school which holds the state back. Until recently Idaho has had only a few players break into the NCAA, but now we are finally seeing more players being recruited so it’s a matter of time before we catch up the rest of the states around us.

You recently committed to play NCAA Div 3 lacrosse at Carthage College in Wisconsin. What led you to making that decision?

Kevin Seibert: My father and I had been looking at Div. 3 schools because I knew I probably couldn’t make it at a D1 level, and I wasn’t too keen on some of the D2 schools that had contacted me so that helped narrow it down. Just before my father was leaving to go back to Minnesota, we looked into Carthage online because it was NCAA D3 and was close to my relatives. The very next day I actually received a letter from Coach Neff about possibly playing there so I decided to check the school out. When we flew out to Carthage my father and I were able to take a tour of the school as well as meet with Coach Neff and a few of the defensive players. After a few weeks I decided to commit because I liked the school, the Coach, and the players that I met.

Kevin Seibert Bishop Kelly Lacrosse 2011
Skills and wheels!

How is your team looking for the 2011 season? Also, tell us a bit about this Las Vegas trip coming up.

Kevin Seibert: I am very very excited about my team this year. Because we only graduated 2 seniors last year we were able to pick up exactly where we left off. The new players have been able to transition into varsity with ease and the new coaches, Gabe Border and Jeff Brunelle, have already made improvements. The Las Vegas trip should be exciting because we can see how we hold up against out of state competition, something Idaho normally struggles with. The nice part is that Las Vegas will be warm, which is a nice change from Seattle where we normally go for a preseason tournament. It’ll also give us a chance to bond as a team – you can’t have a good season unless you trust your teammates.

What are your personal goals for 2011? Team goals?

Kevin Seibert: My personal goals for 2011 are to keep attackmen out of their comfort zone and keep myself out of the penalty box, because no one is useful in there. As for my team’s goal I would have to say for defense we want to keep our talking strong and protect our goalie by forcing outside shots. For offense we want to be able to score in all of our systems and from each person, not just one all-star player.

2010 Bishop Kelly Men's Lacrosse Team
The ever so handsome 2010 Bishop Kelly Men’s Lacrosse Team

What’s your stick setup like? What type of head? Shaft? String job?

Kevin Seibert: I’ve been using the same set up for years now. For the shaft I am all about the Gait 803 Ice, as for the head I go with the STX Bionic because of its stiffness and the scoop. I use a high pocket in my stick for a faster release and just the right amount of whip so the ball stays in there.

Give us a sample of your pregame playlist… What are your top 3 tracks?

Kevin Seibert: My top three tracks for a game are G-Code by Geto Boys, Fortunate Son by Creedence Clearwater Revival, and Mastermind by Del the Funky Homosapien.

Kevin Seibert Bishop Kelly Lacrosse 2011
Who said only attackmen could celebrate?

What’s your favorite thing to do off the lacrosse field? What in the world do Idahoans do on the weekends?

Kevin Seibert: My favorite thing to do off the field is definitely throwing pots on the potters wheel, been doing it since my freshman year and it gives me time to think about what I want to do when I get back on the field. As an Idahoan you spend most your time hanging out with your friends playing lacrosse or other sports because Boise is not that big of a city to go cause ruckus. Like any kid in high school Idahoans put in their fair share of video games (Yes, we have electricity in Idaho).