Coach adjusts to relocation, lacrosse at IU

Christina Boward knew the cost of having her husband travel back and forth from Virginia to Bloomington each week would be high. But she said the opportunity it provided wasn't one her family could pass up.\nHer husband, Todd Boward, was recently hired as coach of the IU men's lacrosse team, which opens preseason play with a Big Ten tournament Saturday in Madison, Wis. Because of various complications, the rest of Boward's family is still in Virginia. The coach flies into town Tuesdays for practice, then back to Virginia on Fridays. Although few around campus might have ever seen his team play, the 42-year-old Todd Boward has big plans for IU lacrosse. \n"The reason I came (to IU) is that I want to get it to where I can recruit kids to come to IU to play lacrosse," he said. "I'm out to create the college athletics experience without all the pressures of college athletics."\nAfter retiring from the Army in 2001, Todd Boward took a desk job with a defense contractor, but the itch to be involved with the sport he's known since childhood drove him out of the office and back onto the lacrosse field.\n"I missed leading the troops," he said of his old job. "So I started looking for a (junior varsity) high school job in Virginia."\nSearching for a job eventually led him to Forest Park High School in Baltimore, a school of about 815 students.\nAnd with that, lacrosse was back in Todd's life and his journey to becoming a college coach had begun.\nAt Forest Park, he took over a winless junior varsity squad. Despite the team's previous record, its new coach wasn't fazed as he led the team to an undefeated season in his first year at the helm. Because of his success with the young team, Forest Park promoted Todd to varsity coach where he compiled a 37-12 overall record before leaving.\nThen last year, Boward's next opportunity came from IU senior Steven Brown. The president and captain of the IU men's lacrosse team knew it was time to find a new head coach for his team, and it didn't take long for him to know Boward was the man for the job. \n"Last year, during the first week of school, the old coach told us he couldn't do it anymore," Brown said. "We had our assistant coach step up, but it turned out to be a mess."\nWhen looking for a new coach, Brown said he began the search on various outlets, including posting the job opening on lacrosse Web sites. He said although he interviewed several people for the job, Todd stood out from the start.\n"Most people I interviewed were right out of college," Brown said. "But a resume of almost 20 years with the Army, plus his experience ... (Boward) just knew a lot about the game."\nAfter deciding on the man it wanted, the team notified Todd last June, and he signed a contract by July. Because lacrosse is not a varsity sport, player dues, alumni donations and the allocation of some club sports funds allowed the team to offer its new coach the contract that would bring him to IU.\nDespite receiving offers from Baylor University and the University of Florida, the Bowards decided Bloomington was the place for their family, despite the distance and complications of the relocation.\n"We set up a list of criteria of where we wanted to be," Todd said. "We fell in love with Bloomington from the start. It had the small townishness but with the culture of a big city."\nDespite having to leave his family and incur numerous travel costs, Todd is already making his mark with the team. Since arriving at IU, he has taken a unique approach to lacrosse and the way he is going to run the team. Different from most club sports at IU, Todd requires anyone who tries out for the team to supply him with their SAT score. He said school was always his priority and his players should be focused on studies first.\n"My lacrosse team in high school had the highest GPA of any sport in the school," he said. "Lacrosse is no dummy sport."\nAlthough the season has yet to start, certain members of the team are starting to see the changes the new coach has brought to the system.\nJunior Jason Bowman, who was involved in the hiring process, has seen the coach instill a sense of pride in his new team.\n"The No. 1 thing is his passion for the game," Bowman said. "When he talks to the players about playing ... we feed off of it. He has this drive; it's contagious."\nIt's no surprise Todd has the respect of the players on the field. This is due in part to his a commanding stature, one that emits warnings of hand-crushing introductions. Bowman said he thinks when the new coach eventually leaves, lacrosse will have a new respect on the IU campus.\n"He wants to have all the requirements of a varsity sport in a club sport," Bowman said. "And that is the level he wants to get us to"