Athletic Insider Interview Series: Drew Bezek
With the 2024 men’s lacrosse season coming into view, Coach Bezek and the team will be vying for another SUNYAC Championship (Photo Courtesy of geneseoknights.com).
If there’s one thing Coach Drew Bezek knows well, it’s lacrosse. Bezek grew up playing lacrosse with his friends before going on to play at LeMoyne College, where he helped lead his team to four national championship game appearances and one national title in 2007. Bezek’s accomplishments don’t stop there, as he was also named an NCAA Division II First-Team All-American for three consecutive seasons (2008, 2009, and 2010). He is also the winner of two NCAA Division II Defensive Player of the Year awards from 2009 and 2010.
In 2011, Coach Bezek served as Interim Head Coach at Vassar College. With Bezek at the helm of the Brewers, Vassar won their first Liberty League championship in program history. Following his time at Vassar, Bezek served as an assistant coach at Hamilton College for three seasons where he worked as their defensive coordinator while bringing the Continentals to consecutive NESCAC postseason tournaments in 2012 and 2013. Bezek also coached at SUNY Oswego for seven seasons and led the Lakers to back-to-back SUNYAC tournament appearances and helped mold 20 All-SUNYAC players and two SUNYAC Rookie of the Year award winners.
Coach Bezek is about to enter his third season as head coach at Geneseo after leading the Knights to a SUNYAC playoff berth where they defeated Cortland in 2023. Under his leadership, goalkeeper Mark Pav and attacker Kevin Cook earned United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) All-America honorable mentions. Additionally, Pav earned the SUNYAC Defensive Player of the Year award. Bezek’s coaching experience proved to be the backbone of the SUNY Geneseo men’s lacrosse program this past season and will continue in the future.
When speaking to Coach Bezek, one thing stood out that cannot be seen through the accolades and awards— Bezek doesn’t expect anything from his players that he won’t or can’t do himself. Whether it be conditioning or lifting tests, he believes putting himself in his players' shoes gives him the best concept of their experience. Coach Bezek mentioned that the two things he and his team always talk about are having energy and effort on the lacrosse field, in the classroom, and within their relationships.
The biggest improvement in Coach Bezek’s eyes hasn’t necessarily been on the field, “for [them] it [was] support amongst each other” and “[they’ve] grown a ton in the last few years, supporting somebody when they have a failure.” Even with a talented roster and storied program history, Bezek and his team know that failures are bound to happen in sports. That doesn’t mean, however, that the expectations aren’t high. Bezek hopes to grow the success of Geneseo’s lacrosse program during his continued tenure as their head coach.
The men’s lacrosse team will begin their season with three consecutive home games, looking to start hot and earn a repeat of last year. Their first SUNYAC matchup will come on Saturday, Mar. 23, when they travel to Cortland for a rematch of last season’s conference Championship. In the 2023 season, the Knights went 7-0 in conference play and will look to do the same in the highly anticipated 2024 season.