Matt Dorn has developed a new perspective on getting in shape. As the strength and conditioning coach for the women’s lacrosse team, the former baseball player acts as a scout, coach, trainer and mentor for 25 college women.

Dorn is in charge of the team’s lifting and conditioning programs and also oversees the team’s warm-up and cooldown at practice. He scouts opposing teams, searching for any weaknesses, and works specifically with his team’s goalies, a position he was unfamiliar with and had to study in order to benefit the team. His rigorous regimen has caused his team to give him the moniker “Dr. Evil,” but sophomore midfielder Ali DeCirce said the new conditioning program may be the key to the Bombers defending their Empire 8 Championship and advancing further into the NCAA playoffs.

“With the addition of our ‘Dr. Evil’ and new conditioning programs, we will be in better shape mentally and physically than last year,” DeCirce said. “That can only mean good things.”

Dorn, who aspires to have the most well conditioned team in the Empire 8, has created a comprehensive program of lifting, speed and agility training and on-field conditioning tailored specifically to women’s lacrosse. He has fostered a relationship with the players, and that helps him sell his training program.  

“I’m a pretty good motivator,” he said. “You can’t just use one broad motivating tool. You have to build a relationship with every individual athlete on the team and know what motivates each person.”

As a four-year letter winner with the college’s baseball team, Dorn has the added advantage of being a former athlete at the school. He knows what it’s like to be involved in a pressure-packed Empire 8 Championship game and understands the added intensity that can only be experienced as a player. Junior co-captain Courtney Dowell said she appreciates having a coach who understands the rigors of being a student athlete at this level.

“Matt knows what it’s like to be a student athlete at Ithaca College and that sometimes things come up, like class,” she said. “He is always more than willing to reschedule a lifting session and do it individually with that person.”

Not all Division III programs have the luxury of having their own strength and conditioning coach to help players reach their maximum potential. Dorn is constantly pushing players off the field at lifting sessions and on the field during conditioning sessions at practices. Junior co-captain Kassie Garfield has seen her own fitness level increase because of Dorn’s techniques and has seen her team become a tightly knit group as it has to come together to overcome Dorn’s difficult training regimen.

“In games, I’ve noticed I can push myself harder, and I know we can keep up with other teams,” she said. “It’s more like they have to keep up with us now. It really helps to have Matt there pushing us, and it helps us to be together as a team, working hard together.”

Following the lead of his role model, Head Baseball Coach George Valesente, Dorn said he has learned how to run a team, treat his players and conduct himself professionally. Dorn, who served as a graduate assistant to eight teams last year at Ithaca, including women’s lacrosse, attributes much of his success to the bond he has formed with the team during the past two years.

“We’ve built up some good trust, and the team has really bought into my philosophy as a coach,” Dorn said. “They know what I expect, and I know they’re going to work hard for me, so it has been really productive.”

Dorn said he understands that to be a successful coach, he has to be constantly researching and staying up-to-date with training methods and conditioning programs. He said he knows that players are more inclined to work hard for him if he works hard for them and can identify what effects certain exercises will have on their bodies.

“Strength and conditioning is the type of field where there is always something new popping up,” he said. “So you are constantly learning and constantly adjusting. You have to try and be better every single day, and you can never be satisfied with where you’re at.”