Interview w/ Nick Merrell, Q&A w/ Waterford Freshman Spencer Reagan

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Interview with Olympus Head Coach Nick Merrell


My podcast interview this week is with Olympus Head Coach Nick Merrell. Merrell played at West and the University of Utah. After graduation, he coached at West with his brother, Corey, and then moved to Olympus in 2017. In the podcast we talk about when Utah went to Colorado in 2008 and beat CU and CSU in the same weekend. Here’s my recap from that weekend (https://dailyutahchronicle.com/2008/0...) .


Olympus Head Coach Nick Merrell


Merrell (2) at the Pac-12 Shootout at UCLA in 2011


You can listen to the latest podcast above or on Apple Podcasts (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...)  or Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/1kIbNEd...) . Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a rating!


While you’re out and about at games, stop by Vessel Kitchen (https://www.vesselkitchen.com/) . Vessel Kitchen has locations in Midvale, Sandy, 9th + 9th and Kimball Junction.


Week 4 Coaches Polls


Before we dive into the polls, I want to set the stage for the postseason. To be 100% clear, the UHSAA RPI is the sole source for playoff position. The first update will be released this Friday, April 9, at 9 a.m. on the UHSAA website. The coaches poll is a fun poll that I conduct to get the coaches’ opinion of where teams stack up. After all, they are the ones on the field, not the computer.


No. 1 Corner Canyon - The Chargers went 2-0 last week against Region 4 foes Pleasant Grove (20-5) and Westlake (20-0). Corner Canyon is off this week and will take on Skyridge on 4/15.


No. 2 Farmington - The Park City losses meant Farmington moved up one spot in the polls despite not playing last week. The Phoenix will head on the road this week for a 4/7 showdown against Northridge and a sneaky good game on Friday at Wasatch. Two Wasps (Josh Nokes and Cam Horner) played for Farmington in 2019.


No. 3 Olympus - After a week off (in Hawaii), the Titans will host Box Elder on Friday.


No. 4 American Fork - The Cavemen beat Region 4 opponent Lone Peak on Tuesday, 9-5 (Deseret News Recap (https://www.deseret.com/high-school-s...) ), then followed that win with a 10-6 win over Pleasant Grove. American Fork will take the week off and then travel to Skyridge on 4/13 and host Westlake on 4/15.


No. 5 Mountain Ridge - A 15-0 trouncing of Timpanogos on Tuesday is a great way to head into Spring Break. The Sentinels are in action again on 4/13 against Mountain View.


No. 6 Park City - The Miners fell four spots in this week’s poll which is the pollsters correcting the results from two weeks ago when Corner Canyon and American Fork beat the Miners. Last week, the Miners beat Region 8 opponents and newer programs Springville and Provo, 30-1, respectively. A follower on Twitter asked (  / 1378287024168337410  ) if the 30 goal limit was the new 20 goal limit and I’m here to say that no, it’s not. If we look at the box score from that game, 11 Miners tallied at least a point. The leader had 10 points which isn’t unheard of in a lacrosse game. The Provo box score shows the Miners were leading 20-0 at the half then went 5-0, 5-1 to finish the game. Park City will take on No. 8 Davis on Tuesday in Kaysville.


Say or think what you will, but I think it’s a good time to bring up the fact that we’ve seen a ton of blowouts this year and it feels like it’s been more than normal. One coach thinks it’s a goalie problem with the hypothesis being there are only a handful of great goalies and no one is stopping shots. I’m okay with that theory. Goalie is a tricky position and we certainly don’t have a ton of goalie coaches out there coaching up the goalies. In my experience, it’s the position most coaches know the least about. I personally think this is one of many manifestations of sanctioning growing pains. Springville is an offshoot of the old Spanish Fork Warriors so only a handful of players at most have played before. Provo was a first-year program last year and has a new coach this year. I think we’ll continue to see these types of scores for the next 2-3 years as teams/programs become more established. I think if we ran a poll, most would say that 30 goals is too many.


No. 7 Timpview - A 19-0 win over Mountain View on Monday and an 8-7 loss to Brighton (Highlights (  / cnqlaksannr  ) ) on Friday is a tricky way to head into Spring Break with a 4/14 matchup with No. 3 Olympus on the horizon.


No. 8 Davis - I’ve watched Davis play in-person twice and I’m convinced they have the pieces to be a top team in the state. The Darts...