TOWSON, Md. - After 10 years as an assistant coach, it is understandable that first-year Towson Head Coach Shawn Nadelen wanted to make his own mark on the Tiger lacrosse program. He had his first chance during "Fall Ball," a time when when programs get an opportunity to work on skills, practice and scrimmage against other schools.

"Our main objective was to make sure our players knew what it meant to really compete every day that they are on the field and understand what it means to represent Towson lacrosse the right way," said Nadelen. "We really wanted our guys to know that the amount of work that they think they are putting in wasn't enough. I don't think we really challenged our guys enough to do as much on their own."

Nadelen wanted an improved work ethic and change of philosophy. If the team was coming off a Colonial Athletic Association championship, the changes wouldn't be major. But, the Tigers finished 3-10 last year, haven't had a winning record since 2007 or won a CAA title since 2005.

"We approached this fall as an opportunity to really teach our guys how to approach every day with a work ethic that a Division I lacrosse player should have," said Nadelen. "We taught them through our practices how to work on their own effectively through offensive shooting drills, passing drills, defensive footwork and wall ball work."

The former All-World defenseman has been through it all, playing indoor and outdoor professional lacrosse as well as helping Team USA win the gold medal at the Federation of International Lacrosse World Championships in England in the Summer of 2010.

In addition, Nadelen had to overcome a serious knee injury which takes a lot of rehab to play at an elite level. He wants his players to understand the rich tradition of Towson's program and also the hard work it takes to reach their goals.

"We really approached it with a workman-like mentality and also wanted to have our guys understand that it's an everyday thing," he said. "It's not just two or more hours of practices and lifting. You have to be thinking about it all the time and impact it all times.

"In general, it's been a little bit of an issue for some guys that have come through the program," he added. "Towson is a fantastic place for many different reasons. I want our student-athletes to enjoy Towson for all it is but to understand that they are here to get a great education and to play an elite level brand of lacrosse. That's something that's very valuable and important to us as a coaching staff and representing this lacrosse program. We need to make our guys understand how important it is and the effort that is needed."

In the fall, Nadelen also wanted his players to be in top shape physically and mentally. As part of that preparation, the Tigers' coach put the team through an exercise called "The Program," a two-day event that is geared towards testing a team's ability to work as a unit and improve individual leadership skills.

"When we had 'The Program' come in, these guys had a military background," said Nadelen. "These guys were fantastic. It helped us strip down our team and broke our guys down to understanding that there's a difference between being a buddy and being a teammate.

"When you're a buddy, anything goes and anything is acceptable," Nadelen continued. "But by being a teammate, you hold your teammates accountable and make sure they are holding you accountable when things are not being done correctly or you are not giving enough effort."

Coach Nadelen added, "It's about having that little bit of attitude and confidence that each guy is going to challenge each other in a positive way. If something is not done to the standards that we need it to be done, it's OK for our teammates to call each other out.

To Nadelen, the sky is the limit for this program. It may not happen this year, but there is no limit to what the Tigers can achieve. Last year, they lost five one-goal games, so it's not as if they weren't competitive in most of their losses.

"Each guy probably has his own goals and expectations," Nadelen added. "Collectively, we were setting our standards too low. Whatever standard or level we thought we could achieve, we could go way beyond that."