And when it snows, “it’s generally only two or three inches,” the native New Yorker pointed out. “So, that’s another added benefit.”
The alumni community makes a tremendous difference, too, he said. “The alumni support at VMI is a game changer. The support they provide and continue to provide allows us to build a better experience for our cadet-athletes and we all are very thankful for that opportunity.”
Two years ago, when he had the chance to become head coach of Arcadia University’s lacrosse team, the program was “young” and “underachieving”—but Purpura “saw a lot of opportunity there.”
He had been traipsing up and down the East Coast, assistant-coaching at four different schools in five years. The Arcadia job was not just a rung up the coaching ladder—this was a chance for him to take all the pieces he liked, the things he had learned “and make it our own.” Purpura has a binder stuffed with notes and lessons learned over the years—and he put it good use at Arcadia.
This past summer, leaving his job at Arcadia was bittersweet. He had poured his “blood, sweat, and tears” into the program. VMI, though, is the only place he would have left Arcadia for, Purpura said. People in the small lacrosse community told him head coaching at VMI would be hard. They asked him, a young coach who had just mentored great, positive change at Arcadia, why he would want to go to VMI.
“That only fueled me more to want to take on the challenge,” he said. Purpura wanted the job and jumped at the opportunity. He applied, he briefed his ideas and philosophies—and was hired on in summer 2020.
Soon after he was hired, Purpura put together his staff—which may be one of the best in D1. Purpura brings with him two assistants from Arcadia: Mark “M.C.” Cameron ’94 and Kevin Doherty. Mikey Herring, a former starter for the University of Virginia who’s also played professionally, rounds out the staff. Together, the staff is a mix of high-level playing experience from Herring, the continuity from coaches who’ve worked together before—and in Cameron, the added benefit of a retired U.S. Marine officer and VMI alumnus.
COVID-19 has affected the team’s training, but not as much as it could have, Purpura said. They’re still able to practice. In fall 2020, there were no scrimmages versus other teams, and time spent watching film is less than Purpura would like. Overall, he’s relieved and thankful for the time the team has together and is “really optimistic” about the team’s future.
“The fact that we’re able to practice in some kind of capacity is has really been a relief,” he said. “It’s the highlight of the day for everyone in the program … I’m sure these guys don’t take anything for granted anymore.”
The “DNA” of Purpura’s coaching philosophy includes a four-part goal system that begins with 100% graduation—and ends with winning. The program also has four core values: Attitude, compete, effort, and sacrifice.
“The great thing about [the program’s] core values is that each individual controls every one of them,” Purpura said. “That’s important in a place like VMI, where there are so many external factors going on, we don’t control much, but what we control greatly matters. We want to be really, really good at controlling the ‘controllables.’”
At the core of everything, Purpura cares about the young men on his team. He wants the team to win almost more than anything—and more than that, he wants to train the young men under his care.
“We want to serve their heart not just their talent. We want to make sure that we’re caring about the 30-year-old version more than the 20-year-old version,” he said. “We want to be judged on the quality of character of young men that we’re building.”
“I truly believe that in doing that, the winning will come,” Purpura said