Mikey is coaching at a place where his father Michael played
By: Justin Lafleur
Mikey Herring's father Michael Herring Sr. (Dartmouth Men's Lacrosse Class of 1989) recounts the first time Mikey picked up a lacrosse stick around the age of four.
"One day, he went into our storage closet and came out with one of my old sticks from Dartmouth," said Michael. "He was like… what's this? We had a fireplace hearth, and I said why don't you try to hit the bottom of the hearth and have the ball bounce and see if you can catch it?
"Ten minutes later, you could hear boom, boom [pause] boom, boom. He already had it."
Mikey's lacrosse career was born.
After trying it right-handed, Michael wanted to see if his son could do the same thing lefty.
"He had to shimmy the stick around," said Michael. "He first said he couldn't do it, but I said sure you can. Drop your hand down here and I'll set you up.
"Fifteen minutes later, he was doing it left-handed."
From picking up his father's stick at four years old to coaching at Dartmouth two decades later, it's only fitting that Mikey ended up not only in the world of coaching like his father, but also at his father's alma mater.
"I remember how fondly my dad would talk about his Dartmouth experience, not only playing lacrosse, but also as a student at the college," said Mikey.
Through one year at Dartmouth, Mikey has gotten to experience what the college has to offer. Last summer, he came to Dartmouth as offensive coordinator under new head coach Sean Kirwan.
"It was a really unique full-circle situation," said Mikey. "Obviously, having my dad here and being familiar with the college was important, but it was also a chance to reconnect with Coach Kirwan, who has been a big mentor of mine. He really helped me along the way as a student-athlete at Virginia, and even during my first few years of coaching."
Mikey's father played an integral role in his love for lacrosse, and sports in general.
"Sports were a really big part of my childhood," said Mikey. "My dad was also a basketball coach."
Mikey's father was the head lacrosse and basketball coach at The Noble and Greenough School.
"I grew up going to his practices and games and always bounced around at his events," said Mikey.
Mikey played football, basketball and lacrosse, but from an early age, had his sights set on playing lacrosse at a high level.
"I always enjoyed football and basketball, but knew that I really wanted to play lacrosse in college," he said. "That was my dream."
Mikey's father helped make that dream a reality.
"A lot of my success as a player comes from spending time together," said Mikey. "He molded me after his game, which is pretty cool. He was a pass-first attacker at Dartmouth. I took after that."
The father-son time together paid off in the form of a scholarship to the University of Virginia. While there, Mikey saw considerable action from the get-go and improved every year. As a rookie, he appeared in nine of UVA's 15 games. By the time he was a junior, Herring had 30 points (12 goals, 18 assists) before posting 35 points as a senior (17 goals, 18 assists), including six goals in the NCAA First Round vs. Robert Morris to tie a UVA NCAA Tournament record.
As a team, the Cavaliers were 7-8 in Herring's first year in 2016 and won the national title in his senior season of 2019.
"I was fortunate to play one year for Coach Dom Starsia, who's a legend," said Herring. "Then, Coach [Lars] Tiffany and Coach Kirwan came in and we were able to build. We really started to see a turnaround my junior year; we lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament."
After Virginia, Mikey coached at VMI then UMBC before Kirwan came calling after he was named head coach at Dartmouth.
Any questions Herring had about making the move north were pretty quickly answered by his father.
"It was going to be his decision, but his mother and I said Dartmouth is a pretty good name to have on your resume," said Michael.
Beyond the prestige of the Dartmouth name, people fall in love with Dartmouth the place. That's what happened to Michael and his family when being recruited to Dartmouth in the 1980s.
Michael Herring (#13) celebrates a goal
"I visited the summer before my senior year of high school," said Michael. "We had just crossed the Connecticut River and drove up the hill from interstate 91. You get to the corner and it's the Hanover Inn and the Green. I was in the backseat of the car and my mom turned around and said, 'If you don't go here, I'll go here for you.'"
Michael went to Dartmouth and impressed, finishing fourth on the Big Green with 20 points as a junior in 1988.
Flash forward 25 years, it was Mikey's turn at Dartmouth, joining a program that has some similarities to his time at Virginia.
"Coach Kirwan and I talk a lot about the similarities as a new staff, and where this program can go for the next few years," said Herring.
Aspirations are high for the Big Green, and Herring can help the program reach its goals.
"I try to be relationship-driven," said Mikey. "It's very important that the guys know I care about their development, on and off the field. I try to be relatable to the guys as a younger coach."
Herring may be young, but he already has significant experience under his belt, serving as offensive coordinator at both VMI and UMBC.
"I was very fortunate at both places to have a lot of responsibility early in my career," he said. "That, coupled with the preparation by Coach Kirwan in my senior year at UVA, has really allowed me to grow as a coach, molding me into the coach I am today."
As a coach, Herring also likes to focus on player development.
"My dad really imprinted on me the commitment to the fundamentals and how some of the smaller things lead to bigger successes," said Mikey.
The father-son relationship is as strong as ever.
Mikey played for his father for two years at Nobles. In college, his family lived in Maryland, not far from UVA.
"My family being at every game, it was special to share some of the success we had during those last two years at Virginia," said Mikey. "After the national championship game, I was very quick to find my dad in the stands to thank him for everything."
Today, with his family still in Maryland and his father being a teacher, Michael wasn't able to get to Hanover for a Big Green game in 2024. However, Mikey's family came to Dartmouth's game at Georgetown.
"It was really special to be wearing Dartmouth, coaching for Dartmouth, and have my dad in the stands," said Mikey.
Mikey Herring with mentor, Big Green head coach Sean Kirwan in background
The future is bright for Mikey Herring and the Big Green.
As his father said, "In my estimation, you have the best coaches in the country or close to it [at Dartmouth]."
That's high praise from a longtime coach himself.
"I was very impressed with Coach Kirwan during Mikey's time at UVA and his tutelage of Mikey," said Michael. "They brought him into the office his junior year to help break down film because he was pretty sure he wanted to go down the coaching path. Coach Tiffany and Coach Kirwan really went out of their way to lay the groundwork for him."
From the day he picked up his father's Dartmouth stick at four years old, the trajectory for Mikey Herring has only been up.
"The sky's the limit for him," said Michael. "From a technical coaching aspect, he's through the roof. From a relational standpoint with his players, they'd go to the ends of the earth for him."
