While heading home to Holbrook, N.Y., for the long weekend, Matt DaSilva patiently navigated through the Labor Day travelers frantically swerving through the lanes of the New Jersey Turnpike.
Due to his hectic work schedule as assistant editor of Lacrosse Magazine, Dasilva willingly squeezed a phone interview into his already packed traveling plans. DaSilva, a recent graduate of the University of Delaware, has successfully combined his two passions, writing and lacrosse, into a career.

Q: How do you think growing up on Long Island, the “hotbed of lacrosse,” influenced your career aspirations, in both writing and lacrosse?
A: Well, I played lacrosse growing up on the Island. I first played in high school and then I played club ball at the University of Delaware. But, it was always writing first. While I was still in college I got a job working for the “Wilmington News Journal”, a 150,000 circulation paper, covering mostly high school sports. I really got into sports writing there… Writing came first and I’ve always been into sports, so it’s kind of a natural marriage... I guess I went from one hotbed of lacrosse to another. It’s a natural fit for me.

Q: You graduated from the University of Delaware in 2004. As a younger reporter, do you find it difficult to speak to sources?
A: That’s part of the challenge for me while writing is the easier aspect. I’m very creative in terms of my writing, I’m a very literary guy… In terms of the interviewing, that’s always been part of the challenge… However, in this scenario… the lacrosse media is still small enough where I probably still have the most by comparison journalistic experience. For example, a lot of guys at Inside Lacrosse are young like me and haven’t worked at the size of the newspaper I worked at in Delaware. So I try to treat each interviewee as a friend… you develop sources that way. Develop trust and people will come to you with information as opposed to you constantly hounding them. But it’s still a challenge in that I’m still learning the right techniques in terms of putting together a good interview.

Q: What is the most difficult part of your job?
A: There are a couple of fronts on which (my job) is difficult. The first part… is interviewing. It’s a challenge to get that conversational tone and to get someone to trust you with their quotes or information… Another difficult aspect of my job in particular is the public relations tone associated with working for Lacrosse Magazine, a publication of U.S. Lacrosse. There have been some stories that have come my way that as a journalist I’ve been very enthusiastic about, but often times wouldn’t be appropriate for the governing body of lacrosse. So I’ve had to let those go. So reconciling my journalistic-self with my public relations-self is pretty difficult for me right now.

Q: You’ve written articles for Lacrosse Magazine and Lacrosse Magazine Online. Do you have a medium preference, print of computer?
A: I always prefer print form. We launched Lacrosse Magazine Online in March, so at this time readership is still greater in the print publication. As far as Lacrosse Magazine Online, I think it’s a great form in which we can get more timely with our readers. Working (for Lacrosse Magazine Online) definitely brings out the newspaper side of me… It’s more deadline-oriented and more competitive. But I think one provides synergy for the other. A lot of my good ideas for longer, drawn out features for the magazine have come from these quick profiles written for the website.

Q: Along with crossing medium lines, your articles cross gender lines. How has your past lacrosse experiences aided you in your profession? Do you have a preference for covering men’s or women’s lacrosse?
A: I played club ball for Delaware Lacrosse Club and I played in high school, so I’m more familiar with the men’s game than the women’s game. But no, I don’t really have a preference. Because more often than not I’m looking for deeper angles, besides box scores and what happened on the field. I like getting more into the human interest aspect of these people. I do like the fact that the women’s game has been largely ignored by a lot of media outlets. There are a lot of things out there to be uncovered (in the women’s game) and I think Lacrosse Magazine does the best out of any publication to give the women’s game it’s due.

Q: Collegiate lacrosse is played in the spring, while international in the summer. Do you find that at Lacrosse Magazine you have a down season?
A: Certainly. Our magazine is monthly during the season, March through June. Starting in July we go out on a semi-monthly basis. So we come out eight times a year. But right now would technically be the lull. However… because the World Cup was held in Annapolis, Md., and hosted by U.S. Lacrosse, we had a marathon. That took a good chunk of time and we’re still recovering. But now is definitely a fun time to get in the human interest stories that aren’t necessarily game oriented.

Q: How did your background experience in journalism help you get the job at Lacrosse Magazine?
A: Well, when I was writing for the (Wilmington) News Journal… one of my beats was the running beat… and one of the guys who was heavily involved in that was Jim Fischer, the cross-country coach at the University of Delaware. I wrote a pretty nice feature on him, calling him the mad scientist of running. Brian Logue, director of communications for U.S. Lacrosse, is not only a (Delaware) alumnus but also used to be involved with the sports information department there. He read the story and shot me a quick quote saying kudos. I just took it as an opportunity to get myself a plug… It was more of developing connections through the work I was already doing as opposed to pushing all of my writing experiences on to them.

Q: How long have you been working for Lacrosse Magazine?
A: I started with U.S. Lacrosse on Jan. 3 of this year. I’m about eight or nine months into it.

Q: What is the favorite part of your job?
A: My favorite part of my job kind of feeds off the frustrating part. I like being able to write in a free-associated manner. Writing about lacrosse definitely allows for that. It’s a creative culture with a lot of good personalities. That’s another favorite part, interacting with these various interesting personalities… Also it’s good to contribute to the culture of lacrosse.

Q: What advice would you give an aspiring journalist?
A: I’d say to not lose yourself within the journalistic mode. A lot of what we learn coming out of school is to not put yourself in a story, to be objective. And that’s good. But on that same note, you definitely need to be able to develop your own voice in writing and not necessarily get lost in the inverted pyramid. I don’t think young journalists should be afraid to assert their own voice and assert themselves within the writing mode.

Q: Who is the most interesting lacrosse player or coach you’ve met during your career at US Lacrosse?
A: Roy Simmons Jr., former head coach at Syracuse (University). A fascinating man… He’s just a very innovative guy, especially in the way he approaches his players. He’s one of the most successful coaches of all time. I met him when I was working on a story of his success. I took a trip up to New York and only spoke to him for 15 minutes or so, but he definitely gave me the indication of someone who is a profound man… He’s sort of a deacon of creativity. And myself a creative guy, I think I appreciated that.