Andy Towers can now be found on the PLL sidelines, motivating his Chaos LC players and getting caught with a few bleeps on NBC broadcasts. He’s a blue-collar coach and former player who ended up at a white-collar institution in Brown.

Towers lived a fast life in his young years but is now committed to leading the next generation of lacrosse players. He shared some of his most defining moments on “Overtime” with his friend Paul Carcaterra.

Here are the top takeaways.

His Perceived Cockiness Helped Him

As a college player, Towers was as polarizing a figure as there was in the sport. He’d routinely talk smack to opponents and revel in his team’s success — but it didn’t always come across positively.

However, Towers felt his run-ins with opposing defenders, most notably Syracuse’s Ric Beardsley, made him a better player.

“Ric talked a ton of smack,” he said. “Still talks a ton of smack. What I did, I felt like if I talked smack or set the stage by celebrating in a flagrant way, that I was putting pressure on myself to follow through and be successful.”

Mike Caravana was a Saving Grace

When Towers was kicked out of Brown in his junior year, he was without a direction. He had a successful lacrosse career halted because of his own actions, and he needed to press the restart button.

Enter Denison coach Mike Caravana. A former Virginia assistant, Caravana had recruited Towers and had a relationship with the young star. He invited Towers to spend his year off coaching with him in Ohio.

“Mike C. gave me that opportunity, and I went out there and lived with him and his wife,” Towers said. “What a risk. What a dice roll. I can’t believe that that was OK. It was a great experience for me, and it was great to get perspective from another guy that’s just an icon in the sport.”

Towers spent a season with the Big Red before being able to re-enroll at Brown. The opportunity helped him refocus before capping a strong career.

Grand Central Station

Towers admittedly lived his 20s as a fun-loving, risk-taking pro lacrosse player, with no regrets. He eventually had to find a career path — and he had college coaching on the top of his list.

His break took a while to materialize, and he believed it was because many did not take him seriously. His lifestyle had created an image of Andy Towers that would be tough to shake. 

“I felt like I checked every box, but the one thing I didn’t adequately understand is that I lived my life in the fast lane for 10 straight years from 18-28 with no regrets and dead bodies everywhere,” he joked.

He decided to dedicate his life to coaching and joined a Yale staff in 1999. Before boarding the train to New Haven at Grand Central, his wife made sure his intentions were pure.

“She asked me directly, ‘Do you want to get back into college coaching because that’s what you want to do for your career, or do you want to do it simply because you want to hang out with your friends?’” Towers said.

That question gave him a new perspective on his life and challenge his way of thinking. He credits that exchange for helping him take the next step in his career.

This Summer will be Big

For as successful of a player and coach Tower was, he has never won a college or professional championship. Last year, he had his Chaos LC enter the playoffs as the top overall seed before falling to Redwoods LC in the semifinals.

This summer, he has his eyes on his first title. He believes he has the team to accomplish that goal.

“I would love to experience that,” he said. “I’d love the opportunity to win with the guys that we have on our team and in our locker room.