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December 15th, 2022 | Josh Adelman

Soldiers To Sidelines Welcomes the Newest Class of Lacrosse Certified Soldier Coaches to the STS Tribe

The weeklong lacrosse coaching certification seminar was action-packed and loaded with informational content that improved everyone’s expertise regardless of experience level. The seminar was free to the military community because of the generous support of our presenting partner, The Wounded Warrior Project. WWP is dedicated to providing purpose to post 9/11 Veterans by developing them through STS to continue to serve the USA as a coach in the community.

The seminar kicked off with a tremendous keynote from the legendary, Bill Tierney, who is the current Head Men’s Lacrosse Coach at University of Denver. Coach Tierney has won 6 National Lacrosse Championships and is regarded as one of the all-time best. He talked to us about his keys to success along with personal stories of lessons learned. Bill expressed his gratitude to the class for their military service and their desire to continue to serve our country as a lacrosse coach. The class had the rare opportunity to ask Coach questions and then connect later offline.

In addition to the core Soldiers To Sidelines lacrosse coaching content, we learned so much from a few other prominent lacrosse experts. US Army Major General (Ret.) John Uberti is the Virginia Youth Commissioner of the Washington Area Lacrosse Officials Association. He delivered an interactive presentation on the rules of the game and best practices in dealing with officials. He showed video of controversial calls, and the class got to ‘Make the Call.’ It was eye opening to see the attention to detail necessary for effective officiating.

We also heard from our lacrosse partner, USA Lacrosse. Kevin Greene, Director of Player and Coach Development of USA Lacrosse, introduced the class to the Lacrosse Athletic Development Model. The LADM is a phase-based approach to teaching lacrosse commensurate to the athlete’s ability level and keeping the game fun.

We were fortunate to learn from Harvard Assistant Lacrosse Coach, Will Corrigan, about best strategies and techniques for winning faceoffs. Then, Head Lacrosse Coach of University of Richmond, Dan Chemotti, presented on his approach to offense. Lastly, Associate Head Coach & Defensive Coordinator of Notre Dame University, Ryan Wellner, delivered an incredible lesson on defense, including man-down defense. Access to these leaders in lacrosse is a rare opportunity, which is exclusive to our Soldier Coaches.

Soldiers To Sidelines Director of Lacrosse, Scott Urick, did a fantastic job hosting this class and teaching from his decades of experience. Coach Urick is a legend in the sport and currently serves as assistant Athletic Director and Head Lacrosse Coach at Georgetown Preparatory School in Bethesda, MD. He set the tone by explaining lacrosse theory and then gradually getting deeper into the details throughout the week. Considered to be one of the best shooters ever to play the game, Coach Urick culminated the week with a dazzling shooting presentation.

This class paid tons of work, time, and attention to earn the STS certification. They were exposed to some of the biggest names in lacrosse. Ultimately, those who persevered this past week, can be proud to be an STS Soldier Coach.