HIGH SCHOOL
Boys Varsity
High School Boys Coaches
Coach Aaron Myers
(805)310-1882
After his playing career, Coach Myers served as the defensive coordinator for Cal Poly for the 2005 and 2006 seasons and lead the Mustangs to the national quarterfinals in 2006. Coach Myers then served as the Head Coach at Cal Poly for the 2007 & 2008 seasons. Coach Myers also works as an outside salesman for Independent Electric Supply, Inc in Los Angeles and serves as the Vice President of the WCLL.
Coach Patrick Sullivan
(484) 431-4968
(302) 547-5303
Coach Artie Spruill
(443) 622-7971
Coach Artie Spruill grew up in the Baltimore County area, playing lacrosse at the age of 7. I played at the club and recreation level winning many games and championships.
Spruill continued her lacrosse experience playing at Loch Raven High School in Baltimore, MD. While at Loch Raven, she led her team to a county championship, and three regional championships. As a senior, Spruill was team captain and lead her team to the state championship game. Spruill was a senior All-Star as well as on the All County team in Baltimore County. In high school Coach Artie helped her high school team get to a state championship for soccer, two county championships and numerous regional finals. Spruill currently holds an indoor track record at her high school as well as being a three time state finalist in multiple track events as well as winning All County, All Metro awards. Spruill committed to Howard University to play lacrosse on a Division I scholarship and then she transferred to Towson University where she would finish out her collegiate career. While on the Towson University lacrosse team Spruill played defense and won three CAA Championships and went to the 1st round in the NCAA National Tournament rounds.
During college and after, Spruill volunteered her time as a lacrosse coach at the Bridge Play day for US Lacrosse. In 2008, she became the co-director of the event. After finishing up her collegiate career, Spruill went on to coaching. In 2008 she stated a nonprofit lacrosse team called Coast 2 Coast that was formed to help African American girls in Baltimore City become better lacrosse players. She formed the team to expose these girls to the game of lacrosse at all levels. They competed against some of the best programs in the county. The team played in various lacrosse tournaments throughout the year. Also in 2008, Spruill started a varsity high school team at St. Francis Academy in Baltimore, MD who competed in the IAAM Conference. Over the last 3 years, Spruill has helped run the youth girls division for Baltimore City Gators Lacrosse program which plays in the MYLA. In 2009, she became a lacrosse official for BBOWS, which she continues to do. In 2010, Spruill took on the roll to become the head coach at Towson High School. Spruill coached the JV team, leading them to a 9-1 season with a trip to the County Championships. Coach Spruill is a certified Level 1 Coach thru US Lacrosse Coaching Program.
Coach Elisha Agee
(858) 337-6082
YOUTH
U15 Girls
Coach Meagan Cronin
(925) 360-4972
A
current graduate student at Pepperdine University, Meagan is a native
California girl. Born and raised outside San Francisco, Meagan then went on to
play Division One soccer in Philadelphia at St. Joseph University. While in
High School, Meagan played both Class One Soccer and Varsity Lacrosse all four
years. As an upperclassman Meagan played the role of captain to both teams. As
a lacrosse player, Meagan was a starting defensive-mid and was noted as an
“all-league” player. In her senior year, she led her team to and undefeated
record in league and qualified for the North Coast Section play-offs.
Throughout high school, Meagan coached for an elite lacrosse club. Her proudest
moment as a coach was when her former Middle School "A" team (which
her younger sister played for), recently now as seniors in High-School won the
Northern California State Championship in the Spring of 2011. Meagan is very
excited to be a part of Santa Monica Vikings lacrosse and is looking forward to
a successful season!
U13 Boys
Coach Don Kennedy
(310) 980-3922Boys Varsity
Head Coach Ryland Huyghue
(909) 260-7782
From the age of seven, he has been a star athlete and dedicated to the sports of football and lacrosse. The first All-American lacrosse player to come out of his high school, Ryland was also the first African American from Long Island to reach first team All-American Status. In football he also reached All-American Status. He never came off the field playing running back, strong safety, punter, place kicker, field goal kicker, punt returner and kick off returner. His high school team went undefeated for four straight years. He was inducted into his High School Hall Of Fame as one of the premier athletes to come out of his school. He went to Nassau Community Jr. College playing both football and lacrosse. After becoming the #1 recruit in the country for lacrosse. Huyghue turned down several football scholarships from teams such as Ohio State, Iowa State, Rutgers University and several others, choosing to play lacrosse for University of Maryland.
(909) 260-7782
From the age of seven, he has been a star athlete and dedicated to the sports of football and lacrosse. The first All-American lacrosse player to come out of his high school, Ryland was also the first African American from Long Island to reach first team All-American Status. In football he also reached All-American Status. He never came off the field playing running back, strong safety, punter, place kicker, field goal kicker, punt returner and kick off returner. His high school team went undefeated for four straight years. He was inducted into his High School Hall Of Fame as one of the premier athletes to come out of his school. He went to Nassau Community Jr. College playing both football and lacrosse. After becoming the #1 recruit in the country for lacrosse. Huyghue turned down several football scholarships from teams such as Ohio State, Iowa State, Rutgers University and several others, choosing to play lacrosse for University of Maryland.
Since 1982, Ryland spearheaded the development of lacrosse in California. As a five-time MVP player of Orange County Lacrosse Club, Ryland’s team won four state club championships and for fourteen straight years he was an all-star club lacrosse player. He was elected as the president of the California Lacrosse Association for twelve years and served as president of the Malibu Lacrosse Club for thirteen years.
Huyghue went back into coaching youth football for 14 years with both his sons. He coached his last 3 youth years, with Rap Star, Snoop Dogg and his sons. While coaching youth football, Huyghue was then asked to coach with the Southern California Steelers (www.scsteelers.com), a Semi Professional Football team where he is still the head coach six seasons later. The Steelers dominated the minor league football for several years, at one point having a record of 66 wins and 8 losses.
In 2009 Ryland was the head lacrosse coach for Cal State Fullerton, where in one season he took the team from losing every game the previous season to a much improved, above 500% season. Ryland coached and produced five All-American lacrosse players, three of which were Academic All-Americans as well.
Ryland made history in 2009 becoming the first African American head lacrosse coach to win a collegiate championship in the sport of lacrosse for Cal State Fullerton. He has also coached UCLA, USC and Occidental College. Maybe Ryland’s most amazing achievement was his involvement in re-instating exhibition lacrosse in the 1984 Olympics. With numerous meetings with Peter Uberoff and the Olympic Committees he helped pull off what many thought would never happen and made the Jim Thorpe Memorial Pow Wow & World Games by inviting for the first time the Native American Iroquois to there first World Lacrosse Tournament making it a huge success.
“Ryland’s leadership skills, winning attitude and his dedication to giving back to the community are a major asset to the International Diversity Lacrosse Council. We are also very pleased that he shares our dedication to helping kids learn a great sport that builds good health and character. All his adult life, Ryland has been a youth coach for basketball, football, and lacrosse”, says Drew Pannell, Co-Founder and Vice President of the International Diversity Lacrosse Council. www.diversitylacrosse.org
High School Boys Coaches
Coach Aaron Myers
(805)310-1882
Coach Myers is a San Diego native and played lacrosse at University of San Diego High School, where he earned first team All San Diego County as a senior defender. Coach Myers was a four year starter at Cal Poly from 2001-2004, earning Cal Poly rookie of the year in 2001 and defensive MVP in 2003. He was also named three times to the USLIA All-America and WCLL All Star teams. Following his senior year at Cal Poly, Aaron was selected to play on the USA West lacrosse team that competed in the International Friendship games in Japan and China.
After his playing career, Coach Myers served as the defensive coordinator for Cal Poly for the 2005 and 2006 seasons and lead the Mustangs to the national quarterfinals in 2006. Coach Myers then served as the Head Coach at Cal Poly for the 2007 & 2008 seasons. Coach Myers also works as an outside salesman for Independent Electric Supply, Inc in Los Angeles and serves as the Vice President of the WCLL.
Coach Patrick Sullivan
(484) 431-4968
His
Lacrosse career started in 1994 playing attack for Pennsylvania
Regional Middle School and High School. After being elected Captain of
the middle school and high school teams, went on to 1st Team All
Delaware County, PA and to the All PA State team. At Farleigh Dickinson
University, in New Jersey, Division 3, Mid-Atlantic College Conference,
also served as Asst. Head Coach for Morristown High School Lax Team in
New Jersey.
Coach Jud Stone
(303) 956-4987
Coach Judson has over 25 years of lacrosse experience both as a
player and a coach. His passion for the game of Lacrosse began at the age of
six as a ball boy for Princeton University. Growing up, he was a three-sport
athlete, Youth All-Star Football and Lacrosse player, as well as a Jr.
Olympian in Track and Field. In 1994 after his family moved to Colorado,
Judson and a small group of friends (and older brothers as coaches)
founded what became the Cherry Creek Indians Youth Lacrosse League near
Denver, which has grown into the largest Youth Lacrosse League in Colorado.
(310) 488-0315
Coach Ben
Brenner grew up in New England. In high
school he played defense at New Hampton School, in New Hampshire and in college
he played Goalie and Defense at Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts.
After moving to California he began officiating Lacrosse at all levels in 2006. Ben is now coaching at Santa Monica with the Varsity, JV, and youth (U11) programs as well as coaching the Vikings middle school Box Lacrosse team.
High School Girls
Coach Dana McCrearyCoach Jud Stone
(303) 956-4987
Coach Judson has over 25 years of lacrosse experience both as a
player and a coach. His passion for the game of Lacrosse began at the age of
six as a ball boy for Princeton University. Growing up, he was a three-sport
athlete, Youth All-Star Football and Lacrosse player, as well as a Jr.
Olympian in Track and Field. In 1994 after his family moved to Colorado,
Judson and a small group of friends (and older brothers as coaches)
founded what became the Cherry Creek Indians Youth Lacrosse League near
Denver, which has grown into the largest Youth Lacrosse League in Colorado.
In High School, Judson was 3-time First Team
Colorado ALL-State and Team Captain and MVP at Cherry Creek. In his Senior
year at Avon Old Farms School in Connecticut, Judson earned 1st team
All-New England honors, while playing on the League Champion and #2 team in the
nation.
Judson also played 6 years for Team Colorado Lacrosse and
was three-time team Captain.
Judson played Division 1 Lacrosse at the University of
Denver under a full scholarship. As a midfielder, Judson was a 3 year letter
winner before his career was cut short by injury. After College, Judson was
named Head Lacrosse Coach at Wheat Ridge High School in Lakewood Colorado,
leading the team to its first winning season and playoff appearance in
school history. Judson also has coached at countless camps and clinics all over
the country trying to help spread the game of Lacrosse.
Coach Ben Brenner(310) 488-0315
Coach Ben
Brenner grew up in New England. In high
school he played defense at New Hampton School, in New Hampshire and in college
he played Goalie and Defense at Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts. After moving to California he began officiating Lacrosse at all levels in 2006. Ben is now coaching at Santa Monica with the Varsity, JV, and youth (U11) programs as well as coaching the Vikings middle school Box Lacrosse team.
High School Girls
(302) 547-5303
Coach Artie Spruill
(443) 622-7971
Coach Artie Spruill grew up in the Baltimore County area, playing lacrosse at the age of 7. I played at the club and recreation level winning many games and championships.
Spruill continued her lacrosse experience playing at Loch Raven High School in Baltimore, MD. While at Loch Raven, she led her team to a county championship, and three regional championships. As a senior, Spruill was team captain and lead her team to the state championship game. Spruill was a senior All-Star as well as on the All County team in Baltimore County. In high school Coach Artie helped her high school team get to a state championship for soccer, two county championships and numerous regional finals. Spruill currently holds an indoor track record at her high school as well as being a three time state finalist in multiple track events as well as winning All County, All Metro awards. Spruill committed to Howard University to play lacrosse on a Division I scholarship and then she transferred to Towson University where she would finish out her collegiate career. While on the Towson University lacrosse team Spruill played defense and won three CAA Championships and went to the 1st round in the NCAA National Tournament rounds.
During college and after, Spruill volunteered her time as a lacrosse coach at the Bridge Play day for US Lacrosse. In 2008, she became the co-director of the event. After finishing up her collegiate career, Spruill went on to coaching. In 2008 she stated a nonprofit lacrosse team called Coast 2 Coast that was formed to help African American girls in Baltimore City become better lacrosse players. She formed the team to expose these girls to the game of lacrosse at all levels. They competed against some of the best programs in the county. The team played in various lacrosse tournaments throughout the year. Also in 2008, Spruill started a varsity high school team at St. Francis Academy in Baltimore, MD who competed in the IAAM Conference. Over the last 3 years, Spruill has helped run the youth girls division for Baltimore City Gators Lacrosse program which plays in the MYLA. In 2009, she became a lacrosse official for BBOWS, which she continues to do. In 2010, Spruill took on the roll to become the head coach at Towson High School. Spruill coached the JV team, leading them to a 9-1 season with a trip to the County Championships. Coach Spruill is a certified Level 1 Coach thru US Lacrosse Coaching Program.
Coach Elisha Agee
(858) 337-6082
YOUTH
U15 Girls
Coach Meagan Cronin
(925) 360-4972
A
current graduate student at Pepperdine University, Meagan is a native
California girl. Born and raised outside San Francisco, Meagan then went on to
play Division One soccer in Philadelphia at St. Joseph University. While in
High School, Meagan played both Class One Soccer and Varsity Lacrosse all four
years. As an upperclassman Meagan played the role of captain to both teams. As
a lacrosse player, Meagan was a starting defensive-mid and was noted as an
“all-league” player. In her senior year, she led her team to and undefeated
record in league and qualified for the North Coast Section play-offs.
Throughout high school, Meagan coached for an elite lacrosse club. Her proudest
moment as a coach was when her former Middle School "A" team (which
her younger sister played for), recently now as seniors in High-School won the
Northern California State Championship in the Spring of 2011. Meagan is very
excited to be a part of Santa Monica Vikings lacrosse and is looking forward to
a successful season! U13 Boys
Coach Don Kennedy
Due to the fact that the kids loved playing around
with the lacrosse gear that Jeff let them play with, Don immediately
converted the entire little league team into a U9 lacrosse team. That
little league team is now the core of a Vikings U13 2011 program with over
forty players! Along the way, Don became
an expert lacrosse coach and a tireless advocate of youth lacrosse in our local
community. Don was recently inducted
into the West L.A. Lacrosse Hall of Fame, and is a member of the Santa Monica Vikings
Lacrosse Board of Directors.
Coach Jimmy B.
Coach Jimmy B. grew up in the lacrosse hotbed of Long Island, and began playing the sport at an early age. He graduated from Cold Spring Harbor High School and then attended Stony Brook University, where he joined the lacrosse team as a freshman, playing attack. After college, Jimmy headed west to Los Angeles, where he played an additional year of lacrosse while pursuing graduate studies at USC.
Jimmy’s passion for lacrosse went dormant upon graduating from USC, but he remained involved in sports and adventure, such as bicycle racing, triathlons, rock climbing and mountaineering.
When Jimmy's children grew old enough to hold a stick, Jimmy’s love for lacrosse resurfaced, and the entire family has now jumped back into lacrosse. Jimmy has coached in the Los Angeles Lacrosse League, and has been involved at an organizational level in the West L.A. Lacrosse League. He is a member of the Board of Directors of Santa Monica Vikings Lacrosse.
Coach Jimmy B. grew up in the lacrosse hotbed of Long Island, and began playing the sport at an early age. He graduated from Cold Spring Harbor High School and then attended Stony Brook University, where he joined the lacrosse team as a freshman, playing attack. After college, Jimmy headed west to Los Angeles, where he played an additional year of lacrosse while pursuing graduate studies at USC.
Jimmy’s passion for lacrosse went dormant upon graduating from USC, but he remained involved in sports and adventure, such as bicycle racing, triathlons, rock climbing and mountaineering.
When Jimmy's children grew old enough to hold a stick, Jimmy’s love for lacrosse resurfaced, and the entire family has now jumped back into lacrosse. Jimmy has coached in the Los Angeles Lacrosse League, and has been involved at an organizational level in the West L.A. Lacrosse League. He is a member of the Board of Directors of Santa Monica Vikings Lacrosse.
(310) 666-4300
Coach Cush is a 29 year old native of Darien, CT. He attended the Hotchkiss School where he was a 3 sport varsity athlete in Football, Hockey and Lacrosse. Matriculated to Amherst College where he started all 4 years as goalie and captained the team to 4 winning seasons and 2 top 10 finishes before he graduated in 2005. Coach Cush won multiple NESCAC player of the week, one national player of the week and ALL American selection. He continues to play ice hockey and lacrosse in LA where he’s lived for the past 5 years.
Now living in Venice, CA with his wife and working in the entertainment business as the creative executive at J.K. Livin productions, which is Matthew McConaughey's company. He has developed, sold and produced feature films, scripted and non-scripted TV and shorts.
This will be his first time coaching youth lacrosse and he’s very excited about this opportunity.
Coach Cush is a 29 year old native of Darien, CT. He attended the Hotchkiss School where he was a 3 sport varsity athlete in Football, Hockey and Lacrosse. Matriculated to Amherst College where he started all 4 years as goalie and captained the team to 4 winning seasons and 2 top 10 finishes before he graduated in 2005. Coach Cush won multiple NESCAC player of the week, one national player of the week and ALL American selection. He continues to play ice hockey and lacrosse in LA where he’s lived for the past 5 years.
Now living in Venice, CA with his wife and working in the entertainment business as the creative executive at J.K. Livin productions, which is Matthew McConaughey's company. He has developed, sold and produced feature films, scripted and non-scripted TV and shorts.
This will be his first time coaching youth lacrosse and he’s very excited about this opportunity.
(617)470-4435
Rob Scaramella began playing lacrosse in his
freshman year at Choate Rosemary Hall, a preparatory school in Connecticut,
eventually captaining the varsity team in his senior year. Rob was
recruited to Amherst College, where he played 4 years at defense and long-stick
midfield. After graduation, Rob played 4 years of post-collegiate club
lacrosse in Boston and New York in the USCLA/ACLA leagues.
(860) 214-7042
Although a California native, Sam grew up playing lacrosse
in West Hartford, Connecticut. He was an all league attackman and won two
consecutive league titles at the Hyde School. At Hall High School, his senior
year, he switched to defense and lead all long poles in the state in points. He
played college lacrosse at Plymouth State University in New Hampshire before
shoulder injuries ended his competitive playing career. After coaching his
former high school's JV team last spring Sam moved to Santa Monica to continue
school. He has a love and passion for the game and hopes to continue coaching
for a while. Some would call him the Bear Bryant of youth lacrosse.
U11 Boys
(818) 326-8390
Coach Jim Lucas started playing lacrosse in upstate New York
at a Pittsford High School. He was a
face-off race-off mid-field specialist as well as a back-up goalie. He played some club lacrosse while attending
Purdue University and during his senior year in college, he was an assistant
coach for the Purdue women’s lacrosse team.
Jim has coached youth soccer for more than 7 years and, while working in
Toronto, Canada, he coached youth box lacrosse.
Jim has six children and a very patient, supportive and fertile
wife.Coach Marco
(310) 396-7556
Coach Marco Ramos grew up in funky Venice, California, certainly not the hot-bed of lacrosse. Rather, Coach Marco played High School Football (Go Venice Gondoliers) and joined the Marina Del Rey Outrigger Canoe Club and won rookie paddler of the year. He is a fierce competitor on the field and in the water. He was exposed to lacrosse 3 years ago when his then 5th grade son, Diego, joined the sport. He's been in love with it ever since and started his first season of assistant coaching on his younger son Cruz's lacrosse team "The Orange", in 2010. Marco is in his second year of Assistant Coaching. His goal for the kids is to have fun while playing the wonderful game of Lacrosse so that they will keep coming back.
U9 Boys
Coach Randy Grube
(310) 850-5715
Coach Randy's focus has been on working at the
youth level. He started getting involved in coaching in 2009 as a Tee ball
assistant. The next year he was Den Leader for the Tiger Cub Den and managed a
group of 14 kids. That Fall he again acted as assistant coach in Little League
and in the Spring of 2011 he was head coach for the five to eight year old flag
football Pacific Palisades YMCA Trojans. Coach Randy was introduced to Lacrosse
when his son started playing in the Los Angeles Lacrosse League in 2011 and
immediately volunteered to be an assistant coach. Lacrosse has become his
favorite youth sport because it combines elements of football, soccer and
baseball and offers a youth player the best possible options. Coach Randy
designs practices to be structured, challenging and fun and specializes in
working with kids in the 8 and 9 year old category.(310) 266-5971
Coach
Jim started playing Lacrosse in 4th grade (crease attack) at St. Bernard's
School in Manhattan, NY. In ninth grade he went to the Choate Rosemary
Hall School in Wallingford, CT and switched positions to play defense where he
started on the Freshman team. In 10th
grade he tried out for Varsity and made the team. Eventually he dropped lacrosse to focus on his
priority sport, football.
Coach
Jim was very excited to get his 9 year old son started in the game of lacrosse
in 2010 and has helped coach two of his youth teams.
Coach Larry Miner
(310) 993-1676
Coach Michael
(310)890-0678
Michael
became involved in coaching youth lacrosse when his son, Christopher, voiced
interest in learning the game. Having played at the University of
Missouri, Columbia, Michael was able to help start the lacrosse program in Mar
Vista by running practices and teaching fundamentals to the Chumash and U-9
players. The winter season in Mar Vista was a big success, spring season
in Santa Monica followed closely behind and Michael was asked to coach the new
Viking Gold U-9 Team. Michael's previous youth coaching experience has included
soccer, basketball and baseball.
Coach Clark
(310) 344-2205
Coach James
(310)
Coach James Bull started his adventure in youth sports as the assistant coach of his son’s basketball team in 2008. Since 2008 he has coached youth Soccer, Basketball, and Baseball each year following. Starting in January 2012 Mar Vista Park had its first season of Lacrosse and James helped fill in some of the coaching gaps despite having never been exposed to Lacrosse before. After hours of wall ball, endless questions, and toting around the rule book all season James is finally starting to blend in with the Lacrosse coaches. James Bull “The comradery and respect that I have witnessed at all levels of this sport is something that many other youth sports programs can learn from. Aside from the excitement of learning a new sport, the coaches and league organizers are simply a great group to be around. My goal as a coach is to maintain the respect for the game and its participants and to improve player skills while trying to make things as fun as possible.”
Other Coaches
Coach - Howard Alperin
(310) 991-3047
Coach Alperin is a Philadelphia native who played high school lacrosse at the Valley Forge Military Academy as a defenseman. Coach Alperin then played lacrosse at Ithaca College, also as a defenseman. Additionally, he played goalie on Ithaca's soccer team. Coach Alperin subsequently transferred to the University of Maryland his junior year and, while he did not play for the Terrapins, he worked closely with the lacrosse team in producing a recruiting video and played on several club lacrosse teams. Coach Alperin graduated from Maryland and moved on to the Widener University School of Law. While in law school, Coach Alperin played on numerous club lacrosse teams while making a successful transition from defense to attack. Also while in law school, Coach Alperin started playing box lacrosse and was a player in the early years of the Philadelphia Box Lacrosse League. (In fact, Coach Alperin recently played in the League’s 25th Anniversary Game held in Philadelphia in July 2011.)
With a sharp wit and a blazing fast shot, Coach Alperin left the frozen tundra that is the East Coast for sunny Southern California. Coach Alperin has played on post-collegiate club lacrosse teams in Florida, New York, Philadelphia, Oregon, and California. Coach Alperin was a player for several years on the South Bay lacrosse club, and he was a founding member of (and is a current player on) the Hollywood Lacrosse Club. He has also played in several lacrosse tournaments for the internationally known Crease Monkeys, and is a founding member of the Los Angeles Box Lacrosse League and current player on the Chiefs. Coach Alperin has played on Elite and Master’s teams at the Summit Lake Placid tournament (top 10 goal scorer), as well as at tournaments at the Mardi Gras in New Orleans; Portland; Las Vegas (Master’s Championship); and Hawaii Lacrosse tournaments (multiple championship teams and 1995 Tournament MVP). Coach Alperin will be working with the Vikings' goalies and in such other areas as Coach Huyghue requires. Coach Alperin, along with Coach Myers, will be heading the team’s box lacrosse program.
Coach Alperin lives in Santa Monica with his (non-lacrosse playing) wife and 2 daughters, and is a partner in the law firm of Blecher and Collins, P.C.
(310) 966-7841
In his other life
away from lacrosse John Crowther has juggled multiple careers as a
screenwriter, novelist, artist, director, and teacher. He first picked up a
lacrosse stick when he was 12 and went on to earn varsity letters at the George
School in Pennsylvania and at Princeton, where he was in the Class of ’61. He
has coached here in Los Angeles for a number of years, starting as a JV coach
at Loyola High School and going on to head coach the first CIF varsity team
there. He began the lacrosse program at Huntington Park High School, where he
was head coach, and has also been an assistant coach at Palisades High. At the
youth level he has coached with the Los Angeles Lacrosse spring league and West
LA Lacrosse, where he is on the Board of Directors. John is also honored to be
included in the West LA Lacrosse Hall of Fame.
Coach Will Madrid
(424) 202-0199
Coach Will attended UCLA with hopes of playing collegiate golf. When those dreams failed to materialize lacrosse was the next logical step. Will learned to play and honor the game from Mike Allan and Lane Jaffe. In the fall of 2006 Will assisted Mitch Fenton in founding the West LA Lacrosse Association in Cheviot Hills, CA (adjacent to Century City). With his roommate and former teammate, Isaac Osei-Bobie, the two coached the inaugural West LA “Cougars.” What started with a little over a dozen kids has grown into something really special. Golf and medical school gave way to 6-diamond mesh and the coach’s whistle…and he wouldn’t have it any other way. Will currently coaches the U-15 Santa Monica Vikings Boy’s team and is actively involved with West LA Lacrosse. In addition Will helps coordinate UCLA Lacrosse Alumni events throughout the year.
Coach Will on Twitter
Coach Will's Coaching Resume
Coach Molly Burnett
(315) 729-4826
A
native of Auburn, NY, a small town outside Syracuse, Molly grew up playing
lacrosse in her backyard. Being the youngest, she was often thrown in the goal
so that her older sister and neighborhood kids could practice their shooting.
Due to this traumatic experience, she decided to become an attacker.
A 4 year starter at Auburn High, she then went on to play college lacrosse at Johns Hopkins University. After graduation, Molly spent three years coaching a U-15 girls' All Star team in Washington, DC before moving to Los Angeles in 2010. She is looking forward to getting back into coaching and having a successful season!
Coach - J.T. Derwart
(310) 850 4994
Born in Baltimore Maryland, one of the Mecca’s for east-coast lacrosse. J.T. came from a lax family. His grandfather was a goalie for Loyola and the lacrosse tradition was handed down from generation to generation.
J.T. got his first stick at 5, a hand me down from an uncle, and began his journey into the lacrosse world. An above average player with a lot of hustle he didn’t become a standout until high school. When as a joke a coach gave him a defense pole, thinking his size would limit his ability with the larger stick. Instead the opposite proved true and by sophomore year he was a starting defenseman on his state championship winning team. (Also named the Vikings) Known as the little man with the big stick his college career was cut short by a debilitating car wreck which left him with numerous injuries including a broken back and would take years of recovery.
Derwart coached younger generations throughout his teen years in local youth leagues but did not return to the sport fully until another injury required a move back to Baltimore from his new home in California. In Maryland, thanks to his down time he was afforded the opportunity to coach with his little sister at Reservoir high. Seeing the passion for the sport and learning a whole new side of the game coaching women, he had a desire to get more involved.
Upon returning to California J.T. found local youth leagues that he could volunteer and coach. It was during this time three years ago that J.T. would meet Jeff Townsend who would help to get him involved in Santa Monica lacrosse. For the past three years J.T. would be a coach, an assistant and a cheerleader for what was the beginnings of Vikings lacrosse.
Looking forward to the future and extremely proud of the kids he has been able to work with. J.T. is grateful to Jeff, Chris and all the parents and supporters of Santa Monica lacrosse. He feels privileged to be a part of the past and the future of this great sport in Southern California.
“You gotta crawl before you can run, but when you’re on the field you better be running.”
Coach - Mike McPherson
Coach Mike grew up in Upstate NY, specifically Rochester, NY. He attended St. Aquinas Institute in the late 90’s and only played lacrosse during his senior year. He went on to college to pursue a degree in Architectural Engineering at Alfred State University in New York. While at Alfred State, Mike played lacrosse and earned a spot as one of the team captains. After leaving school in 2000, Mike did not play any lacrosse until moving to New York City in 2004. While living in NYC for 3 years he had played in various men’s leagues and tournaments such as the Next Level Lacrosse Men’s League, War at the Shore and the Brooklyn Aviator Lacrosse Tournaments. Today Mike is working for ADP, Inc as a District Manager and is still playing club lacrosse in the Southern California Lacrosse League, and when time permits plays Sunday Pick-up games in Glendale.
The spring 2010 season marked his first time coaching and he thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it. Mike enjoy working with the players and seeing them grow not only as lacrosse players but as young men. "I don't teach lacrosse, I teach pride. I believe in giving it all you have and having pride in yourself no matter the outcome. This philosophy works not only on the lacrosse field but can also be applied to everyday life. I am excited about Santa Monica Lacrosse and the futures of the young men that represent it."
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Coach James Bull started his adventure in youth sports as the assistant coach of his son’s basketball team in 2008. Since 2008 he has coached youth Soccer, Basketball, and Baseball each year following. Starting in January 2012 Mar Vista Park had its first season of Lacrosse and James helped fill in some of the coaching gaps despite having never been exposed to Lacrosse before. After hours of wall ball, endless questions, and toting around the rule book all season James is finally starting to blend in with the Lacrosse coaches. James Bull “The comradery and respect that I have witnessed at all levels of this sport is something that many other youth sports programs can learn from. Aside from the excitement of learning a new sport, the coaches and league organizers are simply a great group to be around. My goal as a coach is to maintain the respect for the game and its participants and to improve player skills while trying to make things as fun as possible.”
Other Coaches
Coach - Howard Alperin
(310) 991-3047Coach Alperin is a Philadelphia native who played high school lacrosse at the Valley Forge Military Academy as a defenseman. Coach Alperin then played lacrosse at Ithaca College, also as a defenseman. Additionally, he played goalie on Ithaca's soccer team. Coach Alperin subsequently transferred to the University of Maryland his junior year and, while he did not play for the Terrapins, he worked closely with the lacrosse team in producing a recruiting video and played on several club lacrosse teams. Coach Alperin graduated from Maryland and moved on to the Widener University School of Law. While in law school, Coach Alperin played on numerous club lacrosse teams while making a successful transition from defense to attack. Also while in law school, Coach Alperin started playing box lacrosse and was a player in the early years of the Philadelphia Box Lacrosse League. (In fact, Coach Alperin recently played in the League’s 25th Anniversary Game held in Philadelphia in July 2011.)
With a sharp wit and a blazing fast shot, Coach Alperin left the frozen tundra that is the East Coast for sunny Southern California. Coach Alperin has played on post-collegiate club lacrosse teams in Florida, New York, Philadelphia, Oregon, and California. Coach Alperin was a player for several years on the South Bay lacrosse club, and he was a founding member of (and is a current player on) the Hollywood Lacrosse Club. He has also played in several lacrosse tournaments for the internationally known Crease Monkeys, and is a founding member of the Los Angeles Box Lacrosse League and current player on the Chiefs. Coach Alperin has played on Elite and Master’s teams at the Summit Lake Placid tournament (top 10 goal scorer), as well as at tournaments at the Mardi Gras in New Orleans; Portland; Las Vegas (Master’s Championship); and Hawaii Lacrosse tournaments (multiple championship teams and 1995 Tournament MVP). Coach Alperin will be working with the Vikings' goalies and in such other areas as Coach Huyghue requires. Coach Alperin, along with Coach Myers, will be heading the team’s box lacrosse program.
Coach Alperin lives in Santa Monica with his (non-lacrosse playing) wife and 2 daughters, and is a partner in the law firm of Blecher and Collins, P.C.
Coach Alperin serves as a 'Roving Goalie Coach' and coaches our High School Box Lacrosse team.
Coach John Crowther(310) 966-7841
In his other life
away from lacrosse John Crowther has juggled multiple careers as a
screenwriter, novelist, artist, director, and teacher. He first picked up a
lacrosse stick when he was 12 and went on to earn varsity letters at the George
School in Pennsylvania and at Princeton, where he was in the Class of ’61. He
has coached here in Los Angeles for a number of years, starting as a JV coach
at Loyola High School and going on to head coach the first CIF varsity team
there. He began the lacrosse program at Huntington Park High School, where he
was head coach, and has also been an assistant coach at Palisades High. At the
youth level he has coached with the Los Angeles Lacrosse spring league and West
LA Lacrosse, where he is on the Board of Directors. John is also honored to be
included in the West LA Lacrosse Hall of Fame. Coach Will Madrid
(424) 202-0199Coach Will attended UCLA with hopes of playing collegiate golf. When those dreams failed to materialize lacrosse was the next logical step. Will learned to play and honor the game from Mike Allan and Lane Jaffe. In the fall of 2006 Will assisted Mitch Fenton in founding the West LA Lacrosse Association in Cheviot Hills, CA (adjacent to Century City). With his roommate and former teammate, Isaac Osei-Bobie, the two coached the inaugural West LA “Cougars.” What started with a little over a dozen kids has grown into something really special. Golf and medical school gave way to 6-diamond mesh and the coach’s whistle…and he wouldn’t have it any other way. Will currently coaches the U-15 Santa Monica Vikings Boy’s team and is actively involved with West LA Lacrosse. In addition Will helps coordinate UCLA Lacrosse Alumni events throughout the year.
Coach Will on Twitter
Coach Will's Coaching Resume
Coach Molly Burnett
(315) 729-4826
A
native of Auburn, NY, a small town outside Syracuse, Molly grew up playing
lacrosse in her backyard. Being the youngest, she was often thrown in the goal
so that her older sister and neighborhood kids could practice their shooting.
Due to this traumatic experience, she decided to become an attacker. A 4 year starter at Auburn High, she then went on to play college lacrosse at Johns Hopkins University. After graduation, Molly spent three years coaching a U-15 girls' All Star team in Washington, DC before moving to Los Angeles in 2010. She is looking forward to getting back into coaching and having a successful season!
Coach Nathan Bindschadler
(310) 570-6733
Coach Nathan played lacrosse for
four years at Midland School earning a varsity letter each year. He
then played for a year with the Ohio Wesleyan University lacrosse team.
During the summer after Ohio Wesleyan he played in numerous club
pick-up games on weekends. In 2008 Nathan coached
with the West LA Lacrosse league and played in a box lacrosse league.
Upon moving to Santa Barbara he began coaching for the Santa Barbara
Lacrosse association. During the summer of 2009 Nathan was the assistant lacrosse coach for the Inter-camp* at Camp Walt Whitman. During the summer of 2010 Nathan coached
Lacrosse at Elings Park near Goleta. During that session he also ran
drills to reinforce basic skills and keep the children interested and
focused on lacrosse.
Coach - Michael Gvozden
(410) 991-1728
(310) 570-6733
Coach - Michael Gvozden
(410) 991-1728
- 3-year starter in Goal for the Johns Hopkins Blue Jays
- Named 2008 Most Valuable Goalie in the NCAA Tournament
- Member of 2007 National Championship Team
- Starting goalie on 2008 National Runner-Up Team
- High School Under Armour All-America South Team MVP
- 2-Time High School All-America and All-State goalie in Maryland
- Named High School Maryland Goalie of the Year as a Junior
Coach - J.T. Derwart
(310) 850 4994
Born in Baltimore Maryland, one of the Mecca’s for east-coast lacrosse. J.T. came from a lax family. His grandfather was a goalie for Loyola and the lacrosse tradition was handed down from generation to generation.
J.T. got his first stick at 5, a hand me down from an uncle, and began his journey into the lacrosse world. An above average player with a lot of hustle he didn’t become a standout until high school. When as a joke a coach gave him a defense pole, thinking his size would limit his ability with the larger stick. Instead the opposite proved true and by sophomore year he was a starting defenseman on his state championship winning team. (Also named the Vikings) Known as the little man with the big stick his college career was cut short by a debilitating car wreck which left him with numerous injuries including a broken back and would take years of recovery.
Derwart coached younger generations throughout his teen years in local youth leagues but did not return to the sport fully until another injury required a move back to Baltimore from his new home in California. In Maryland, thanks to his down time he was afforded the opportunity to coach with his little sister at Reservoir high. Seeing the passion for the sport and learning a whole new side of the game coaching women, he had a desire to get more involved.
Upon returning to California J.T. found local youth leagues that he could volunteer and coach. It was during this time three years ago that J.T. would meet Jeff Townsend who would help to get him involved in Santa Monica lacrosse. For the past three years J.T. would be a coach, an assistant and a cheerleader for what was the beginnings of Vikings lacrosse.
Looking forward to the future and extremely proud of the kids he has been able to work with. J.T. is grateful to Jeff, Chris and all the parents and supporters of Santa Monica lacrosse. He feels privileged to be a part of the past and the future of this great sport in Southern California.
“You gotta crawl before you can run, but when you’re on the field you better be running.”
Coach - Mike McPherson
Coach Mike grew up in Upstate NY, specifically Rochester, NY. He attended St. Aquinas Institute in the late 90’s and only played lacrosse during his senior year. He went on to college to pursue a degree in Architectural Engineering at Alfred State University in New York. While at Alfred State, Mike played lacrosse and earned a spot as one of the team captains. After leaving school in 2000, Mike did not play any lacrosse until moving to New York City in 2004. While living in NYC for 3 years he had played in various men’s leagues and tournaments such as the Next Level Lacrosse Men’s League, War at the Shore and the Brooklyn Aviator Lacrosse Tournaments. Today Mike is working for ADP, Inc as a District Manager and is still playing club lacrosse in the Southern California Lacrosse League, and when time permits plays Sunday Pick-up games in Glendale.
