Join us on January 28th for the 2012 US Lacrosse - Washington State Coaches Convention. This year will prove to be another tremendous learning environment for coaches of the boy's and girl's game. There is a full day program running from 9am - 5pm with sessions on the following included in the entry fee*:

Ticket available and pricing is as follows (register here):

1. Full Day Convention Pass - $25 - includes full day of convention education sessions and keynote address (does not include CPR course)
2. CPR/First Aid Certification Only* - $30 - morning or afternoon sessions available – see schedule for times
3. AM CPR Certification (9:15 - 11:30am) w/Convention Pass Add On * - $40 total (attend the morning CPR class and add only $10 additional to attend the afternoon Convention sessions)
4. PM CPR Certification (1:15 - 3:30pm) w/Convention Pass Add On * - $40 total (attend the afternoon CPR class and only $10 additional to attend the morning Convention sessions)

Convention Sessions (schedule):

• Keynote Address
• Coaching Education
• Additional topics - Concussions, Athletic Training, Team Public Relations, Sports Psychology, Recruiting
• * CPR/First Aid - training is available for additional charge with morning and afternoon sessions available. This course is taught by Children's Hospital. You will receive a certification card as CPR/First Aid trained which is often required by programs to coach.

Speakers include:

• Keynote - Jack Emmer - Former head coach of US Military Academy - West Point (USMA), US Lacrosse Hall of Fame member, 2002 US National Team coach, NCAA career win leader with 326 victories
• Coaching Sessions - Jen Larsen - U of Oregon Head Coach; Crista Samaras - 2x US National Team Player; Jack Emmer - Former USMA Head Coach; Bill Cherry - Boy's head coach - Manhasset High School, NY; Steve Finnell - Boy's head coach - Garden City, NY; Lorne Smith - successful HS, Collegiate, and Pro player who now runs clinics and camps.

Food Service

• You may bring your own lunch or purchase food from the onsite vendor - Blue Ridge Barbeque - this Mercer Island based caterer is a usual presence at Mercer Island home games and will be on site with their BBQ trailer providing a great lunch option.

Speaker Biographies -

Jack Emmer

Jack Emmer recently retired from Army as the NCAA's all-time winningest coach with 326 career victories. He is one of only two coaches to have guided three teams to the NCAA tournament, and he coached the 2002 U.S. Men's Team to the International Lacrosse Federation World Championship. He was elected into the US Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 2005. Three times the USILA named him a divisional coach of the year and in 2003 that organization honored him with the Howdy Meyers Man of the Year Award. Emmer was a second team All-American defenseman at Rutgers, where he also had a stellar football career. His lacrosse peers voted him team MVP in 1967. Three US Lacrosse chapters-Charlottesville (Va.), Hudson Valley (N.Y.), and Long Island Metro (N.Y.) - have already inducted him into their respective halls of fame.

Bill Cherry – Manhasset High School, Manhasset, NY

Coach Cherry is in his 35th year of coaching, and his 5th as Head Coach of Manhasset High School. In 2009 and 2010 the team captured the New York State Class 'C' Championship. Coach Cherry has been named 'Coach of the Year on numerous occasions including the Nassau County Conference IV Coach of the Year (3 times), the 'Alan Lowe' Nassau County Coach of the Year (2009), and the Newsday Nassau County Coach of the Year (2009,2010). Prior to coaching at Manhasset, Bill coached at Sewanhaka High School.

Steve Finnell - Garden City High School, Garden City, NY

Steve Finnell is in his 15th year of coaching and 5th season as the head coach at Garden City.  Over the past five seasons Garden City has won 5 county championships, 2 Long Island Tittles and appeared in the last two state title games.  Coach Finnell has been named Conference coach of the year twice as well as Nassau County Coach of the year in 2011.  After graduating from Duke in 1995 Finnell coached with Mike Pressler for two years and helped the 1997 team make its first Final Four appearance.  Coach Finnell has also been an assistant football coach under Tom Flatley for the past decade at Garden City High School.  Finnell was chosen to be an evaluator for the U-19 team this last summer that will compete this July in the World Games in Finland.  Coach Finnell is a 1991 graduate of Garden City having played for Doc Dougherty and Doug Dwyer.

Jen Larsen – University of Oregon

The first and only lacrosse coach at Oregon, Jen Larsen is guiding the Ducks for her seventh season. Larsen has been steadily building the program since her hiring two years before the inaugural season in 2005. Larsen sports a 60-50 (.545 winning percentage) career record and is 17-16 against the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. Larsen has worked diligently to foster and develop the lacrosse program at the University of Oregon. After finishing 6-11 during the Ducks’ first year, the team went 10-9 in 2006, and then put together a 12-7 effort and second place (4-1) standing in the MPSF in 2007. In 2008, Larsen’s squad finished 13-7 and fourth in the MPSF.

Larsen was a two-sport star at the University of Virginia, captaining both the lacrosse and field hockey teams. Larsen and her lacrosse teammates won the national championship in 1993 and finished as the runner-up in 1996. In field hockey, the Cavaliers advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals in 1995, while Larsen was named a second team regional All-American in 1994 and 1995. Larsen graduated from Virginia in 1996 with a degree in psychology.

Crista Samaras

Crista was a 2 time US Women’s National Team Player. She currently runs 4 women’s club teams on the east coast. Crista was a 3 time All-American at Princeton and a 2 time Ivy League Player of the Year. She coached at Yale and has been a consulting coach for the national team. She has coached and spoken about lacrosse in the UK and Japan.

Lorne Smith

Growing up in Baltimore, Lorne has not missed a lacrosse season since he started at age six. During a particularly successful stretch which included high school, college, and Team USA U-19, Lorne did not lose his last game of the season for five years resulting in six straight championships. During that time he was coached by two of the top minds in the game today — John Tucker (Gilman) and Bill Tierney (Princeton).

Moving to San Francisco in 1999 has offered the opportunity to stay involved with lacrosse on a number of levels including playing professionally, coaching a team at the collegiate level, directing youth camps and clinics, and offering free coaches clinics. Lorne currently resides in the Bay Area where he works for Warrior and Brine Sports, and continues to help in the development of West Coast lacrosse.

Convention Schedule (updated 1/14/12)

Labels: Bill Cherry, Coaches Convention, Coaching Education, Crista Samaras, Jack Emmer, Jen Larsen, Steve Finnell, US Lacrosse