De La Salle coach Johnny Christmas talks to his players at halftime during a home game on March 19 against St. Ignatius. CONCORD – Before De La Salle seniors Henry Benner, Andrei Gran and Mikey Lencioni became key players on the Spartans’ dominant lacrosse team, they were watching highlights of their head coach on YouTube.
Christmas hopes his presence, which includes those YouTube videos, will help inspire more Black athletes to give lacrosse a try. “That’s the standard every year going forward,” Christmas said. “We want to win championships. That would be a successful season for us.”Christmas certainly knows what it takes to flourish in a sport that has had steady high school participation numbers in California the past decade. He first picked up a lacrosse stick when he was in third grade, following in the footsteps of his older brother, Jason, who went on to play lacrosse and football at Villanova.
Under then-Virginia coach Dom Starsia, Christmas thrived. He was a two-time United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association All-American and led Virginia to a national championship in 2003. Before taking over at De La Salle in 2015, Christmas was the junior varsity coach across the Bay at Sacred Heart Prep in Atherton.
Education Education Latest News, Education Education Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Source: ABC7Chicago - 🏆 284. / 63 Read more »