Winter 2011 - K-Space Web Page - Central Catholic High School

Meet Our CoachBryan Jack, Boys’ LacrosseThe sport of lacrosse is relatively new at Central Catholic, with thisspring marking just the third season for the Fighting Irish team.The team was coached by Marty Ratcliffe the first two years, but thisupcoming season will be the first with new head coach, Bryan Jack,at the helm.Bryan began coaching at CCHS in the winter of 2009 when hestepped in to coach the winter league lacrosse teams, and he wenton to serve as assistant coach and defensive coordinator for the2010 spring season. Central Catholic participates in the ToledoArea Lacrosse Association during the spring against teams such asSt. John’s, St. Francis, Perrysburg, and Anthony Wayne. There areindoor house leagues for lacrosse in the winter and outdoor summerhouse leagues that give players additional experience, but the officialleague season for the sport is spring.Before coming to Central Catholic, Bryan’s coaching experienceconsisted of individual instruction, clinics, camps, and working asa goalie instructor at his alma mater, Pickerington Central HighSchool. For the past four summers, he has served as a top instructorat Bill Pilat’s The Goalie School, which is the premiere goalie schoolin the country.Off the FieldBryan grew up in Pickerington, Ohio, about a 15-minute drivefrom Columbus. He graduated from Pickerington Central andplayed lacrosse for the Pickerington Lacrosse Club for three years.He received a scholarship to Division II Wheeling Jesuit Universitywhere he played lacrosse his freshman and sophomore seasons. Hethen transferred to Division I Canisius College in Buffalo, NewYork where he played his junior and senior seasons. Bryan earned aBachelor of Arts in international relations in 2009 from Canisius.Bryan is currently in his second year of law school at the Universityof Toledo, and he is a member of the Army Reserve. Aftergraduation and upon passing the bar exam, Bryan will go back intoactive duty service as a JAG officer.Bryan’s parents, Karen and Terry, still live in Pickerington. Hisbrother, Colin, is a senior at Wheeling Jesuit and captain of thelacrosse team. He and his family are huge Ohio State fans, and theyoccasionally try to catch an OSU football or basketball game. Butother than that, Bryan says school and lacrosse are all he really hastime for these days.On the FieldCentral Catholic has been a very welcoming place, according toBryan, both for him personally and for the sport of lacrosse. “WhenI was looking for a way to fill my time and get away from mystudies, the staff here welcomed me with open arms,” he says. “I wasespecially impressed with how receptive the administration has beenwith lacrosse.“In my experience, most high schools are resistant/reluctant when itcomes to creating a lacrosse team and giving them access to facilities.CCHS wanted the sport of lacrosse just as much as the kids wantedit. Also, I probably would not have taken the head coaching job ifit weren’t for the players. When they found out I was consideringtaking the position, every player let me know how much theywanted me there as their coach.”With everyone at CCHS being relatively new to the sport, Bryansays he does his best at practice to create a fun learning environmentfor the players. He believes a coaching philosophy needs to bemalleable, and when working with individuals or groups he assesseshow developed they are in terms of both their lacrosse ability andtheir emotional maturity.Since the CCHS players are in high school, Bryan expects them to bedisciplined on and off the field. He says, “My main goal is to teachthe sport of lacrosse. We work hard in practice, and if there is anissue with discipline, we work a whole lot harder. I don’t just wantto foster a kid’s development as a lacrosse player here at CCHS. Ialso hope to foster his development as a person. The coaches havethe easy job – we get to work in a sport we love, but we don’t have todo any of the running!”Season OutlookBryan says he has been impressed by the number of players whohave turned out to play lacrosse at Central Catholic, and that a lotof teams have been surprised by how far the Irish have come injust two years. “This year I expect more of the same,” he says. “Weshould have 60 or so players that comprise our varsity and juniorvarsity rosters. We have a good core of returning players. Whileit is up to them, I believe we have the right mix of experience anddetermination to not only surprise teams with our play, but to beatsome teams that would not expect us to even be competitive.”It should also be noted that the Irish lacrosseprogram, in only two years, has produced a player who was recruitedto play lacrosse in college, and several others that have a good shot atwalking on to a college lacrosse team in the upcoming spring.According to Central Catholic athletic director Bill Axe, the superiorfacility that Gallagher Stadium provides for lacrosse was whatoriginally spurred the interest for adding the sport. “Lacrosse isplayed very early in the spring, and the turf on Gallagher Field isa great answer to the weather conditions that the teams often haveto deal with,” says Bill. “The Fighting Irish lacrosse team has goodorganization and discipline, and it represents Central Catholic verywell. The sport is just going to keep getting better at CCHS, andwe’ve been looking into adding a girls’ lacrosse team in the next fewyears.”