| Start Date: | 10/01/23 |
| End Date: | 10/01/23 |
| Registration Opens: | 08/21/23 |
| Registration Closes: | 10/01/23 |
| Camp Fee: | $140 |
The RIT Lacrosse Academy is designed to give high school RISING Sophomore, Junior, and Seniors (10th-11th-12th grade) lacrosse players the opportunity to get some quality coaching from the RIT staff. The focus of the academy is to work on all aspects of the game at an intense, organized collegiate level and is designed for the serious athlete. All campers will receive individual instruction on game fundamentals and sessions will include stick work, positional work, transition play, and team competition.
Be sure to sign up quickly, as 60 is the maximum number of participants for this camp. Positions are limited based on team needs.
TENTATIVE SCHEDULE:
WHAT TO BRING
REQUIRED – Stick, helmet, gloves, arm guards, shoulder pads, mouth piece, cleats, sneakers, goalie chest protector
OPTIONAL – Water bottle, sun screen
REFUND POLICY:
Full refunds will be given only to those who request them before September 24th. Any refunds requested after September 24th will require a doctor's note. Please allow up to 2 weeks after the conclusion of the event for processing.
CONTACT INFORMATION:
For further information or questions regarding the Academy please contact:
Shawn Wilkins
sjtwatl@rit.edu
Academy Staff:
Jake Coon completed his 13th season at the helm of the RIT men’s lacrosse team in 2022, guiding the Tigers to their second-consecutive NCAA Division III National Championship. The winningest coach in program history led RIT to a 12-10 come-from-behind win over Union to finish the season with a program record 22 victories. Coon also guided the 2021 squad to an unblemished 14-0 record, punctuated by a 15-14 double-overtime victory against Salisbury for the program's first national championship.
Honors/Accomplishments as Head Coach
Notable Games as Head Coach
Coaching Career Prior to RIT
After graduating from Nazareth in 2002, Coon spent five years at Nazareth from 2001-2005. He worked directly with the goalies and defense at Nazareth, helping guide the Golden Flyers to four NCAA Tournament appearances, including the 2004 national championship game. Following Nazareth, Coon spent four years at UMass as the defensive coordinator and worked closely with the goalies, helping guide the Minutemen to the 2006 national championship game.
Playing Career
A four-time All-American goalie at Nazareth College, the Homer, NY native is Nazareth’s only four-time All-American. He led Nazareth to a 51-10 record, helping the Golden Flyers to the NCAA Division III title in 1997. Coon earned First Team All-American and USILA Goalie of the Year honors in 1998 and 2000. He was inducted into the Nazareth Sports Hall of Fame in 2009. Coon played professionally for the Rochester Knighthawks (National Lacrosse League) from 2000-2003, and the Rochester Rattlers (2001-2005) and Boston Cannons (2005-2009) of the Major Lacrosse League. Coon was inducted into the Upstate New York chapter of the US Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 2018, and will be inducted into the Rochester Lacrosse Hall of Fame in November 2021.
Personal Life
Coon resides in Honeoye Falls, NY with his wife Kara and their sons Jackson (13) and Colson (7).
Shawn Wilkins, the 2021 IMLCA Division III Assistant Coach of the Year, begins his 14th season as an assistant coach for the RIT men's lacrosse program in 2022-23, serving as RIT’s offensive coordinator. Wilkins helped lead the Tigers to a 22-1 record and the program’s second straight NCAA Division III national championship in 2022.
Wilkins represented Team Canada as an assistant coach helping lead the team to a Silver Medal finish at the 2022 U-21 World Championships.
Under Wilkins' tutelage, the Tigers offense has become one of the most prolific scoring teams in all of Division III. Last season, the Tigers tallied a program-record 411 goals, finishing in the top-20 nationally averaging 17.8 goals per game, converting 47.6 percent of its chances. In his 13 seasons, Wilkins has led a potent attack that scored 4,099 goals, averaging 16.2 goals per game over that span.
Wilkins is highly involved with recruiting and the day-to-day operations of one of the most successful programs in the nation, and is an integral part of a program that has made 12 straight trips to the NCAA Tournament, and 12 conference championships, including berths in the 2013, 2017, 2021 and 2022 championship games. Wilkins was honored in 2013 as the Assistant Coach of the Year by the USILA, and has helped RIT to an impressive 228-24 record.
Wilkins has mentored eight conference offensive players of the year, including Dawson Tait in 2021. Ryan Barnable (2022), Shawn Nally (2018) and Allister Warren (2015) each won the Fran McCall Award as the Division III Midfielder of the Year. Kyle Killen (2018) and Ryan Lee (2015, 2017) each won the USILA Lt. J.I. (Jack) Turnbull Award as the Division III’s finest attackman, while Killen was the 2018 Iroquois Nationals Award winner recognizing Division III’s best player. Lee is the RIT all-time leader in goals (237) and points (373).
Wilkins was a two-sport (lacrosse and ice hockey) standout himself at RIT, playing midfield for the Tigers from 1998-2001, helping the Tigers to the semifinals in the 1999 NCAA Division III Tournament and a quarterfinals appearance in 2000. Wilkins was an All-Super Six selection in 1998 and 1999 and an All-Empire 8 selection in 2001. Wilkins is one of 21 players in RIT Lacrosse history to score 100 career goals (104), and is 24th all time in scoring with 147 points.
On the ice, Wilkins played both forward and defense, and was a key member of three NCAA Tournament teams, including the 2001 squad that advanced to the National Championship game. Wilkins graduated from the university in 2002 with a bachelor's degree in hospitality and service management with a minor in criminal justice.
After graduation, Wilkins played professionally for the Rochester Rattlers of Major League Lacrosse and the Rochester Knighthawks of the National Lacrosse League. He also played for the Italian National team in 2006 and was a member of the Canadian Jr. National team in 1996. He is on the coaching staff of the Under-19 Team Canada squad that will compete at the 2020 World Championship.
Wilkins, a 2019 inductee into the RIT Sports Hall of Fame, resides in Penfield with his wife Melissa, a former standout goalie with the RIT women’s hockey team and 2009 inductee into the RIT Sports Hall of Fame. They have a son Jace, and daughter Jordyn.