JSerra boys lacrosse coach Will McMinn, one of the driving forces behind the sport’s surge in popularity in Orange County, confirmed Tuesday that he has stepped down after three years on the job.

McMinn, a 2005 inductee into the Greater L.A. Chapter of the U.S. Lacrosse Hall of Fame, said he was leaving the program to concentrate on his business, which offers leadership training for high school and junior high students.

“It’s my own decision,” McMinn said. “If I wanted to, I’d still be coaching at JSerra. I just have to attend to some things. I’m not retiring. I still love coaching, and I’m sure I’m still going to be involved in coaching.

“For the last three years I have neglected my business. I really need to put my energy into that right now.” 

As for speculation in the lacrosse community that McMinn was leaving the job because of conflicts with the school’s athletic director/football coach, Jim Hartigan, McMinn said: ”Jim’s a really decent guy. He’s very hard-headed, and so am I at times. When you get two strong-willed people trying to do what they think is right, there are going to be some disagreements.

“But the reality is that our relationship has been very good since he became the athletic director.”     

McMinn had one of the top teams in the county in 2008. Led by his son, Kelly, an All-American goalie, the Lions went 17-6. Kelly McMinn recently received a partial scholarship to play lacrosse at Virginia Military Institute.  

Will McMinn was inducted into the U.S. Lacrosse Hall of Fame as recognition for his longtime role in building lacrosse at the youth and high school levels.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 22nd, 2008 at 7:34 pm and is filed under Boys athletes, Lacrosse, OC Varsity bloggers, Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.