LOVELAND, OHIO. – The Loveland Boys Varsity Lacrosse has announced that Mark Lynch will be their new Head Coach, replacing outgoing coach Mike Werner. Lynch has been the top assistant lacrosse coach at Mason High School the past two seasons, and was honored in 2009 as the Southern Ohio Assistant Lacrosse Coach of the Year. Lynch began coaching in 2004 after ending his playing career at Div III Lynchburg College in Lynchburg, VA, serving in an assistant role at Turpin, Summit and Moeller. Following college, he completed a combat tour in Afghanistan (Operation Enduring Freedom) as a paratrooper with the US Army 82nd Airborne. As both a player and coach, Lynch has experience leading teams in postseason contention and will look to do the same with Loveland as they try to get back to the state championship for the first time since 2008.
"I am very grateful to Loveland High School for giving me the opportunity to coach. Coach Werner has done a great job of building the program and I hope to keep that momentum going. I am very excited for the future of Loveland lacrosse."Lynch fills the vacancy created by Mike Werner, who is stepping back from full-time coaching duties at the high school level due to increased work and family demands. Werner compiled a record of 47-26 (.644) during 4 seasons at the helm, including a Division II State Championship appearance (’08), two Regional Championship appearances (‘07, ‘08), and a Southern Ohio Region Division I Final Four appearance in 2009, the program’s first year in Division I. Since 2005, Werner has been the driving force in elevating the boy’s lacrosse program at Loveland High from club-level competition (2003-2007) to a Division II power (2008 State Finals) to a first-round upset playoff win in their first season in Division I. During his tenure as coach, Werner placed 2 players on the All-Ohio team, and 11 players on the All-Southwest Ohio team.
“Mark has built an excellent coaching reputation in Southern Ohio lacrosse, and we feel very fortunate to bring him into our program,” Werner said. “We had a very short list of guys we considered turning the boys program over to, and Mark was at the top of the list - he’s the right guy at the right time. Werner believes the school and community are going to be pleased with the attitude and expectations for success Lynch brings to the program. “We’re very excited about him leading this talented group of boys and our future varsity players”.Lynch acknowledged it was a difficult decision it was to leave the success he helped build at Mason, saying it would only happen for the opportunity to become the head coach at a program he felt strongly about.
“Mason is a great place to coach. Head Coach Randy Hubbard is a great guy to work with and was very supportive of me considering a move into head coaching. Mason’s a great program with great parents, and I’m going to miss coaching those kids. With that said, Loveland is an ideal situation for me. The school is very supportive of how successful the lacrosse program has been, the facilities are great and the current crop of varsity players is strong. Loveland also has a strong youth and middle school program which feeds directly into the high school so the kids coming in are well versed in what it takes to play and win at Loveland.”A native of Cincinnati, Lynch had a successful playing career at Moeller High (1st Team All-Midwest Team, Honorable Mention All-State, Vail All-Stars) anchoring the defense as starting goalie for the Crusaders as they battled regional powerhouse Brother Rice for the Midwest Championship in 1995.
Lynch also announced the addition of former Moeller assistant coach Joe Fedders (Moeller HS/Lynchburg College) to his staff. Lynch and his coaches will take over a team that went 27-13 over the past two seasons and has big expectations for his players. “Winning state championships is what it’s about. From top to bottom, Loveland has put all the pieces in place to start establishing itself as a power in Ohio lacrosse, and that all starts when we focus on bringing home a state title.”
