By Chris Goldberg
Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 11/30/16
Steve Holmes, an assistant coach at Malvern Prep who also was a volunteer assistant at Virginia and has been a successful pro for almost a decade, has been named head boys’ lacrosse coach at Unionville.
New Unionville coach Steve Holmes (right) is seen here with Todd Faiella after Virginia won the National title in 2011. He served as a volunteer assistant
Holmes, who as founder has built Fusion Lacrosse into a viable combination box/field program in less than 4 years, has served as an assistant at national power Malvern the past four years. He also served as a volunteer assistant at Virginia, where he was a standout player, in 2010 (Final Four team) and 2011 (National champion).
Holmes also has served as a head coach out of the region – at Redwood (near San Francisco) and Monticello (VA) – leading both schools to leagues titles.
Holmes has an impressive playing background. He was a standout defenseman at Germantown Academy and played in two Final Fours at UVA, where he was a captain his senior year. He played eight years in the National Lacrosse League (three with the Philadelphia Wings), and still plays a key role for the New York Lizards (2015 Major League Lacrosse champions) on Long Island. He also has played for Denver, Chicago and San Francisco.
At Malvern, he served as defensive coordinator and his 2014 team went 24-0 and was ranked among the top three teams in the nation in every national poll.
Holmes answered these questions about the new position:
What are your short-term goals for the program?
Holmes: “My short term goals for the program are to establish a familiarity and expectation of maximum effort, focus, and hunger to be the best we can be. This starts with practicing hard and fast without exception.”
What are your long-term goals for the programs?
Holmes: “My long term goals are to consistently compete for state championships. This can become a reality if we reach our goal of creating a great culture, which includes a certain style of play and building high character athletes at Unionville, starting at the youth level.”
What is your general coaching philosophy?
Holmes: “I would describe my coaching style as tough, fair, and high energy. Our teams and players will be enthusiastic, scrappy, and strive to be great. We will understand that a group of individuals that buy into a great team concept can accomplish anything on a lacrosse field.”