Two seasons ago Faith Lutheran gained a former NFL player to coach Crusader Football, and now two new elite coaches join the Varsity Lacrosse program.

The boys’ are excited to get the season rolling, not only because the team is fully stacked, but their coaches are two of the best in the country, John Greeley and Max Schmidt.

Coach John Greeley, originally from La Fayette, just outside of Syracuse, New York, grew up on an Indian Reservation. This made it popular for the children of the reservation to start playing lacrosse early in their lives.

“My town has a very rich tradition and deep culture of lacrosse. As babies we are practically born into the sport, with a stick in our hands as soon as 2 or 3 years old. Most of native kids are born with sticks in their cribs,” said Greeley.

Greeley played in many leagues, travel teams and tournaments while growing up. In high school, Greeley played on a varsity level in grade eight, and went on to win the State Championships in 2005. Throughout his high school career, Greeley had accomplished being the number 1 ranked lacrosse player in the country both junior and senior year, a 3X All American, and also a 5-year varsity player.

The recruiting process started when he was just a sophomore. “I had received a letter from just about every division 1,2, and 3 colleges in the country, which was overwhelming for me, as a 15 year old,” said Greeley.

After John narrowed down this college choices from North Carolina, Virginia, Johns Hopkins, Loyola, and Syracuse, he had verbally committed to Johns Hopkins in the fall of his junior year.

At Hopkins, he was 4-year starter as a midfielder. He also received the Cowan Hard Hammer Award. This award is given to the player with the highest level of competitiveness, mental and physical toughness, work ethic and a never quit attitude.

John graduated from Johns Hopkins with a 3.4 GPA and a bachelor’s degree in clinical psychology.

So why would a man with such talents and achievements be coaching our Boys Lacrosse team? John chose to coach at faith when he was contacted by a college rival, Max Schmidt. After that he was put into contact with James Gravitt, head coach of the Crusader Lacrosse Program. Gravitt was ecstatic to have great guys like them join the staff. “…to get one of them to join your coaching staff is amazing, but to have them both, is nothing but short of God moving in mysterious ways. It’s what this program needs to go to the next level of our 5 year plan,” said Gravitt.

Gravitt was very open to having Greeley join the Faith Family for many seasons to come.

Max Schmidt, originally from Columbus, Ohio, also got into lacrosse at an early age. Max had played high school lacrosse at Upper Arlington High School where he had won four straight state championships. In 2008, he was a member of the USA U-19 Gold Medal team. Max’s neighbor, Gavin Webb, was a huge influence on his lacrosse career. Gavin he had helped shape him into player that he is today.

Schmidt attended the University of Maryland, where he was a 3X All American and for all four years was a starting defenseman. Schmidt graduated from University of Maryland with a Bachelor’s degree in Communications.

Max currently plays for the Denver Outlaws based out of Denver, Colorado. The Outlaws are a Major League Lacrosse (MLL) team. Max is also the founder of Lacrosse Force, which specializes in camps, clinics, travel teams, after school programs, and private and group lessons. This helps create players maximize their talent on and off the lacrosse field.

James Gravitt also brought Schmidt, just like Greeley, onto the coaching staff. “We [Gravitt and Schmidt] had a mutual friend whom had introduced us, and I was offered the job after that. I am very fortunate and happy to be part of such a class act school that upholds integrity and character in their athletes in all they do,” said Schmidt.

Not only are Coaches Max and John looking to win this season, they are looking to use the sport of lacrosse as a vehicle to have a positive impact on the boys’ lives. “Lacrosse is here today and gone tomorrow- it’s not about how many wins and losses we have; it’s about what you learned from playing the game.” Schmidt stated.

Greeley and Schmidt, along with the rest of the team, are striving to reach one major goal this season, to win the 2015 State Championships.

John Greeley and Max Schmidt both said they are thankful for this opportunity to be role models in the boys’ lives, and to coach athletes with such great potential.