The Minister of Defense, Notre Dame Lacrosse Defensive Coordinator Gerry Byrne, will be taking the head coach position at Harvard. While this is a huge loss to the Notre Dame team, there is no assistant coach in lacrosse who has more earned a head coaching opportunity, and we wish him the best of success in this new opportunity.
Coach Byrne completes his second tour for the Fighting Irish, coming back to the Irish in 2007 after serving as the head coach at St. Anselm College. Byrne had earlier coached at Notre Dame in 1989-91, during which time he also became an official Domer by earning his MBA in South Bend.
Byrne’s second term saw unprecedented success for the Irish as a team and particularly as a defensive unit. Coach Byrne’s players earned 3 Schmeisser Awards as the best defensemen in the nation, with Matt Landis even being a Tewaaraton Award finalist (best player in nation). To our observation, every year since his return has seen an Irish defender receive All-American honors.
Coach Byrne is also a legend in the youth lacrosse community. As a regular fixture on NDLaxTV, his video drills are the standard for coaches and kids across the country. Athletic stance, V-Hold, communication, peer-to-peer teaching, are all things we’ve learned from Coach.
Coach’s children are Notre Dame alumni, including recent Fighting Irish midfielder Pierre Byrne, as is his wife Dr. Tracy Byrne. Coach Byrne will always be one of us.
It is fitting that we learned this news while we were covering the PLL Redwoods in Atlanta for 18 Stripes. The Redwoods have the top defensive line in pro lacrosse, none other than Byrne’s famous (un)Holy Trinity of Matt Landis, Garrett Epple, and Eddie Glazener. They play alongside Byrne’s second Schmeisser Award winner, John Sexton (#46Trucking), and his defensive midfield stars Jack Near and Nick Ossello.
Thank you and good luck, Coach Byrne! We will be cheering for you (except when you play the Irish!).
