By Chris Goldberg
Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 8/30/10
Brian Kilpatrick has been named head boys’ lacrosse coach at recently-opened Pope John Paul II.
Kilpatrick posted a 32-21 record as head coach at Lansdale Catholic the past three years. A native of Harwood, Md., who played at UMBC, Kilpatrick led the Crusaders to a second-place finish in the Catholic League North Division and a berth in the league playoffs last year.
At Pope John Paul II, Kilpatrick has the task of taking a group of players that did not win a game either for Kennedy-Kenrick and St. Pius X. Those two schools were closed and many of the student-athletes are attending Pope John Paul II, located in Upper Providence Township, Montgomery County.
The first year Kilpatrick coached at LC his team competed in the PAC-10 before its move to the Catholic League. Kilpatrick said the league has continued to improve and understands that his team will need to slowly build to become competitive.
“No question about it, the PAC is now a very legitimate and solid league,” he said. “When I coached at Lansdale Catholic, it used to be that you only had to worry about (2007 champion) Spring-Ford and (three-time defending champion) Owen J. Roberts.
“Now, the rest of the teams are rounding out to make the league tougher. The whole league is becoming strong and it is really going to be a challenge.”
Kilpatrick lives in the Pottstown area and he said the drive will be much closer than it was to Lansdale. He hopes to be involved in youth lacrosse in the area and help build from the bottom up.
“When you’re taking over two teams that went a combined 0-30, you have to set realistic goals,” he said. “Coming into this, I see the big picture. But I see what the potential is, and it’s really high if we lay a solid foundation and steadily improve.
“We all know that it’s not going to happen overnight. But having kids from two programs, we can bring the best kids in and immediately that makes us better. Hopefully we can put them in situations where we can be successful and start winning a couple of games and give them a taste of winning.
“That’s all I can do at this point. It’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon.”
