Due to some unexpected circumstances, Brandon Kent — who served as an assistant coach last year under Paul VanVoorhis — was asked to step in as the head coach of the Bulldog boys lacrosse team this year.  

“I am super excited to be back in the swing of coaching,” said Kent.

Kent founded the program back in 2010 with Pete Neu when seven-to-eight Becker boys were playing the sport for the club out of Monticello. The school thought the program would have somewhere around two dozen or so interested athletes and asked Kent and Neu to form a club team, which they did until 2015 when the sport became MSHSL sanctioned. Kent stepped down from coaching then, hoping the school would recruit a teacher to take over the reins.

“Funny thing is - I knew nothing about lacrosse when I first started coaching it,” said Kent.  “I applied a lot of basketball concepts when I first began and leaned heavily on the Minnesota Club Lacrosse coaches and association when I first started.”

He says he still leans on his network of coaches and players.

Kent has Nate Fritsch signed on to be an assistant and he has been coaching some of the seniors on the team since they were in fourth grade. The team managers are, Kady Lindbom, Madison Bartlett, Kalyn Sherman and Claire Fritsch.

Currently, Kent and his coaches have 24 boys/men who have come out for lacrosse.  

“With COVID-19 canceling our season last year, our numbers seem to be down a bit,” said Kent. “We will have 16 to 17 solid varsity players. Obviously, with the numbers we have, all our players will be seeing lots of time between JV and varsity.”

Kent says he feels he has the most talented senior class Becker has ever had.  Most of them have been playing together since the fourth grade and they include,  Dominic Esler (Goalie), Ethan Wilson (Midfielder), Nate Kerzman (Attackman), Calvin Fritsch (Midfielder), Carter Neu (Midfielder), Jacob Eich (Attackman) and Kacey Rice (Defense).  

“We will also have some strong Juniors in Estin Quill (Attackman), Parker Beuning (Defense), Michael Bentley (Attackman) and Ethan Anderson (Midfielder),” Kent says.  “Our Sophomore class is comparable to our senior class in numbers and upcoming talent. We look to have them be solid contributors.” 

Those athletes consisting of: Harrison Kent, Maxwell Olson-Burkman, Noah McDonald, Dylan Kolby, Adam Jurek, Caden Hartkopf, Brady Johnson and Ethan Duncome.  

“Also, we are expecting Freshman Josh Miller to get varsity time,” he said.

Monticello is Becker’s biggest rival year-in and year-out.

“They were the team to beat when we first started the program and it seems like we always match up well against them,” Kent said.

Kent has developed a love for the game of lacrosse and his study of the game has paid off for his players.

“Stick skills is probably the most challenging aspect of lacrosse to coach,” he says. “It is something that takes time to develop and at this level the boys have either put in the time or they haven’t.” 

Kent says the team will be working heavily regarding communication on the field and teamwork.  

“With this group, I don’t see effort being a problem,” he says. “These young men are very self motivated - but we are not afraid to prod them a bit if needed.”

COVID-19 threw a wrench in the boys lacrosse program, as it did for many sports, causing numbers of participants to dwindle ever so slightly. But Kent is sure things will improve moving forward as the sport continues to expand at all levels.

“I believe the future for high school lacrosse is bright,” Kent says. “It is very fast-paced, physical and exiting to watch and play.  Lacrosse in general is growing - the off-season AAU type clubs are expanding, college lacrosse is growing and I saw a new professional league is in the works.”

Kent says that in any high school program - the youth program is always important to keep numbers and quality up.  

“We  have a good youth program with some very dedicated parents, which will keep this program moving in the right direction,” he says.  “I think the next piece of the puzzle is to find someone involved in the school (teacher) who can step in and be a solid foundation for this high school program moving forward.”

The boys lacrosse team will see their first taste of action next Thursday, April 15 when they host Waconia for a 6 p.m. match.