J.E. Bert Severns took over as the lacrossecoach at Centre College when it started its program in the fall of2010 and has overseen a dramatic turnaround, leading the team to aSouthern Athletic Association regular season championship, an SAATournament championship, and consecutive NCAA Tournamentappearances in just four years of competition.
During his time at Centre, Severns' teams haveposted an overall record of 39-21 and a 21-9 conference record.Since joining the SAA for the 2013 season, Severns has an overallrecord of 24-7, which ranks first in the conference, and a 12-2 SAArecord, which ranks second.
In Centre's second year of play, Severns led the program to a12-4 overall record in the 2012 season and a 7-2 mark and secondplace finish in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference and an8-0 record in home games. A high-scoring offensive team, theColonels ranked third nationally with 15.38 goals per game,finished fourth in assists at 9.56 per game and had threeindividuals ranked in the top 10 nationally in offensivecategories.
In that 2012 season, Severns was named SCAC Coach of the Yearwhile attacker Zack Connors earned SCAC Offensive Player of theYear honors. The Colonels' 2012 all-conference honorees also put upimpressive individual numbers as well. Connors had 44 goals with 41assists for 86 points, ranking him third nationally in points,third in assists and 16th in goals. He led the SCAC in both assistsand points while finishing third in goals. Connor Stubbs finishedwith 55 goals, which ranked second in the conference and fourth inthe nation, while adding 22 assists for 77 points, which rankedthird in the conference and sixth nationally. Peter Murphy finishedwith 26 goals, 38 assists and 64 points. Those numbers were enoughsecond in the SCAC and seventh in the nation in assists whilecoming in fourth in the conference and 31st nationally inpoints.
In 2013, Severns led the Colonels to their first NCAA Tournamentin just their third year as a program. Centre finished the yearwith an 11-4 overall record and tied for the Southern AthleticAssociation regular season championship. The team once again rankednationally in scoring offense, and Zack Connors and Jay Reed earnedFirst Team All-SAA honors. Connors ranked 23rd nationally in pointsper game after scoring 44 goals and 24 assists.
The 2014 season brought more success as the Colonels won the SAATournament and made a return trip to the NCAA Tournament. Along theway, Centre set a new school record for wins in a season with 13and established a school record winning streak with 11 straightvictories. Murphy led a group of eight Colonels on the All-SAAteam, while Stubbs led the conference with 49 goals. The Colonelsagain ranked in the top 30 nationally in scoring offense andscoring margin.
Two more honors that have been added to Severns' extensivelacrosse resume are that he has been selected to the Board ofDirectors of the Intercollegiate Men's Lacrosse CoachesAssociation, the governing body for the college coaches of men'slacrosse in the U.S. Severns is also a member of the USILA DivisionIII Coaches Poll Committee which ranks the top 20 Division IIIteams in the nation on a weekly basis.
An All-American as a player at Cortland State, Severns alsobrings an impressive coaching resume to Centre.
Severns was an assistant coach for both soccer and lacrosseteams at the United States Naval Academy from 1976 to 1980, helpingthe Midshipmen to a national semifinal appearance in lacrosse andan ECAC championship in soccer. While at Annapolis, he wasresponsible for recruiting for both sports, and helped coach 15lacrosse All-Americans. From 1980 to 1984 he was the head coach ofsoccer and lacrosse at Alfred University. He directed the Saxonsoccer team to an ECAC title while coaching two more All-Americans.In 1984 he left Alfred for West Point, becoming the assistantathletic director for facilities and the assistant lacrosse coach.During his time at the United States Military Academy, he helpedthe lacrosse team to a national semifinal appearance.
In 1990 he left coaching to pursue a career in the sportinggoods industry, working his way up to become the national salesmanager for Diadora America and Director of Sales and Marketing forGame Sportswear. As would be expected with his coaching background,Severns emphasizes discipline, conditioning, and teamwork.
"I want my teams to be sound fundamentally, but I allow theplayers to grow individually. My players can do what they need todo," says Severns. "I'll give them the fundamentals to grow. Wewill be very disciplined and our players will know where to be. Andthey will be in shape – they might not enjoy that part of it,but they will be in shape."
"In a recruit I'm looking for a player who is committed tobecoming a better player and making his team a better team," hesaid. "If he has a passion for the game, he will fit right into ourprogram. If he has passion, he will become better. We can make hima better player while he's at Centre College."
