Reed Peterson became the first assistantlacrosse coach for Centre College when it began its inauguralseason in the fall of 2010, and has been part of a dramaticturnaround that has seen the Colonels reach consecutive NCAATournaments and win a Southern Athletic Association regular seasonchampionship and SAA Tournament championship in the team's firstfour seasons of play.
By just their second year of competition in 2012, Peterson andhead coach Bert Severns had led the Colonels to a 12-4 overallrecord with a 7-2 record and second place finish in the SouthernCollegiate Atheltic Conference. One of the highest scoring offensesin the country, Centre ranked third nationally with 15.38 goals pergame, finished fourth in assists at 9.56 per game and had threeindividuals ranked in the top 10 nationally in offensivecategories.
In four seasons at Centre, Peterson has coached 26all-conference selections with attacker Zack Connors earning SCACOffensive Player of the Year honors in 2012.
In 2013, Peterson helped lead the Colonels to their first NCAATournament appearance in just the third season in program history.Centre finished the season with an 11-4 overall record and tied forthe SAA regular season title with a 6-1 record in conferenceplay.
The 2014 season saw the Colonels make a return trip to the NCAATournament while also claiming their first SAA Tournament title.Centre also set school records for wins in a season with 13 andconsecutive wins with 11.
Peterson has a wealth of experience in lacrosse and came toCentre College after coaching at Louisville Collegiate High School,Louisville, Ky.
Before college, the Green Bay, Wisc. native played at MariemontHigh School in Cincinnati, Ohio. While at Mariemont, Petersonaccumulated many lacrosse accolades, including all-state honorsthree of the four years he played. He was a two-time PositionPlayer of the Year, two-time First Team All-State selection and aU.S. Lacrosse All-American. He led Mariemont to its first statetitle appearance in 2003. His high school coach Tad George saidabout Peterson "as a player Reed was game changer. Opposing coachesand their defenses had to constantly account for his presence onthe field, and he is the most skilled player to have played atMariemont."
Peterson's lacrosse playing career took him to two NCAA DivisionI programs, starting out at Canisius College and completing hisplaying career at Bellarmine University having lettered all fouryears in college. After his lacrosse playing career was completed,he moved to the broadcast booth where he received the BellarmineMedia Award for Broadcasting for his work with the announcing thesporting events on campus.
Post playing career, Peterson became an assistant on the varsitymen's lacrosse team at Louisville Collegiate School in Louisville,Ky. that went to the state's final four in 2010 and was therunner-up for the state title in 2009. While at LCS he worked withthe midfielders on varsity while being the head coach of two otherteams (LCS 3rd/4th, LCS 5th/6th). Head Coach Chad Wabrek said aboutPeterson "Coach Peterson is a proven teacher of the game oflacrosse, and he demands that his players possess high character,good morals, and a sense of loyalty, which is why he has beenconsistently successful."
"Winning is habit."
- Vince Lombardi
This quote is significant towards my belief on how our playersshould conduct themselves on and off the field. My philosophy as acoach is to play as fast as your ability allows. All players havedifferent strengths but if you are working 100% every day to makeyourself better, the team will get better. When the players arriveat Centre to play lacrosse, I want to teach them the competitivedrive, mental toughness and the ability to work for somethingbigger than oneself. These three teachings will translate on andoff the field, so when our men graduate, they will be an asset inany field they choose.
