via JU press release/website, by Alex Kerstetter

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Jacksonville men’s lacrosse head coach John Galloway has announced the hiring of Shane Koppens as the team’s offensive coordinator. Koppens comes from Randolph Macon, where he spent the past two seasons as an assistant coach.

“After an exhaustive search, we are excited to welcome Shane Koppens to the Jacksonville Men’s Lacrosse family,” said head coach John Galloway. “We had very specific criteria when hiring for this position, and we knew early on that Shane checked all the boxes we were looking for. Shane deeply cares about his players and is passionate about his craft. He will be a perfect fit for what our guys want and deserve. His humility, preparation, and confidence throughout the search left us with no doubt that we found the right person in the end. I also want to thank Coach Perzinski and Danielle Della Rocca for working side by side with me during the search to ensure that we bring in the best person to enhance our program. We have a saying in our program, ‘better people make better dolphins,’ and Shane proves that we are serious about that saying.”

In addition to being the offensive coordinator at Randolph-Macon, Koppens is also the Co-Founder and Director of Lacrosse and Recruiting Operations for Silverbacks Lacrosse in Los Angeles, California. Silverbacks Lacrosse is an invite-only lacrosse club composed of players across the country who are driven to compete at the collegiate level. There, he recruited players from all over North America to participate on their elite-level national team. He is responsible for all player and family communications to secure athletes to play with the program.

In 2023, the Hornets ranked third in the ODAC in goals with 303 and goals per game with an average of 16.83. Nationally in 2022, his team ranked in the top 30 in five offensive statistics across five categories, and in 2023, they ranked in the top 20. These statistics included extra man opportunities, shooting percentage, goals, assists, and points.

“It is with ultimate pride and honor that I have accepted the position as Offensive Coordinator for the Jacksonville University Men’s Lacrosse program,” said Koppens. “Being able to wake up every day and work alongside the best coaching staff and players in the country is something that I not only look forward to but also have a great deal of gratitude toward. Coach Galloway has built a tremendous program at JU with a team culture focused on commitment, accountability, respect, and preparation. I am eager to bring my passion, enthusiasm, experience, and overall love for the game to everything we do, on and off the field. To all the current players, alumni, and families of Jacksonville University Men’s Lacrosse – Let’s get to work!”

Prior to working with the Hornets, Koppens worked for four seasons at Louisiana State in Baton Rouge. There, he served as the head coach, offensive coordinator, and program director for the men’s lacrosse team. With the Tigers, he built an entire MCLA men’s lacrosse team from scratch, starting with a budget of zero. In 2019, his team earned the first MCLA Top 20 ranking in program history and won the LSA Conference Championship, also a first for the program. In both 2019 and 2021, the team earned a bid to the MCLA National Tournament, and between the two seasons, Koppens mentored 13 All-LSA selections.

Koppens also had stints in the NFL, where he worked with the Buffalo Bills as a Public/Media Relations Assistant and the Baltimore Ravens as a Public Relations Intern.