Webber Intl Introduces Men’s & Women’s Lacrosse – Chris Burdick Named Men’s Coach & Director of Both Programs!
Written by Lee Roggenburg on . Posted in Across The LAX World, College, Featured Posts, Florida Lacrosse News.
via Webber press releases
Chris Burdick Appointment Announcement
BABSON PARK, Fla. (August 2, 2019) – Director of Athletics Darren Richie has announced the hiring of Chris Burdick as Director of Lacrosse and Head Men’s Lacrosse Coach at Webber International University.
With the addition of men’s and women’s lacrosse, the Webber Athletics Department now encompasses 23 varsity sports. The search for the head coach of the women’s program is still underway.
“Coach Burdick’s experience in lacrosse both on the professional and collegiate levels made him the clear choice to develop our new lacrosse program here at Webber,” said Darren Richie. “Chris has a commitment to excellence on and off the field and a strong desire to build a championship program.”
As the Director of Lacrosse at Webber, Burdick will be responsible for all lacrosse operations at the university, overseeing both the men’s and women’s programs. He will also serve as Webber’s first head men’s lacrosse coach and will work with Athletic Director Darren Richie to hire the university’s first head coach for women’s lacrosse.
The Webber lacrosse teams will start recruiting immediately and will begin NAIA competition in the spring of 2021 using the new Warrior turf field on campus to practice and play home games.
“I would like to thank Webber International University, President Keith Wade and Director of Athletics Darren Richie for the opportunity to bring another collegiate lacrosse program to the state of Florida,” said Burdick. “The Webber campus is in the process of major growth which is evidenced by the addition of the new multi-sport turf complex that is being installed on the campus as we speak. The addition of both men’s and women’s lacrosse shows a commitment from the University that great things are on the horizon at Webber.”
Burdick has a long and impressive background in the sport of lacrosse, including coaching experience in Major League Lacrosse (MLL) and at the collegiate level with 14 years of NCAA Division-I head coaching experience. He has been named a conference Coach of the Year at the Division-I level, a national Assistant Coach of the Year at the Division-II level, and in 28 seasons of NCAA lacrosse, Burdick has led his teams to a total of 11 NCAA Tournaments and 21 conference (regular-season and tournament) championships. Burdick is also the Owner of 24 Lacrosse, LLC, a lacrosse player and coach development company that specializes in team workshops and coaching development.
Burdick is no stranger to developing a start-up lacrosse program, something he did beginning in the fall of 2012 as the assistant men’s lacrosse coach at the University of Tampa (2013-2019; NCAA Division-II). During his time at UT, Burdick won 101 games and helped build Tampa into a nationally-ranked lacrosse program that has made the NCAA Division-II tournament six years in a row from 2014 to 2019. The Spartans also made three NCAA Division-II Final Fours (2014, 2016, 2017), won four Sunshine State Conference (SSC) Regular-Season Championships and won six straight SSC Tournament Championships during Burdick’s time in Tampa, Florida.
In 2016 Burdick was honored as the Nike/IMLCA National D-II Assistant Coach of the Year.
In addition to his duties at the University of Tampa, Burdick has also worked at the professional level in the MLL since 2017, currently as an assistant coach for defense with the Chesapeake Bayhawks (Annapolis, Md.) under Head Coach Dave Cottle and Defensive Coordinator Bob Shillinglaw. Prior to working in Annapolis, Burdick was the Defensive Coordinator for two seasons under Head Coach Tom Mariano for the Florida Launch (Boca Raton, Fla.). With the Launch, Burdick helped the squad set a franchise record for wins and advance to their first playoff appearance in organization history in 2017, reaching the MLL semifinals, all while also coaching the MLL Defensive Player of the Year in Tucker Durkin and the MLL’s saves leader in Austin Kaut.
Burdick also has extensive NCAA Division-I lacrosse coaching experience. Prior to coming to Tampa, Burdick led the Providence College men’s lacrosse program for 14 seasons including stints in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference and the Big East Conference.
In 11 seasons in the MAAC, Burdick led the Friars to nine consecutive conference playoffs, including seven conference championships and three NCAA Division-I tournament berths. Burdick coached five MAAC Defensive Player of the Year award winners, including three-time MAAC Defensive Player of the Year and Providence College Hall of Fame inductee Brian O’Rorke.
Burdick was responsible for recruiting and coaching 33 All-MAAC selections as well Providence College’s first two All-Americans, Mike Farley and Ben Johnston. Providence College placed 21 players on the MAAC All-Tournament Team under Burdick’s tenure, including three players named the MAAC Championship Tournament Outstanding Player. Burdick’s goalies at Providence have combined for seven of the league’s top 20 goalie performances of all-time regarding goals against average. Burdick’s face off specialist, under the guidance of Assistant Coach Jim Mascia, have had three of the top 20 seasons in MAAC history.
Burdick’s teams were 3-0 in MAAC Championship Games. In 2008, the Friars won their fourth MAAC Regular Season Championship and Burdick was named the Anaconda/MAAC Coach of the Year.
Coach Burdick has also served as the president of the MAAC Lacrosse Coaches’ Association in 2003, and has been a member of the regional advisory committee for NCAA tournament selection. In 2003, Burdick was selected to coach in the Division-I Men’s Lacrosse North/South All-Star game.
Prior to his position at Providence College, Burdick worked his way up the coaching ladder with positions at Cornell, UMass, Delaware and Notre Dame.
In addition, Burdick has been a feature presenter at the IMLCA and US Lacrosse coaching conventions, as well as a lecturer at high school clinics on Long Island and in Massachusetts. In 2012, the 24 Lacrosse staff staged the first interactive coaching workshop as part of the Seattle Stealth’s Winter Coaching Clinic. The 24 Lacrosse, LLC “Program on the Rise” team development camp has offered high school and club team development workshops all around the nation including locations in Oregon, Washington state and Chicago.
Born in Cortland, New York, Burdick was a midfielder until his junior year of high school, when he switched to his natural position of goaltender where he was a First-Team Section III selection as a senior. Burdick was a recruited walk-on at the University of Delaware and worked his way into the starting rotation as a sophomore. As a senior, Burdick posted 237 saves for the Blue Hens, ranking him in the top 10 in single season saves.
Burdick highlighted his career with his out of the goal ability to push transition as a goalie, scoring two goals and assisting on two others. Burdick returned to Delaware after two seasons with Notre Dame to attend graduate school. Burdick graduated with a Master of Arts degree in Physical Education, Health and Recreation from the University of Delaware with a 4.0 GPA. His master’s thesis was a study on the effects of internal perspective imagery on lacrosse goalie performance.
Webber Introduction Announcement
BABSON PARK, Fla. (August 17, 2019) – Webber International University athletics and Director of Athletics Darren Richie have announced the addition of men’s and women’s lacrosse as the school’s 22nd and 23rd intercollegiate sports, beginning varsity competition in the spring of 2021.
The decision to add lacrosse at Webber comes in conjunction with the new turf field located on campus, which will soon be home to the Warriors’ football and men’s and women’s soccer teams as well as lacrosse.
“We are pleased to announce the start of lacrosse for both men and women at Webber,” spoke Webber’s Director of Athletics Mr. Darren Richie. “The addition of lacrosse gives us 23 sports and helps us get closer to our goal of reaching 700 student-athletes. We look forward to developing a very high-caliber and competitive NAIA team.”
A national search for a coach is currently being conducted, and a formal decision is expected to be made by the first week of August. For more information or for consideration, please contact Mr. Darren Richie at 863-638-2953 (richieda@webber.edu).
This story first appeared on the Webber International University main website. Webber International University has announced its intention to compete in Men’s and Women’s Lacrosse. While the first competitive match won’t occur until next season, the University is currently performing a nationwide search for head coaches for each team and is enrolling athletes interested in building the team from a development team to a competitive powerhouse. “It’s a sport about which we’ve had lots of inquiries, but as a small school how far you have to travel to play is always a consideration”, said Dr. Keith Wade, the University’s President & CEO. “With 27 men’s and 37 women’s lacrosse teams currently in the NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics) and many more exploring the possibilities, we feel like there’s finally critical mass for good competition close to home.” While any matches played this spring will be exhibition matches and dependent upon having enough players, and the field is not quite finished, Wade expects students. “There’s a group of students who want to get in on the ground floor of something great. When we started football in 2002, with a utility shed as a ‘locker room’, we still had over 80 players (who now affectionately refer to themselves as ‘the shed boys’). You just don’t get to say, ‘I was there when it all began’ very often in this life.” Established in 1927 by Roger Babson as the first college chartered under Florida’s then new charitable and educational laws, and one of the first schools of business for women in the nation, Webber International University now educates men and women from over 50 different nations. Degrees are offered at the associate’s, bachelor’s, and master’s level through traditional day, accelerated night and weekend, and entirely on-line formats. Joining Webber as a branch campus in 2011, St. Andrews University (Laurinburg, NC) offers a comprehensive liberal arts program and has roots dating to 1896. The University features highly qualified faculty, highly engaged staff, small class size, and a wide array of intercollegiate sports and other extracurricular activities. The University has been recognized as a US News and World Reports Best Regional Colleges: South, a Princeton Review Best Southeastern College, and has earned Petersons’ top marks for academics, value and community. The University is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, and numerous programs have earned additional programmatic accreditations.
Burdick also has extensive NCAA Division-I lacrosse coaching experience. Prior to coming to Tampa, Burdick led the Providence College men’s lacrosse program for 14 seasons including stints in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference and the Big East Conference.
In 11 seasons in the MAAC, Burdick led the Friars to nine consecutive conference playoffs, including seven conference championships and three NCAA Division-I tournament berths. Burdick coached five MAAC Defensive Player of the Year award winners, including three-time MAAC Defensive Player of the Year and Providence College Hall of Fame inductee Brian O’Rorke.
Burdick was responsible for recruiting and coaching 33 All-MAAC selections as well Providence College’s first two All-Americans, Mike Farley and Ben Johnston. Providence College placed 21 players on the MAAC All-Tournament Team under Burdick’s tenure, including three players named the MAAC Championship Tournament Outstanding Player. Burdick’s goalies at Providence have combined for seven of the league’s top 20 goalie performances of all-time regarding goals against average. Burdick’s face off specialist, under the guidance of Assistant Coach Jim Mascia, have had three of the top 20 seasons in MAAC history.
Burdick’s teams were 3-0 in MAAC Championship Games. In 2008, the Friars won their fourth MAAC Regular Season Championship and Burdick was named the Anaconda/MAAC Coach of the Year.
Coach Burdick has also served as the president of the MAAC Lacrosse Coaches’ Association in 2003, and has been a member of the regional advisory committee for NCAA tournament selection. In 2003, Burdick was selected to coach in the Division-I Men’s Lacrosse North/South All-Star game.
Prior to his position at Providence College, Burdick worked his way up the coaching ladder with positions at Cornell, UMass, Delaware and Notre Dame.
In addition, Burdick has been a feature presenter at the IMLCA and US Lacrosse coaching conventions, as well as a lecturer at high school clinics on Long Island and in Massachusetts. In 2012, the 24 Lacrosse staff staged the first interactive coaching workshop as part of the Seattle Stealth’s Winter Coaching Clinic. The 24 Lacrosse, LLC “Program on the Rise” team development camp has offered high school and club team development workshops all around the nation including locations in Oregon, Washington state and Chicago.
Born in Cortland, New York, Burdick was a midfielder until his junior year of high school, when he switched to his natural position of goaltender where he was a First-Team Section III selection as a senior. Burdick was a recruited walk-on at the University of Delaware and worked his way into the starting rotation as a sophomore. As a senior, Burdick posted 237 saves for the Blue Hens, ranking him in the top 10 in single season saves.
Burdick highlighted his career with his out of the goal ability to push transition as a goalie, scoring two goals and assisting on two others. Burdick returned to Delaware after two seasons with Notre Dame to attend graduate school. Burdick graduated with a Master of Arts degree in Physical Education, Health and Recreation from the University of Delaware with a 4.0 GPA. His master’s thesis was a study on the effects of internal perspective imagery on lacrosse goalie performance.
Webber Introduction Announcement
BABSON PARK, Fla. (August 17, 2019) – Webber International University athletics and Director of Athletics Darren Richie have announced the addition of men’s and women’s lacrosse as the school’s 22nd and 23rd intercollegiate sports, beginning varsity competition in the spring of 2021.
The decision to add lacrosse at Webber comes in conjunction with the new turf field located on campus, which will soon be home to the Warriors’ football and men’s and women’s soccer teams as well as lacrosse.
“We are pleased to announce the start of lacrosse for both men and women at Webber,” spoke Webber’s Director of Athletics Mr. Darren Richie. “The addition of lacrosse gives us 23 sports and helps us get closer to our goal of reaching 700 student-athletes. We look forward to developing a very high-caliber and competitive NAIA team.”
A national search for a coach is currently being conducted, and a formal decision is expected to be made by the first week of August. For more information or for consideration, please contact Mr. Darren Richie at 863-638-2953 (richieda@webber.edu).
This story first appeared on the Webber International University main website. Webber International University has announced its intention to compete in Men’s and Women’s Lacrosse. While the first competitive match won’t occur until next season, the University is currently performing a nationwide search for head coaches for each team and is enrolling athletes interested in building the team from a development team to a competitive powerhouse. “It’s a sport about which we’ve had lots of inquiries, but as a small school how far you have to travel to play is always a consideration”, said Dr. Keith Wade, the University’s President & CEO. “With 27 men’s and 37 women’s lacrosse teams currently in the NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics) and many more exploring the possibilities, we feel like there’s finally critical mass for good competition close to home.” While any matches played this spring will be exhibition matches and dependent upon having enough players, and the field is not quite finished, Wade expects students. “There’s a group of students who want to get in on the ground floor of something great. When we started football in 2002, with a utility shed as a ‘locker room’, we still had over 80 players (who now affectionately refer to themselves as ‘the shed boys’). You just don’t get to say, ‘I was there when it all began’ very often in this life.” Established in 1927 by Roger Babson as the first college chartered under Florida’s then new charitable and educational laws, and one of the first schools of business for women in the nation, Webber International University now educates men and women from over 50 different nations. Degrees are offered at the associate’s, bachelor’s, and master’s level through traditional day, accelerated night and weekend, and entirely on-line formats. Joining Webber as a branch campus in 2011, St. Andrews University (Laurinburg, NC) offers a comprehensive liberal arts program and has roots dating to 1896. The University features highly qualified faculty, highly engaged staff, small class size, and a wide array of intercollegiate sports and other extracurricular activities. The University has been recognized as a US News and World Reports Best Regional Colleges: South, a Princeton Review Best Southeastern College, and has earned Petersons’ top marks for academics, value and community. The University is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, and numerous programs have earned additional programmatic accreditations.
