2025 Coaches Conference - Sat, January 4, 2025
(Click Here To Register)

The BR coaches conference is a great opportunity for area boys’ and girls' coaches (HS, MS and Youth) to come together and improve their lacrosse knowledge. We have some of the best college and club coaches who will share their knowledge, experience and expertise to better help you prepare for the upcoming season. We expect that there will be 20+ separate sessions (3 or 4 per hour) during the course of the day.

2025 Coaches Conference Flyer

Cost / Registration

  • $90 a coach.  Bring 5 or more coaches and get $10 off per coach ($80 a coach).

    • A full lunch buffet is included in the registration fee
      • Caesar Salad, Italian Sausage and Peppers, Chicken Romano, Grilled and Breaded Eggplant, Tomato Penne, Garlic Bread, Antipasto.
      • Tiramisu.
      • Coffee, Decaf, Water, Iced Tea, Soda Pop

 

  • To register one (1) coach or ten (10) coaches please click on the link below

 

  • Hotel rooms for out of town guest
    • We have negotiated a price of $139 a night (2 Queen Beds) for our out of town guests.
    • To take advantage of this deal please call reservations at 330-405-4488 or book at www.hilton.com.
    • Guests making such reservations must identify themselves as members of our group by using reservation code "Burn" by Dec 16, 2023.

Coaches Conference Information

  • Dates: Saturday, January 4, 2025
  • Time: 8:30 am to 5 pm
  • Location: Hilton Garden Inn, 8971 Wilcox Drive, Twinsburg, OH 44087
  • Schedule:
    • 8:30 am - Round 1 (3 to 4 presentations)
    • 9:40 am - Round 2 (3 to 4 presentations)
    • 10:50 am - Round 3 (3 to 4 presentations)
    • 12 / noon - Keynote Speaker / Buffet Lunch (Included with registration)
    • 1:30 pm - Round 4 (3 to 4 presentations)
    • 2:40 pm - Round 5 (3 to 4 presentations)
    • 3:50 pm - Round 6 (3 to 4 presentations)

2025 Presenters (as of December 10, 2024)

  • Anthony Ameo, Burning River - Faceoffs A to Z
  • Amanda Daniels, Denison HC, Women's Lacrosse - TBD
  • Jason Griffith, Hiram University HC, Men's Lacrosse- Fast or Last - Drills to create Fast Paced Offensive Play
  • Ryan Kuhn, Trine University HC, Men's Lacrosse - Defense - Individual Development through Team Concepts
  • Paige Messersmith, OWU HC, Women's Lacrosse - Winning the Possession Game- Draw Control Strategies and Tactics
  • Mike Perrino, Robert Morris, OC, Men's Lacrosse - The Offensive Player: Turning Average Into Excellence
  • Eric Seideman, College of Wooster HC, Men's Lacrosse - TBD
  • Dr. Vanessa Shannon, Sports Psycholgist - TBD
  • Kelsey Shewbridge, John Carroll HC, Women's lacrosse - Driving Culture: Building Player Ownership & Accountability
  • Adam Stewart, Capital HC, Men's Lacrosse - TBD
  • Anthony Tatro, Baldwin Wallace HC, Men's Lacrosse- TBD
  • Tony Toth, NOLOA (Ref Assoc) - TBD
  • Andrew Whitley, Bellarmine HC, Men's Lacrosse - Building a Program – What no one tells you from the time you get hired to the evolution of of your identity
  • P. J. Kavanagh, Burning River - Youth and MS Lacrosse
  • Woody Calleri, Burning River - Youth and MS Lacrosse

 

Last Year's Presenters

  • Anthony Ameo, Burning River - Faceoffs A to Z
  • Adam Blose, Mt. Union - Versatility in Lacrosse: Creating the Complete Player
  • Woody Calleri, Burning River - Drills / Practice Plans For Youth/MS Lacrosse (Link to Slides)

  • Michael Caravana, Razor Lacrosse Consulting - Why Not Play an Aggressive Man Down Defense! (Link to Slides)
  • Amanda Daniels, Denison - Motion Offense and Offensive Drills (Link to Slides)
  • Corinne Desrosiers, Duquesne HC, Women's Lacrosse – Drills To Enhance Skills While Keeping Practice Competitive
  • Angelica Gero, Kenyon College HC, Women's Lacrosse – Man Defense For The Whole Unit
  • B.J. Jenkins, Gilmour Academy / Burning River - Youth Goalies Basics: finding the right players
  • P. J. Kavanagh, Burning River - Youth and MS Offense
  • Ryan Kuhn, Trine University HC, Men's Lacrosse – Fundamental defense: Individual to Team To Clearing (Link to Slides)
  • Paige Messersmith, OWU HC, Women's Lacrosse – Situational Sets; Player Up/Down (Link to Slides)
  • Nat St. Laurent, Ohio Northern HC / PLL Redwoods HC, Men's Lacrosse – Developing The Next Generation of Leaders
  • Eric Seideman, College of Wooster HC, Men's Lacrosse – Riding/10-man ride  (Link to Slides, Link with Videos)
  • Alexander Skvarch, Thiel HC, Men's Lacrosse – Transition Situations
  • Adam Stewart, Capital HC, Men's Lacrosse - The Psychology of Being (and Building) Great Teammates (Link to Slides)
  • Wendy Stone, Niagara College HC, Women's Lacrosse – TBD
  • Andrew Whitley, Bellarmine HC, Men's Lacrosse – Program Building (Staff, Fundraising, Managing Admin, etc.) (Link to Slides)
  • Maddie Wilson, U of Akron AC, Women's Lacrosse - Goalie World
  • Lawrence Wynn, Gilmour Academy, Strength & Conditioning -  How to best condition your athletes for success (Link to Slides)

2024 Presentation Schedule

2024 Coaches Conference Schedule and Poster (Poster)3

Details On 2025 Presenters

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Anthony Ameo – Burning River Lacrosse

Coach Anthony Ameo has been with Burning River for over 10 years as a player and now a coach. During the year, Coach Ameo coaches face-off personnel at Hudson High School and runs face-off clinics at Burning River, and he will coach for Burning River during the summer. Hailing from Northeast Ohio, Coach Ameo played at St. Ignatius before matriculating at The Ohio State University. As a prep athlete, Coach Ameo dominated the X winning 73% of his face-offs his senior year on his way to a 3rd straight state finals appearance and All-America honors, and at OSU he was an Academic All-Big 10 and OSU Scholar Athlete.

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Amanda Daniels - Head Coach Denison University

Amanda Daniels is in her 11th season as Head Women's Lacrosse Coach at Denison University. Few coaches have had a better start to their careers than Daniels. In 10 years and nine full seasons (2020 season was shortened due to COVID-19) as the Big Red head coach, she has guided Denison to nine straight NCAA Division III Tournament appearances, a Final Four appearance in 2021, five North Coast Athletic Conference championships and eight NCAC Tournament titles. From April 11, 2015, to April 2, 2022, the Big Red won 45 consecutive regular-season conference games.

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Jason Griffith - Head Coach Hiram College

Griffith enters his second season as head coach of the Hiram lacrosse program in 2025, having joined the Terriers after serving four seasons as head coach at Kenston High School.  In his first season at the helm in 2024, Griffith led the Terriers to record-setting victories over La Roche (27-1) and Mount St. Joseph (29-3), as well as key home non-conference wins over Bethany and Hilbert.  During Griffith's time at Kenston (2019-2023), the program won two Western Reserve Conference titles and achieved the No. 3 seed for the region multiple times.

B.J. Jenkins – Burning River Lacrosse

With a wealth of knowledge and experience, Coach B.J. Jenkins in an invaluable member of the Burning River staff. Currently the Head Coach at Gilmour Academy, Coach Jenkins has myriad college coaching experiences ranging from Division I to Division III. Most recently the Head Coach at Hiram College, Coach Jenkins has also coached at Shenandoah University, Lafayette College and Lehigh University. In 2001, Coach Jenkins played in the Master’s Division for Team USA in Perth Australia advancing to the championship game, and the Long Island native attended SUNY Cobleskill before finishing his up an All-Conference career at Cortland State.

P.J. Kavanagh – Burning River Lacrosse

Coach P.J. Kavanagh brings to the Burning River program coaching experience from youth lacrosse to the professional ranks. Growing up in Syracuse, NY, Coach Kavanagh played both high school and college lacrosse in the Central New York Region. Following his playing career, Coach Kavanagh first coached high school lacrosse at several programs before moving into the college ranks. In addition, Coach Kavanagh coached in the professional ranks for the Bridgeport Barrage and Ohio Machine of Major League Lacrosse. Currently an Assistant Coach at Hoover High School, Coach Kavanagh works with several Burning River teams during the summer.

Ryan Kuhn – Head Coach Trine University

Kuhn became the fourth head coach in program history in August of 2021. Kuhn’s most recent stop was at Heidelberg University where he served as head coach of the women’s program, a position which he held for one season. During that season he led the team to a 4-0 record before the season was cut short due to the outbreak of Covid-19. Before taking the reins at Heidelberg, Kuhn spent a season as an assistant coach at Shoreham Wading River High School where he led the team to a New York State Championship, finishing 13th in the country and second among public school competition.  Kuhn established the lacrosse program at NCAA Division II Lincoln Memorial University in Harrogate, Tenn. In just four years, Kuhn led the Railsplitters from an inaugural season to a national contender. In his final season as head coach (2018), the team finished 14-4 breaking into the national rankings.

Paige Messersmith - Head Coach Ohio Wesleyan University

Coach Messersmith joins the slate of speakers for our coach’s convention. She is in her fifth season as head women's lacrosse coach at Ohio Wesleyan University.Last year, the Battling Bishops went 11-6, including a 4-2 record in the North Coast Athletic Conference, good for a third-place finish in the final conference standings, and made their first NCAC tournament appearance since the 2010 season. Prior to her time at OWU, Paige was an assist. coach at Dickinson College, PA and Catholic University, DC.

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Mike Perrino - Offensive Coordinator Robert Morris University

Coach Perrino enters his first year with the Colonials as an assistant coach and the offensive coordinator. Arriving at RMU, Perrino holds several achievements in his young coaching career, including many championships. During the 2023 season at Baldwin Wallace, Perrino was the head assistant for the program. He helped coach his team to an OAC Regular Season Championship and was awarded along with his peers as the OAC Coaching Staff of the Year. In his one season at Baldwin Wallace, Perrino helped the school reach new heights as their 16 straight wins were a program record. Overall, across Division III men's lacrosse, the team ranked #1 in Goals Against Average (5.8), Save Percentage (.670) and was 18th in Goal Differential (6.2). Prior to coaching, Mike Perrino played Division I lacrosse at Canisius College and played professionally for two seasons with the Ohio Machine in 2017-18 in the Major League Lacrosse (MLL). 

Eric Seideman - Head Coach College of Wooster

Eric Seideman is in his second season as the head coach at the College of Wooster.  The Fighting Scots enjoyed its best season in Seideman's first year with the program, setting new program records for wins (13) and consecutive wins (11). Casey Steffen was named the NCAC Defensive Player of the Year, and an All-American after breaking the NCAA Division III single-season record with 5.06 caused turnovers per game. Additionally, Wooster led the nation by holding the opposition to a 62.7 clearing percentage and had top-three national rankings in groundballs and caused turnovers per game.  Following the season, Seideman (and Assistant Coach Joseph Pille) was honored as the NCAC Coaching Staff of the Year.  Prior to Wooster, Seideman previously served as the head coach at Mount Saint Mary College (NY), and was an assistant coach at Ithaca, Gettysburg, Vassar, and SUNY Cortland where he was a part of the 2006 national championship winning team.  As a student-athlete, Coach Seideman was a four-year starter at Haverford College, and earned a Master’s Degree in Education from Cornell University.

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Dr. Vanessa Shannon - Sports Psycholgist

Dr. Vanessa Shannon is the Director of Mental Performance for University of Louisville Athletics and Norton Sports Health. As a former NCAA Division 1 volleyball player, she understands the challenges associated with balancing performance in the classroom and performance in sport. Prior to Louisville, Dr. Shannon spent two years at IMG Academy where she served as a mental conditioning coach, coordinated psychological test preparation for the NFL Combine Training Program, and served as a Vision Training Coach for the Major League Baseball Off-Season Training Program. Dr. Shannon began her career in academia where she spent 3 years as Department Chair of Exercise and Sport Sciences at Tennessee Wesleyan University and 5 years as a faculty member in the Sport and Exercise Psychology Program at West Virginia University. She holds a PhD in Applied Sport Psychology from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, a MS in Exercise Psychology from Kansas State University, and BAs in Health and Human Performance and Psychology from Rice University.

Kelsey Shewbridge - Head Coach John Carroll University

Coach Shewbridge begins her second season as head coach of John Carroll University Women's Lacrosse. She previously served as an assistant coach at Bates College (NESCAC) during the 2022-2023 season, where she helped the team achieve its most wins in a season since 2019. From 2020 to 2022, she was an assistant coach at Baldwin Wallace University, where she played a key role in tripling the team's win total and guiding them back to the OAC playoffs. Coach Shewbridge also served as an assistant at John Carroll University in 2017-18 and at Kenyon College for the 2019 season. Outside of coaching, she runs Equip Lacrosse, a program that trains girls' lacrosse athletes in northeast Ohio through individual and small group sessions. Before transitioning into coaching, she had an exceptional playing career at the University of Mount Union.

 

Adam Stewart - Head Coach Capital University

Adam Stewart  was a lacrosse coach at his alma mater Denison University spending a combined 10 seasons on the staff.   He now enters his first season as the head coach of Capital men's lacrosse in 2024-25. This will be his second stint with the program after serving as the Offensive Coordinator in 2023.  At Denison, Stewart served for nine seasons in two separate stints and helped guide the program to new heights. In his tenure, he coached 13 All-Americans, six NCAC Players of the Year, and the only two 100+ point scorers in program history. Under his assistance, the 2017 team qualified for the National Final Four. Stewart's offenses have consistently been recognized around the country as ranking in the Top-10 (of more than 200 programs) in scoring offense, shooting percentage, extra-man percentage, turnovers per game, assists per game, and scoring margin. Off the field, Stewart had worked closely with leadership development coach Pat Touhey to develop an improved team culture and overall team well-being.

Andrew Whitley - Head Coach Bellarmine University

Coach Whitley begins his sixth season at the helm of the Knights during the 2025 campaign after signing a five-year extension through the 2029 season. The 2024 Knights, under the guidance of Coach Whitley, continued the program’s run of success in reaching the ASUN Tournament, doing so for the third straight season. The Bellarmine lacrosse program had never, before 2024, played in the postseason in three straight seasons. The senior class graduated having won 29 games against Division I competition, the most in program history.

Coach Whitley came to Bellarmine after having previously served as the Associate Head Coach at Fairfield University. He joined the Fairfield staff as a volunteer assistant coach for the 2010 season before being promoted to the role of assistant coach for the 2013 season.   Before Fairfield, Coach Whitley served as a volunteer assistant coach at Yale University overseeing the goalkeepers.  Before entering the coaching profession, Coach Whitley was the Chief Executive Officer of Ankeny Homes, LLC of Wilton, CT from 2001 to 2008.  Prior to becoming the CEO of Ankeny Homes, he was the Vice President of U.S. Operations of Athletes, Inc where he worked from 1994 to 2001.

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Woody Calleri: Founder and CEO of Burning River

Having coached for over 30 years, Coach Calleri brings experience and passion for the game of lacrosse to Northeast Ohio. Coach Calleri’s experience ranges from the youth level to the international level, and every level in between. As the first coach in Northeast Ohio to win a national recruiting championship and a box lacrosse championship, Coach Calleri has mentored over 300 players sending them to over 100 colleges and universities, including 2 MLL Champion, 4 Pro Players, 2 Team USA players, 9 NCAA National Champions, 1 USILA Player Of The Year, 26 Ohio Position Player Of The Year, 216 All Ohio, 63 All Americans and 31 Academic All Americans.  Burning River is the measuring stick for club lacrosse programs in Ohio and across the country.