England Lacrosse is delighted to announce the appointment of experienced coach, Mike Armstrong, as the new Head Coach of the England under-20 men’s programme.
Mike, who began playing lacrosse at the age of eight, has just returned from his first official duty as Head Coach where he accompanied the England under-18 boys academy on their tour of Prague, Czechia; these players will be making the step up to the under-20 programme later this year.
Having started his coaching career in the England Lacrosse Performance Pathway while still playing the game, Mike teamed up with England under-19 Head Coach at the time, Paul Coups, as an Assistant Coach in 2015.
In that role, Mike gained valuable experience of how a squad can be nurtured and coached to bring the best out of young players and from there he joined England under-21 Head Coach, Ryan Garnsworthy, as his Assistant Coach in 2018.
This team’s usual two-year cycle was made longer due to the coronavirus pandemic and working with that team over a four-year period opened Mike’s eyes to how the England Lacrosse Performance Pathway can be used to help young players learn skills and good habits in a performance environment, setting them up well for their future England careers.
“The purpose of the Performance Pathway and the England under-20 men’s team,” Mike says, “isn’t simply to prepare for a European Championship next year or a World Championship in two years, it’s to generate future England lacrosse players who are well-rounded athletes with a range of experiences.”
Because of this, Mike, who is the Head of Lacrosse at the University of Nottingham, says he will not be too selective throughout his tenure and will continue to have his door open to new and emerging talent rather than sticking with a fixed squad of players.
Upon his appointment, Mike said:
“I’m delighted to be taking on the role of England under-20 men’s Head Coach and to be given the opportunity to work with such a talented pool of players.
“Over the next few months, my coaching team and I will be working with the players closely before turning our attention to preparations ahead of the 2024 ELF U20 Men’s Championship in Poland. I can’t wait to get stuck in!”
One of Mike’s first jobs, with the help of his coaching team, will be to identify a wider training group of high potential young players who will be invited to train regularly and consistently over a prolonged period of time, with a strong emphasis on developing them as people alongside their lacrosse.
Selection priority for future major competition at under-20 level will be afforded to this group as these events will provide such a valuable learning experience and will update on the traditional trialling and squad preparation model.
England Lacrosse National Performance Manager, Derek Morgan, said:
“Bringing together Mike and the wider coaching team is a really exciting opportunity to evolve and enhance our men’s Performance Pathway.
“Ultimately this programme has the intention of supporting ambitious and dedicated young players to pursue their lacrosse ambitions and the success of this programme will be reflected by a growth in the strength and depth of our senior men’s talent pool in years to come.
“I wish Mike and the management team every success as we embark on this journey together.”
Mike will be joined by a hugely experienced backroom staff of Andy Ellison, Sam Ives, Corey Carver, Tom Roche, and Alex Russell along with Adam Greaves-Smith as Team Manager.