Lapeer Community Schools is excited to announce that Kent Meister has been named the first head coach for the brand-new Girls Varsity Lacrosse program.
Meister is a familiar name and face having coached with the Lightning boys lacrosse program since 2018, his first year coaching lacrosse.
“There is a bit of a learning curve to playing lacrosse, especially on the girl’s 
side of the field,” Meister said. “The rules are different as well as the equipment. We will be working on fundamentals, ball movement, and growth in those areas. Long term, we hope to gain the experience necessary to compete against the local and Saginaw Valley League programs.
“I’m a player’s coach, meaning I appreciate the relationships made with players, but can also be demanding on athletes to push themselves to improve.”
Girls lacrosse is the first new sport added at Lapeer since the 2014 merger, with the last one being boys lacrosse pre-merger. It’s also the only girls high school lacrosse team in Lapeer County.
“The hope is that other athletic departments open up their athletes to such a fun sport,” said Meister.
Having Meister at the helm of the girls lacrosse program is a win-win situation for all involved.
“The game of lacrosse is growing exponentially across our region,” said LCS athletic director Shad Spilski. “Here in Lapeer, we have the interest from students and are proud to have been able to add both boys and girls lacrosse to our athletic offerings. Kent has been around the game a long time and he will bring out the best in our new girls team. He’s demanding yet fair, and I think we’ll see marked improvement as we make our way through the season. Kent is a great coach and our girls lacrosse program will continue to grow and improve under his watch.”
The dean of students at Rolland-Warner since 2017, Meister said it didn’t take long for him to begin coaching in the district. He has been the middle school girls basketball coach since 2019 and a LHS girls basketball coach for the past three seasons. Nine of the 23 girls lacrosse players are former basketball players Meister coached.
“I coach all year long,” Meister said proudly. “I was on the very first soccer team for Lapeer schools and now coach the very first girls lacrosse team. Pretty cool.”
On the personal side, Meister moved to Lapeer when he was 12 and went to Zemmer. He married another Lapeer graduate, Jeani, and the family currently lives in Lapeer. All four of their children graduated from Lapeer High School as well.
The girls lacrosse season opens Monday, March 24, at 6 p.m. at H.H. Dow High School. The home opener is scheduled for Tuesday, April 8, at 6 p.m. against Flushing at Fitzpatrick Field on the CFI campus.