Men's Lacrosse
- Title:
- Head Coach
- Email:
- childs_jl@mercer.edu
- Phone:
- (478) 301-2731
Mercer University announced the appointment of Jason Childs asthe school’s first head coach for men’s lacrosse onSeptember 8, 2009 and the Bears’ first-ever team took thefield in the spring of 2011.
MU is also the first-ever NCAA Division I intercollegiatemen’s lacrosse team in the state of Georgia.
Childs has proven to be a tireless worker in facilitating allaspects of inaugurating the sport of lacrosse on the Mercer campus,overseeing everything from field renovations to scheduling, as wellas from uniform designs to community outreach. He has workedendless hours to ensure that the bears’ lacrosse program isone that is both competitive and well-respected.
It is not uncommon to attend other Mercer athletics events andcampus activities and find the men’s lacrosse team there, enmasse, supporting their fellow Bears.
“I believe visibility and participation are important,”Childs said. “Especially for a fledgling sport, if we desirecampus and community support, then we have to demonstrate thewillingness to get out there and be involved ourselves.
“We are building a program here and we want to make certainthat we always try to do things the right way from the get-go. Weexpect excellence from our student-athletes on the field, in theclassroom and in the community.”
Childs took over Mercer University’s club team for the 2010season and then moved the program to NCAA Division I status for the2010-11 academic year.
Childs came to Mercer from Presbyterian College in Clinton, S.C.,where he also started the men’s lacrosse program in 2006 andcoached for three seasons. He guided the Blue Hose men’slacrosse program’s transition from NCAA Division II to NCAADivision I status, as well.
Prior to that, Childs was an assistant at Limestone College inGaffney, S.C., where he was an instrumental part of the Saintshighly-successful program. During his two seasons - 2003 and 2004 -LC had a composite record of 24-2. The team won the Deep SouthConference title in 2004 and finished second in the nation at theNCAA Division II championships for both 2003 and 2004.
Childs also coached cross country at Limestone in 2004.
Before joining the college coaching ranks, Childs was the offensivecoordinator for the Lacrosse team at the Darlington School in Rome,Ga., from 2001-03. He taught american and British Literature andserved as a resident faculty member. Childs was an assistantbasketball coach, as well as middle school football coach, atDarlington, as well.
A native of Baltimore, Md., Childs was a four-year starter andtwo-year team-captain as an attackman and midfielder at DickinsonCollege in Carlisle, Penn. He earned a Bachelor of Artsdegree in American studies in 2001.
Childs had a stellar playing career for the Red Devils, twiceserving as the team’s captain and earning the program’s“Unsung Hero Award.” He set a school and CentennialConference record for assists in a game with 11, while also postingthe second-best single-game scoring performance of 12 points (11assists/1 goal), on March 22, 2000 versus SusquehannaUniversity.
Childs left Dickinson ranking fourth in career assists (64) andeighth on the all-time scoring list with 108 points (44 goals/64assists).
Childs prepped at the St. Paul School for Boys in Baltimore, Md.,where he was a three-sport athlete: lacrosse, soccer andbasketball.
Childs is married to the former Mary Foss of Rome, Ga. The couplehave two children, Elizabeth Ann and Jackson Lee
“I look forward to bringing in young men of high characterwho also have a high ability of lacrosse talent,” Childssaid. “I am very excited to be charged with shaping theMercer Bears’ lacrosse program.”
