Passion for a Program Results in 600 Wins
Boys Basketball Coach Mike Lynch won his 600th game on Saturday, January 25, 2020, when the Lancers claimed their victory against Bellflower (90-50). With over 25 years of experience, five of which are at La Salle, Coach Lynch has taken the sport and turned it into a program that encourages student-athletes to reach their full potential.
“600 wins is a personal victory, but it is the exceptional young men and their eagerness and passion to play that got me here,” noted Coach Lynch. “This milestone belongs to La Salle and the Lancer community.”
Coach Lynch’s formula for success relies heavily on love and faith. He asks that his athletes be selfless on the court and work together as one unit. Establishing trust between coach and player is an important piece to this. To create that, Lynch has made himself present on campus during the school day, saying hi to students in the hallways and fist bumping them when they do a job well done. He wants them to know that he is there for them and will do what it takes to help them achieve their dreams – beyond high school and basketball. However, they also have to be willing to do the hard work that gets them there.
In his time at La Salle, Lynch has put in the work to build a phenomenal basketball program from the ground up. The student-athletes are asked to participate in an exhibition rather than a tryout in order to showcase their talents and be placed on the proper team. This small change in culture allows them the ability to grow and really harness their skills so that if they do not make the varsity team this season, there can be an opportunity to do that in the future. As a result, Lynch has seen growth in numbers of those interested in playing, as well as passion and dedication to the sport. In the past five years, this program has enabled eight student-athletes to play college basketball, and of them, four received full athletic scholarships. These eight young men include Christian Little ’16, Tomas Auruskevicius ’17, Jaice Gardner ’17, Tyrese Lee ’17, Darius Henderson ’18, Ethan Henry ’18, Daniel Gonzalez ’19, and Kenneth Franklin, Jr. ’19.
Lynch has high hopes for the future of La Salle’s basketball program. Most importantly, he hopes to continue helping student-athletes discover their passions and achieve their goals.
For more information on the basketball program, please contact Coach Lynch at mlynch@lasallehs.org.
La Salle College Preparatory, 3880 E. Sierra Madre Blvd., Pasadena, (626) 351-8951 or visit www.lasallehs.org.
