Manhattanville's Weir Named Irish Coach
from press releases
PURCHASE, N.Y. - Manhattanville men's lacrosse
defensive coordinator Tim Weir has been named the head coach for
the Ireland National Team when the squad represents its country at
the 2010 Federation of International Lacrosse (FIL) Men's World
Championships, the Irish Lacrosse Foundation announced
recently.
Weir will oversee the roster of 23 players who will represent
Ireland at the 2010 FIL World Championships, which will take place
in Manchester, England, beginning on July 10. The Irish will be one
of 30 national teams competing in the event, hoping to improve on
the 2006 World Championship in which Ireland won five of its seven
games and finished in seventh place among 21 nations.
"It was exciting when I got the call; it's a great feeling when you
work so hard to achieve your goals," Weir said. "It was a team
effort for me to get this job. I have surrounded myself with great
people and great players in my six years with the program."
Weir is no stranger to Irish lacrosse, having held several coaching
positions for Ireland since 2003. He was Team Ireland's offensive
coordinator at both the 2004 European Championships, when Ireland
won its division and led all nations in scoring, and the 2006 FIL
World Championships, which saw the Irish place seventh overall. He
was promoted to head coach of the national team for the 2008
European Championships and also serves as the Director of Coaching
and Development for the Irish Lacrosse Foundation.
With the Irish national team, Weir will try to combine a squad of
12 Ireland citizens and 11 American players, 12 of whom have
competed or are currently competing at either the Division I
(seven) or Division III (five) level. Weir recently came back from
the team's first-ever winter mini-camp, which gave the players a
chance to get to know one another and form chemistry well in
advance of this summer's championships. One of the players
attending the camp was junior goaltender Andrew Predun (Cold Spring
Harbor, N.Y.), who ranked 10th in the country in save percentage
and 27th in goals against average last year at Manhattanville and
is an alternate on Weir's Irish National Team.
"It was great for Andrew to attend the mini-camp, as he had the
chance to play with former and current Division I players and gain
some valuable experience," Weir said. "He just soaked in everything
about the experience and I think it will help him greatly this
season."
As defensive coordinator with the Valiants in 2009, Weir presided
over one of the best defenses in Division III, as the Valiants
ranked 32nd in the country by allowing just 7.93 goals per game and
posted the lowest goals against average by a Manhattanville side
since 1992. The Valiants' man-down defense was also outstanding, as
the team led the Middle Atlantic Conference and ranked sixth in
Division III with an 85.1 percent success rate.
Before assuming an assistant position at Manhattanville prior to
the 2006 season, Weir was the head coach at the highly regarded
Lakeland/Panas high school boy's lacrosse team in Westchester
County. He guided the team to eight Section I championship game
appearances and two Section I titles, as well as seven league
championships, one regional title and one appearance in the New
York State Final Four. During his tenure with the Rebels, Weir
produced nine high school All-Americans and seven that went on to
earn All-American honors at the collegiate level.
