Sept. 12, 2002

Army lacrosse head coach Jack Emmer spent the month of July digging for gold in Perth, Australia with the U.S. National lacrosse team. His efforts were quite rewarding, as the 33-year veteran of coaching led Team USA to a perfect 6-0 record and the Gold Medal at the International Lacrosse Federation World Championships.

It was the eighth time in nine tries that the United States has brought home the gold at the championships.

Team USA downed tournament favorite Canada, 18-15, in the championship game to silence the critics who felt the United States team was too young and inexperienced to win the title from a very talented and polished Canadian squad. Despite returning just one player from the 1998 World Champions, the Americans downed their northern neighbors twice in the tournament. Team USA also defeated Canada, 14-9, in the round robin portion of the schedule.

"I think this team took it to heart that they were not favored," Emmer said. "We were very motivated to prove that we were a good team that could carry on the tradition of winning."

Canada returned 15 players from its silver-medal squad in 1998 that lost to the United States by one goal in overtime. However the American club, comprised mostly of college all-stars due to the emergence of the Major League Lacrosse, was more determined than ever to show its skills on the national stage.

"It was very rewarding to win the title this way," Emmer said, referring to his lineup of college all-stars. "Presently, we are not able to send our most skilled players to the World Games. But, I think we proved that the U.S. has a lot of depth when it comes to lacrosse."

Emmer counted on a few older and wiser veterans on the roster to provide some leadership and guidance for the younger players. The mix of experience and youth was the winning formula.

"The coaching staff was conscious of the egos that sometimes can get in the way when you assemble an all-star team," Emmer said. "I credit our team captains (Darren Lowe, Tim Rassas and Todd Schurr) with keeping the younger players' feet planted firmly on the ground.

"The team turned out to be a very unselfish group. They were very patriotic and excited about representing the U.S.A."

Team USA blew through the field of 16, defeating its opponents by an average score of 19-8. The U.S. squad racked up 114 goals in its six games, while only yielding 48, as it cruised to a sixth consecutive gold medal.

Emmer and his coaching staff brought together a roster of 23 players in a very short period of time. The team competed at the Lacrosse for Leukemia Tournament in Baltimore, Md., last October and did not assemble again until the team's week-long training camp the last week of June. Emmer felt the familiarity and comraderie among the coaches on his staff helped bring this group together.

"We all had associations prior to the World Championships," Emmer said. "All of the coaches knew everybody and we mapped out our strategy before meeting in June. It was a very positive situation."

Assistant coach Mike Pressler, currently the head coach at Duke, served as an assistant under Emmer at Army in 1984 and 1985. Fellow assistants Ron Fraser and Ray Rostan each played their college lacrosse for Emmer in the 1970's.

Despite the success of a U.S. team with a heavy college slant, Emmer said he would like to see a "Dream Team" at future world championships made up of the best the country has to offer.

"You always want to put your best foot forward," Emmer said. "I would like to see the U.S. pick the very best players. I think any coach would like to have that flexibility."