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In a somewhat unsurprising move, Air Force has promoted former assistant coach, Bill Wilson, to the head coaching position.
Similarly to its football program, Air Force lacrosse has historically been able to hold on to its coaching personnel for the long haul.
Since 1997, Air Force has only had two head coaches, Fred Acee from 1997-2008, and Eric Seremet from 2008-2018. Like Wilson, Seremet was an internal hire, rising to the head coaching position after serving as an assistant head from 2002-2008.
As an assistant coach, Wilson has enjoyed recent success, helping the falcons to their second straight Southern Conference championship in 2017 and their fifth ever spot in the NCAA tournament.
Wilson was named the 2014 USILA Division I Outstanding Assistant Coach and the Air Force Academy seems to be a perfect fit for the new head coach.
“It should be a smooth transition with his understanding of defense,” said 2015 Air Force Academy Graduate and four-year midfielder Nate Hruby.
“He knows the ins and outs of the Academy. The only difficult adjustment may be taking himself out of the weeds and getting used to managing the whole team. He’s one of the best recruiters and he knows what it takes to convince east coast kids to give Air Force a shot.”
“He knows how to bring in the type of freshmen who will have an immediate impact on the field and he’s excellent at breaking down an opponent and preparing film. (Wilson) will be key in rebuilding the team after the loss of players and bringing the team back to what it was through camaraderie.”
Wilson spent most of his previous years as a defensive coordinator opposite Seremet as the offensive coach for the Falcons.
Wilson’s promotion comes on the heels of controversy for the Falcons lacrosse program.
Coach Seremet was suspended in October of 2017 after allegations of freshmen hazing came to light. He has since been hired by Rutgers lacrosse to take over the duties of offensive coordinator and Rutgers has declared their support for Serement and confidence that his leadership had no effect on the alleged negative behavior of the Air Force players.
Hopefully removing the interim tag from Coach Wilson will allow the program to move beyond this controversy. With Coach Wilson having a fundamental understanding of how the team operates as well as the respect of the team, he will hopefully be able to quickly move past the negative publicity that was highlighted by the former players’ indiscretions and continue in the Falcons’ new found spot as one of the most successful college lacrosse teams west of the Mississippi.