Michael McLaughlin has been actively coaching soccer in the area for the last twenty years. Hired by Blake White in 1994 to coach the Lake George Boys Modified Team, Mike was asked to stay on at the school, and he became heavily involved in player and systems development for the Warriors. His 17 years in the boys’ program, working closely with his friend and mentor, Coach White, included two separate seasons as the Modified coach, three years as the Varsity Assistant Coach, and his 12 years coaching the Junior Varsity gave the Warriors a valuable testing ground for working the kinks out of new offensive and defensive variations adopted over the years at Lake George. His team-oriented coaching style was tailored to molding players along the program guidelines to prepare them for their high school careers as contributing members of the Boys Varsity Soccer team playing for Coach White.
In 2011 Mike took over the reins of the Lake George Girls Soccer program as head coach, a long-time coaching dream realized, where he is incorporating the same concepts he learned over the years with the goal of creating a self-sustaining quality program that teaches and reinforces solid character-building traits and encourages players at all levels to find the very best within themselves and apply their skills for their team’s benefit with unselfish and intelligent tactical play in a close-knit “family” environment. Mike has a coaching philosophy that favors a fast-paced possession game in a modern alignment stressing disciplined and clean soccer as an integrated unit with a spirited offensive attitude and an aggressive and robust style of defense.
Mike coached 12 indoor and outdoor teams for Adirondack Soccer Club in two prior periods beginning in 1995, while also serving on the club’s board of directors for three years. He considers himself lucky to have been able to get started coaching in the years when Adirondack was establishing itself locally, and also for having had the wonderful experience of coaching indoor teams at the locally renowned Charbonneau Recreation Center in Malta NY. Mike thoroughly enjoyed his experience coaching boys teams at the U-16, U-17, and U-19 levels in past seasons, and 2014 will mark his first year as a girls coach for Northern United Soccer Club.
In addition to his “soccer life” Mike has been happily married since 1980 to his lovely wife, Jane, and is a devoted husband, father of two sons, and very proud grandfather of two.
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