As a founding member of one of the first high school lacrosse teams in Florida, Peter Blake has always had an interest in growing the sport of lacrosse. He took over the boys’ lacrosse program at Durant High School in December after working as an assistant coach at Bloomingdale High School the prior season.
He was on one of the first high school lacrosse teams over 30 years ago as a student at Saint Edward’s School in Vero Beach. He also played college lacrosse at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Virginia. He goes back to his roots by playing in the alumni game at his high school every December.
He has five years of experience coaching lacrosse, including coaching at his high school. He has also coached at the Florida Lacrosse Club (FLC) for almost a year. He said he has coached a lot of his Durant players on the club team as well.
“I love the sport,” said Blake. “The sport is something that has come a long way. It’s a sport that’s growing, and they had a need at Durant. Our county needs to keep the sport alive.”
Blake has three captain starters returning this year. He wants his team to have a good time and enjoy playing lacrosse while giving them some structure and helping them elevate themselves as players and people.
“Lacrosse is one of those sports where there are a lot of moving parts, no matter what position you play. So, I relate the sport a lot to everyday life and the challenges that we face,” said Blake. “If you can get through a lacrosse game and you win or lose, you’re learning those steps to be a great human being.”
His goals are to keep the program alive, introduce the sport to anybody who wants to play, and help his players earn a scholarship if they want to play at the next level.
“I’m a player’s coach, so it’s always fun for me, I just enjoy it,” said Blake. “There’s no end goal other than watching the sport and the boys learn it, allowing it to grow. There’s really nothing there other than the enjoyment of the sport.”
Blake, who works as a financial advisor, is getting his team ready for the start of the season on Monday, January 20. Conditioning started on January 13. He would like to thank the Durant Booster Club and the team parents for supporting the team.
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