Sports
MICDS Lacrosse Coach Honored
Andy Kay was named "Man of the Year" by the Missouri Chapter of US Lacrosse.
MICDS boys lacrosse coach Andy Kay is truly "The Man" on campus these days.
Kay, who is also an English Teacher and Seventh Grade Dean at the school, was recently named the "Man of the Year" by the Missouri Chapter of US Lacrosse.
The announcement was made at the end of the season all-state selection meeting May 19 and was voted on by his peers.
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Kay will be recognized at the US Lacrosse Banquet June 14 at the Double Tree Hotel in Westport.
"I am humbled and honored to be chosen, especially since it was voted on by my coaching colleagues," said Kay, whose team is preparing for the final four tournament this week.
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Kay was raised in Durham, N. C. where his father was a professor at Duke University.
He attended Durham Academy and then went on to play lacrosse at Ohio Wesleyan, a Division III school.
Kay had a one-year internship at Western Reserve Academy in Hudson, Ohio and then was an assistant coach at St. Stephen's and St. Agnes School in Washington, D.C. from 2003-08.
"Lacrosse is about as big as it gets in Washington D.C.," Kay said. "It is similar to high school football in Texas."
The St. Stephen's and St. Agnes team had much success, including winning a state championship in Virginia in 2007.
Kay moved to St. Louis in 2008 and got his first head coaching position at MICDS.
"I could not have come to a better situation," Kay said. "Lacrosse has given a lot to me and I came to a place which already had a rich lacrosse tradition. There were numerous coaches who were instrumental in growing the sport here and I just wanted to help develop it."
Kay said that there is still a lot of room for growth in the sport that is growing by leaps and bounds in the area.
"It is primarily a first generation sport here," Kay said. "The athletes are really good and it is growing so quickly at the youth level. Where we are a bit behind is in the coaching but that is because it is so new."
Kay is looking forward to the second appearance in a row in the final four by his team.
"We are far and away the smallest school in the final four this year," Kay said. "And we are the only co-ed school (Rockhurst, St. Louis University High and Chaminade round out the final four this year).
"One of the biggest things I would like to get accomplished is to get the sport sanctioned by MSHSAA."