Shenandoah University men’s lacrosse coach Tim Marshall announced Monday the addition of AJ Smith as assistant coach.
Smith comes to SU fresh off of his experience playing for Team France at the 2018 FIL Championships last month in Israel.
Smith comes to Shenandoah after two seasons as an assistant coach at fellow ODAC opponent Virginia Wesleyan. A 2011 VWU grad, Smith also coached for two years at Ferrum College as well as DII Adams (Colorado) State in addition to his time in Virginia Beach.
Smith helped Ferrum to a pair of SEILC championships during his time with the Panthers and he received his Master’s Degree from Adams State.
Representing France in the Green pool of the FIL championships, Smith had four goals and three assists in the tournament on his way to being named team MVP.
In a 16-6 win over Russia, Smith recorded a hat trick.
“I am very happy to have AJ join us,” Marshall said. “He is an excellent teacher of the game and the fact that he has played at the highest level of lacrosse greatly enhances his credibility with the players.
“AJ’s familiarity with the conference – having played and coached in it, along with his familiarity of the recruiting areas, will be a huge boost for our program!”
Smith has mentored 10 student-athletes that have earned All-League honors with two being named Player of the Year and one grabbing an honorable mention All-America selection.
“I am thankful to Tim and Dr. Lyons (Athletic Director Bridget Lyons) for this opportunity. Tim has done a great job with the program in the past couple of years and I look forward to helping the team reach its next level of development.
Smith takes over the full-time position from Paul VanThof, who resigned in May to enter private business. VanThof is expected to stay with the program as a volunteer assistant.
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