Men's lacrosse coming to SCCC

NEWTON — With the rising popularity of lacrosse in local high schools, Sussex County Community College is taking the first steps in creating a program of its own. This is the latest move in growing and evolving the school’s athletics department.
“Adding men’s lacrosse lends to the excitement of what has been occurring recently with SCCC athletics,” said John Kuntz, Director of Athletics and Associate Dean of Students. “We opened a new fitness center this past fall, redid the gym floor, added better lighting to the gym and created a new athletic logo and developed the new Skylander Mascot which was unveiled on Feb 1.”
And that excitement is continuing with the announcement that Kevin Knissel will be the head coach when the program officially kicks off in the spring of 2019.
A native of Hampton, Knissel is a graduate of Kittatinny High School. A 2012 graduate, he was there when the school launched its men's lacrosse program. Knissel was star of those early teams, setting nearly every offensive record in the program's books until this day. His storied career included scoring the most points in a career with 179, most points in a game (12) and for an entire season (85). He tallied the single-season goal and assist marks with 51 and 37, respectively, and notched 100 goals in his career. IN 2012 he was named the New Jersey Herald's Boys Lacrosse Player of the Year. In addition to lacrosse, Knissel was one of the school's top soccer players.
“Ideally with a coach you look for someone who is a hard worker, will recruit and obviously knows the game,” Kuntz said. “Kevin fits the bill perfectly. He's been a part of our program over time and now we are very excited to have him on board as our new lacrosse coach."
Indeed, Knissel is no stranger to SCCC.
After graduating from Kittatinny, Knissel played lacrosse for a season at County College of Morris before returning to Sussex where he finished his athletic career on the soccer field. He went on to om East Stroudsburg University a year ago with a degree in sport management. In the fall, Knissel returned to the Skylanders' soccer field as an assistant coach for both the men's and women's programs. When the lacrosse position was announced he threw his name into the hat.
Knissel knows he's got his work cut out for him. The plan is to not only recruit in Sussex County, but beyond, whether it be New Jersey, Pennsylvania or elsewhere.
Knissel says that he is looking forward to the challenge and can't wait to get started.
In other sports news at the College, a new practice field on campus is being installed and should be open for use in the fall of this year.
There is also discussions about adding a new women's sport in 2019-20, possibly lacrosse or volleyball.
For more information about athletics at SCCC, visit www.sussexskylanders.com. For more about SCCC in general, go to <URL destination="http://www.sussex.edu. ">www.sussex.edu.