Kevin Sheehan rejoins the men’s lacrosse staff as a volunteer assistant, after miltiple stints on the sideline. His earlier roles include serving as an assistant coach for Adelphi’s inaugural championship team (in 1979) and later as head coach of the program’s 1993 National Championship team.
After a ten year run in Division I, with four NCAA Championship bids and two quarterfinal appearances, Sheehan stalked the Adelphi sideline in 1991-93 as the head coach, guiding Adelphi’s return to Division II. At the helm, Sheehan compiled a record of 14-9, including a record of 8-3 in 1993, which led to the Panthers third National Championship title and the newly reinstated Division Il crown. He was responsible for producing seven All-Americans in that year as well as the 1993 NCAA Player of the Year and NCAA MVP in Gary Reh and Jim Murray, respectively.
Sheehan was also an assistant coach for the Panthers from 1977-1990, helping the Panthers to two National Championship crowns. Dr. Sheehan was inducted into the US Metropolitan Long Island Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 2006, the Oceanside Circle of Pride Athletic Hall of Fame in 2009.
Sheehan retired as a professor from Molloy College, after receiving the Faculty Leadership Award in 2013 and the Molloy Distinguished Service Medal for teaching in 2019.
Although named to the Albany All-50 Lacrosse Team in 2018, Sheehan is still most recognized and defined in the world of lacrosse for his extensive experiences at Adelphi, which saw teams that he coached or helped coach win four Division II National Championships as well as receive four NCAA Division I bids in ten years of Division I play.
On an international level, he was involved in coaching the Australian National Lacrosse team to two bronze medals (1998, 2002), served as the head coach of Spanish National Team in the European Championships (2012), and most recently in bringing Kenya’s first international team to the U-20 World Championships in Ireland in 2022. After that experience, he has formed the RO16 Foundation with Kenyan/Ugandan player, Reagan Ochan, to provide support for African lacrosse, education and life sustainability (RO16Foundation.com)
In addition, to extensive collegiate and world lacrosse experiences, Sheehan has also been involved in coaching on the scholastic level, coaching on both the boys' and girls' sides, winning two girls New York State Empire State Championships (2005, 2006) as an assistant Long Island Empire Coach and winning the boy's New York State Championship (2014) with Massapequa, also as an assistant.
Beyond collegiate and international experiences, Kevin might be most known for the innovations that he has created in the coaching of youth lacrosse. In 2002, the United States National Lacrosse Association honored Sheehan with its inaugural award as most creative youth coach in lacrosse in America, after he created a series of coaching articles for US Lacrosse Magazine. Kevin also served on the initial US Lacrosse Coaching Committee, which created a national certification and curriculum for coaching youth lacrosse. From 2002-2009, Sheehan spoke at numerous US national clinics with youth players, pioneering the field demonstration model now in place at national clinics. Kevin was also instrumental in his proposal to bring the Division II-III national championships to Memorial Day weekend and has been acclaimed on a national and international level for his writing on the subject of lacrosse coaching. His thinking and articles have served as the staple for many new programs around the country and the world.
Sheehan was a founding member of the State University at Albany men's lacrosse team and a three year captain of the initial team culminating in a Northern NY State Conference Championship. He currently resides in Massapequa with his wife, Irene.
