nik clinton

Lacrosse

Clinton Hired as Lacrosse Assistant Coach

LEXINGTON, Va. – VMI Lacrosse head coach James Purpura announced the hiring of Nik Clinton as an assistant coach to his staff for the upcoming 2023 season.

Clinton arrives in Lexington after spending the last two years as an assistant coach at St. Bonaventure University. While at St. Bonaventure, Clinton helped oversee the rebirth of a Division I program and during his tenure, the Bonnies earned a MAAC regular season championship in 2022 after a program record 11-win season. Clinton was tasked with overseeing the faceoff and wing play, running the substitution box, and coached a Bonnie offense that finished first in the conference in goals per game. Under Clinton, the Bonnies' faceoff personnel improved each season and freshman Trent Grainger finished second nationally in freshmen faceoff percentage during the 2022 campaign. This past spring, the Bonnies finished 37th in the nation in face-off percentage and third in the MAAC.

In addition to coaching, Clinton has been working with the Premier Lacrosse League (PLL) as a primary tagger for Scorebreak to break down live PLL games. 

"I am excited to welcome Nik to the VMI family," Purpura said. "While highly recommended from some of his peers and mentors, Nik continued to impress throughout the interview process. He's humble and hungry and has a strong passion to develop young men through relationships, which aligns with our culture. His background with both the face-off position and on the offensive side of the ball will add value to the program. His knowledge of the MAAC will help our program transition as we join the MAAC this upcoming season."

Prior to coaching at St. Bonaventure, Clinton was a two-year captain of the rebirth of St. Bonaventure lacrosse program. Clinton was named the Unsung Hero award winner in 2019 and the Brian Moretti Award winner in 2020.  Clinton, an offensive player who played both attack and midfield, transferred to St. Bonaventure after a two-year career at Adams State in Alamosa, Colorado, where he was a two-year starter.

The Loveland, Colorado, native graduated from St. Bonaventure in 2020 with a bachelor's degree in sport studies and a minor in business administration.

"I want to start off by thanking Coach Mearns and St. Bonaventure University for giving me the start to my coaching career," Clinton said. "Second, I would like to thank Coach Purpura and the rest of the athletic department. Throughout the hiring process, Coach Purpura provided a clear vision and the progress that has been made at VMI in a few short years is something that excited me about this opportunity. I am honored to become an assistant coach at VMI and excited to start working with the young men of this program."

Clinton's addition to the program completes VMI's 2023 lacrosse coaching staff.





 
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