According to sophomore Parker Brynildson, junior varsity head coach Jared Mickelson inspires the players to do their best to get better everyday.

“He really knows what we need to work on, and he makes me want to go to practice and get better,” Brynildson said.

Mickelson said he enjoys helping the players improve their skills and walk away with a satisfying experience.

“I just like to coach these guys and watch them develop their skills and help them become better players and overall just have fun and make them want to return and play,” Mickelson said.

According to varsity head coach Chris Bixby, Mickelson’s background of playing Park lacrosse, as well as his experience working with Park players, will greatly add to the quality of the team.

“The thing that I’m most excited for about Jared is his long term relationship with the team and the community,” Bixby said. “He’s a long time Oriole and has coached most of the guys on our team when they were really young.”

According to Mickelson, his past experience has helped him establish strategies to coach his players effectively.

“I was JV head coach in the past, and I was the boys’ youth director for the youth association,” Mickelson said. “I’ve done fundraising and helped with practices, setting up games, staying after for certain players if they would like to extend practice and develop their skills more.”

Brynildson said Mickelson acknowledges the players can help each other and allows them to work together in order to improve their abilities.

“He lets us coach ourselves sometimes because we know what we have to do to get better, and he knows that and he respects both ways, the coach and the players,” Brynildson said.

According to Bixby, the team has a focus on positivity in all aspects of the team, which Mickelson exceeds at providing.

“We talk a lot about staying positive, so as we’re building a culture of coaches and players and the people around us, positivity is really important, and I think Jared really brings that to the table,” Bixby said.

Bixby said Mickelson is forgiving when it comes to developing inexperienced team members and taking them to the next level.

“He brings some good patience as well as the ability to teach those basics and those fundamentals and work well with the kids directly,” Bixby said.

Mickelson said he’s excited to see how the team has matured and start the season off right.

“I’m looking forward to being there for the guys and coaching the freshmen,” Mickelson said. “So getting back into the groove and seeing how they’ve developed over the years and learn new things.”