About Oak City Lacrosse

Oak City Lacrosse Academy is dedicated to providing outstanding youth level instruction in a positive, athlete-centered development environment.  We believe that youth sports should be fun, positive, challenging and give players, coaches and parents the opportunity to demonstrate good character, effort, hard work, teamwork and passion.  All Oak City coaches are in the US Lacrosse coach development and certification pipeline. 

We promote the lessons and philosophy of the Positive Coaching Alliance, which focuses on using youth sports to teach life lessons, hard work, sportsmanship, integrity, personal responsibility and selflessness. All of our coaches have completed at least one Positive Coaching Alliance module and are "Double Goal" coaches.

At Oak City Lacrosse, we strive to provide athlete-centered coaching using the lacrosse athlete development model which stresses overall athlete development and recognizes that the age and physical development of children requires coaches to tailor their trainings to the age and physical literacy of the players they have.  We aren't trying to implement college-level lacrosse to 3rd graders and we aren't asking experienced players to do drills that teach skills they have already mastered. Oak City coaches are striving to implement high-level lacrosse concepts to experienced lacrosse players capable of understanding them. Our coaches meet the players where they are, from beginner to experienced, travel-level youth players hungry to learn advanced concepts. 

Oak City provides a supportive coaching environment and uses competition in training and games to challenge, motivate and improve player skills. We believe that players improve the most when they are playing and training with other players that have a  similar skill level. When possible, we will group players by age AND skill in trainings and place players on teams by both age and skill to provide every player with the best experience possible. 

Coaches Biographies

All Oak City Lacrosse coaches are in the US Lacrosse coach certification pipeline and are in the process of advancing their coaching knowledge through continuing education. 
Matt Peterson - Director 
Coach Peterson played at UC Santa Barbara from 1986-1989 and then played post-collegiate lacrosse for Washington (DC) Lacrosse Club, was a founder and team captain for Team AOL/Arlington, VA Lacrosse. Coach Peterson was a member of the Vail Lacrosse Shootout tournament staff for 17 years and has played in national tournaments (Vail, Ocean City, Lake Placid) and international tournaments (Amsterdam). Coach Peterson continues to play for Raleigh Lacrosse Club and in national tournaments.
Coaching Experience -
US Lacrosse National Coach Trainer for Level 1 and Level 2 trainings. 
 [email protected]
US Lacrosse Level 3 certified coach
2003-2007 NC State University Men's Team Head Coach
2014-2016 Carolina Cannons U9 Travel coach
2011-Present - Youth recreation coach for K-2, Grade 3-4 and Grade 5-6 teams
2018-19 Team91 2025 Coach

Grade 1-2 Group
Rob Driscoll
Rob is from Long Island, NY. Following his lacrosse career at St. Anthony’s High School, Rob went to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He was a starting midfielder all four seasons graduating in 2008 and helped UNC reach the NCAA Quarterfinals two of those years.

Lee Robertson
Coach Robertson is in his first year coaching lacrosse. He was a collegiate swimmer at UVA and coached youth swimming for 10+ years.

Joe Stallworth
Founding member of lacrosse club at Montana State University. Coached various age groups at clinics in Montana and North Carolina, also boys high school varsity in Wake County.

Brian Sycora
Bio is in process

Ryan Weaver
Coach Weaver has a passion for focusing on teamwork, and skill development. With a USA Lacrosse Bronze certificate, He brings a strong foundation in the game’s fundamentals through his USA Lacrosse certification and experience coaching youth sports. His experience in various sports gives him a deep understanding of athletic training and team dynamics that are essential components of lacrosse. He's  committed to helping players sharpen their individual skills and compete at their best, with an emphasis on hard work and accountability.

Grade 3-4 Group 


Coach Matt Hester
Coach Hester is getting back into coaching after years of officiating. Coach Hester officiates all levels of field and box lacrosse from youth to college. He previously coached NW Guilford High School as an assistant from 2012-2017. He also coached for Old North State lacrosse club based in Greensboro. Prior to that he coached at Ashley High in Wilmington from 2010-2011. Matt played club lacrosse at UNC-Chapel Hill(‘01-‘05).

Chris Burnham
Coach Burnham has coached youth sports for the past decade. Both of his sons play/played in the Oak City program (his youngest Cullen is on the 1-2 team currently). As a former college basketball athlete, Coach Burnham is excited to bring his passion for youth sports to the 1-2 age group with an emphasis on having fun while building fundamentals throughout the season.

Cushing Donelan
Coach Cush has coached youth recreation lacrosse in California and now North Carolina. He has a couple of kids in the program and one coming up. He’s played lacrosse his whole life and most positions but settled on goalie. He played at Hotchkiss and then Amherst College (2005) where he was a HM All American. The Lord Jeffs were top 10 in the country and Coach Cush was awarded National Player of the Week by Inside Lacrosse after posting a top 5 save percentage in the country. He’s excited to build a strong youth program in Raleigh and is all about playing safe, hard and having fun.

Ben Grinnell 
Bio is in process. 

Doug Wixted
Coach Wixted has been an assistant coach with Oak City lacrosse since 2023 and Durham Lacrosse Academy the year prior. He played youth and high school lacrosse in Fairfax, Virginia. Coach Wixted is a lifelong lover of the sport of lacrosse and excited to be developing a similar passion in his younger son, Samuel.

Sid Jones
Coach Jones has been coaching youth through Dlll lacrosse for the past 25+. Has started two Dlll men’s programs along with many high school teams, and ran very successful travel lacrosse program in Wisconsin. He was also a lacrosse referee for 8 years. Coach Jones started playing lacrosse at the age of five in upstate New York, he played collegiately, he was also signed player with the MLL Chicago machine. Coach Jones is a level 1 US Lacrosse coach certification and currently working on his level 2 and level 3 certifications.

Grade 5-6 Group: 
Coach Ryan Schmidt
Bio in process

Coach Alban Barrus: 
Coach Barrus has been coaching youth sports since 2016. In addition to coaching youth lacrosse, he has coached flag football, basketball and tennis. Coach Barrus played two years of lacrosse at Woodberry Forest.


Grade 7-8 Group: 
Eduardo Jimenez
Coach Jimenez, has been coaching Boys and Girls recreation lacrosse since 2016. Prior to coaching lacrosse, he started in playing in High School and then in College at Stevens Institute of Technology as a goalie. After college, he continued playing in the NJ area club teams and was a player/coach for the NC Wesleyan Lacrosse Club.
Coach Jimenez grew up in NJ and was introduced to Lacrosse late in HS. Coach Jimenez played in college as a goalie at Stevens Institute of Technology. After college, Coach Jimenez played club lacrosse and practiced with the Wesleyan club team in Rocky Mount, NC.
Gene Reichers
Coach Gene Riechers played at Penn State long ago, followed by 3 years of club lacrosse. More recently he coached youth lacrosse in the DC area 2007-2015 and was an assistant varsity coach and head JV coach 2015-2019 at The Heights School in MD, winner of 2 conference championships during his 4 years there. He is a USA Lacrosse Level 2 certified coach. He also spent 12 years on the board of the Tewaaraton Foundation, which annually recognizes the top collegiate male and female lacrosse players with the Tewaaraton Awards.

Ryan Gormley
Coach Gormley comes from a family with a rich lacrosse tradition. He and two of his brothers were the captains of the lacrosse team at national powerhouse Georgetown Prep, in Maryland. He went on to UPenn, where he also earned varsity letters in football, while his two brothers played and lettered in Lacrosse at Lehigh University and the University of Maryland. After college, Coach Gormley coached a 7th/8th grade club travel team Maryland with his high school teammate and close friend, who was captain of Duke University's lacrosse team. Coach Gormley is now a young father and has returned to coaching kids soe he can pass on his love of the game to his son and the next generation.

John Kane 
Coach Kane has coached youth lacrosse U7 through high school with Southern Marin lacrosse club in San Francisco, CA. Three players previously coached by John currently play D1 lacrosse. Jack Gray/Duke, Nils Barry/Penn State, and his son Jackson who plays at Princeton. Prior to coaching, John played goalie at Adelphi University from 1978-1981. He was the goalie on the 1979 team that won the DII national championship. He was All-American and goalkeeper of the year in 1980.