The Oldham County Boys Lacrosse Team restarted its program in 2024 under legendary St. Xavier head coach Scott Howe. Howe retired after the Colonels’ first season back.
As the 2025 season approached, Oldham County needed someone to step in and fill its vacant head coaching position. Adam Balata stepped in to give the seniors and the rest of the team a chance to play.
Balata is very similar to Oldham County Girls Lacrosse head coach, Jeff Veech. Balata had no experience with lacrosse before becoming head coach. Balata played high school football and currently does strongman lifts.
“I’ve tried to implement some of those components with the team,” Balata said. “As far as lacrosse specifically, I’ve heard about it, never watched a full game or anything like that.”
Veech met with Balata before the season to help him prepare to be a lacrosse coach. Veech had experience coaching Oldham County wrestling prior to coaching girls lacrosse. The girls team this year is 8-1 coming out of the spring break. Veech helped Balata understand what to look for and how to go about practice.
“I try to watch [Veech] and pick up on things that he implements with his girls, to try to instill some of that in our program,” Balata said. “They’re a phenomenal team. We’re really limited this year with numbers on the boys team…As a coach just diving in from the first game until now, we’ve played three games now, I’ve learned a tremendous amount; about the rules, about what the game actually looks like on the field, where our weak points are, where our strengths are and just how to get better as a team in general.”
With only 12 players on the roster, Balata has limited numbers on the team, but he does have seniors Andrew Royer and Grant Shupe to lead the team. Shupe played last year and brings a veteran presence to the team while this is Royer’s first year playing lacrosse.
“[Royer] goes out there, and he gives it his all every single day and shows that to the younger guys as well,” Balata said. “I commend [Royer and Shupe] for even stepping up to take on that task. They’re really, really good kids. We have a junior, our team captain, Lonnie Douglas, and he’s super experienced. He’s always, every day, giving it 100%. I’m excited that he’ll hopefully be returning next year to be like a leading senior as well.”
Balata has seen his team take on the challenge of getting new players from the school and inviting them to come out and play. With the low numbers and trying to get the program off the ground, Balata is looking at the 2025 season as a way to develop his talent and allow first-time players to fall in love with the sport.
“If we can develop the players that we have and they have fun with the sport and enjoy their time and get better themselves, hopefully, they will want to return next year,” Balata said. “I know we have an influx of middle schoolers that have a lot of experience. Some of them have already reached out to me asking if they could play up at the high school level, which we only have a varsity team so they cannot. With those incoming eighth graders and the majority of our team not graduating, I think next year, there’s some potential for a really solid team.”
Oldham County has started the season 0-3. Balata knows there will be ups and downs throughout the season, especially with a program that is in its second year of rebuilding. He wants his players to focus on little wins throughout games and wants his players playing hard and using the games as practice to grow and develop their skill sets.
The Colonels have scored three goals this season. Balata can see improvements throughout the whole team. Sophomore Braden Morrison has scored one of the goals for the team, and sophomore Dylan Jackson has caught Balata’s eye being able to rotate from offense to defense. Balata has also seen sophomore goalie Evan Morgan come into his role as well.
“[Morgan] is truly a phenomenal goalie,” Balata said. “We are very fortunate to have him. He knows how to direct the team. He knows how to play. He understands all the components, and he’s just a really solid person to have back there.”
Balata has only three first-year players on the team. Most of the team this year returned from last year. A lot of the kids have respect for Howe and how he conducted the team last year. Balata has seen his team be very coachable. With Balata being new to the sport, he’s been able to bounce ideas off his players on how they do things and go off their experience.
“I have the direction for where I want to go with the practice, but they’re the ones that are experienced,” Balata said. “They’ve been coached before, so I try to get their input as much as I can, like, ‘how should we do this drill? How should we set up for this technique?’ Luckily, I have a parent, Simon Bronger’s dad. He joined the coaching staff this year, and he witnessed Howe last year. He’s brought in a lot of his own two cents on everything too. He’s phenomenal as well.”
The expectation Balata has for his team is to see everyone improve. He is hoping to get a win this year and see that growth from the start of the offseason to the end of the season.
“I would be so thrilled [to get a win]. I think that would be like winning the state championship for us,” Balata said. “...As long as the guys get better and as long as they’re improving and as long as I’m trying to leave the program better than I found it, in the sense for future generations, I would love to see a thriving lacrosse program at OC. The expectations are to come out every day, work hard. Let’s get better and score as many goals as we can. If we get a win, that would be the icing on the cake.”
Oldham County will be on the road at the North Oldham Mustangs (2-6) on Thursday, April 10 at 6:30 p.m.
