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Coach Schneck: A BYU lacrosse legacy inspires success

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Coach Schneck has been head men's lacrosse coach since 2009. Since his appointment as head coach, they have won 6 national titles. (Matt Schneck)
Photo by VIctoria Baines Harris

With six national championships, 14 conference titles, and 19 wins in an undefeated 2024 season, the BYU Men’s lacrosse team has established itself as a powerhouse in BYU extramural sports.

And, for the last 15 years, the team has been led to success by head coach Matt Schneck.

Hailing from Connecticut, Matt Schneck grew up playing lacrosse. While lacrosse is a common sport in the northeast United States, various moves around the country in his youth meant that he sometimes lacked opportunities to play.

Instead, Matt Schneck participated in football through his high school years. He found ways to stay connected to lacrosse as his older brother played on BYU’s team.

At BYU, Matt Schneck played on the football team under the direction of Coach LaVell Edwards for 4 years. When his football eligibility ended, he played on the lacrosse team, where they won BYU’s first national championship in 1997.

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Coach Schneck played for four years on the BYU football team under LaVell Edwards. After his eligibility ended, he joined the lacrosse team. (Matt Schneck)

Matt Schneck soon graduated and began his post-collegiate career. He started a tech consulting company, SuccessWorx but found he still had the drive to coach. So Schneck started coaching football at Timpview High School.

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In 1997, BYU men's lacrosse won their first national championship. Matt Schneck, a former football player was on the team. (Matt Schneck)

A few years later, when an opportunity opened up to assistant coach the lacrosse team, Matt Schneck was excited to return to BYU, he said. In 2009, he became the head lacrosse coach.

Because extramural head coaches are only part-time positions, Schneck has continued working with his business outside of BYU. A full time job, a coaching position and a family with 4 kids can be a busy schedule, but Heidi Schneck — his wife — appreciates his dedication and consistency.

“When he comes home, his focus is the family. When he’s at lacrosse, it’s lacrosse. When it’s his company, it’s his company,” she said. “He’s just able to shift hats better than anyone I’ve ever seen, and it’s pretty amazing to watch.”

Matt Schneck’s business experience has helped him manage the lacrosse team as well. He attributed many coaching strategies to principles he learned in business, such as creating a high performing team, putting players where they will be the most effective, making a team culture, setting expectations and even managing a calendar.

“I’m a strong believer that without him, our organization probably does not exist,” Taylor Mason, a senior and captain on the lacrosse team, said.

Part of the team culture has been cultivated adopting the scripture Alma 53:20 from the Book of Mormon, which talks about a group of "stripling warriors."

“And they were all young men, and they were exceedingly valiant for courage, and also for strength and activity; but behold, this was not all—they were men who were true at all times in whatsoever thing they were entrusted," the scripture reads.

The phrase “this was not all” stood out to Matt Schneck as he began coaching.

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Coach Schneck focuses on who the boys are outside of lacrosse. Because it is an extramural sport, many of the boys play lacrosse in addition to their other responsibilities. (BYU Photo)

Lacrosse at BYU is an extramural sport—meaning that the players do not get the scholarships, NIL money or acknowledgement that many other athletes enjoy, Matt Schneck said. Students play lacrosse on top of all their other responsibilities.

“They’re students, some of them are husbands, some of them are fathers; they’re sons,” Scheck said. “They're all these different things in life, and as you look at that scripture, you get this sense that here are all of these characteristics, but this is not all that they were.”

Schneck, much like any coach, wants his athletes to be the best on the field. But, "that is not all." He also wants his athletes to focus on becoming the best students, husbands, fathers and people they can be.

“He thinks of them holistically as human beings, not just lacrosse players. Because of that, I think that has transferred to success on the field because all the players trust and love him,” Ty Mumford, former team captain and current assistant coach, said.

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The 2024 lacrosse national championship ring was inscribed with "This was not all." This references the lacrosse team theme, which comes from the scripture Alma 53:20. (Grace Eyestone)

To remember this scripture, he has given each of the players a card with Alma 53:20 inscribed on it. The national championship ring even has “this was not all” engraved on the inside as a reminder to the boys that they are more than just athletes.

Mumford still remembers the impact that those words had on his collegiate life.

“It was a good reminder, constantly, to keep focus on what I wanted to do after lacrosse and to contribute to the community after I was playing lacrosse,” he said.

Team culture changes every year because players come and go, but Matt Schneck has tried to reinforce that idea every year because he wants the boys on the team to succeed.

“He doesn't look at these kids as his players. He looks at them as an extended family. They’re his sons there and he really wants to develop them into a whole person,” Heidi Schneck said.

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Coach Schneck's four kids love going to support the lacrosse boys. His son, Champ, was named so because they won the national championship just before he was born. (Matt Schneck)

The players have also become pseudo-older brothers for the Schneck kids as they’ve grown up, Heidi Schneck said. The Schneck family has been involved in going to the games and have enjoyed seeing the triumphs of the team throughout the years.

This past year, the team had a 19-0 record season leading to the national championship, where they also won. Matt Schneck deflected all of the praise to his team.

“The credit in that standpoint belongs to the players,” he said. “We just try to create an environment for them to be able to find that chemistry and to be able to reach the goals that they have set.”

But his players and coaches gave the credit back to him.

“His consistency and his love for the program are the main reasons that BYU has won six national championships,” Mumford said. “The reason this program succeeds is because of him.”

Whatever the explanations are for BYU lacrosse success, Coach Schneck has been an asset to the team. He is excited for the season this upcoming semester and feels blessed to be at BYU so he can share his faith and dedication with his team, he said

“Being here at BYU is special as well and provides a unique opportunity for me to be able to take those things that I value most in life and recognize that I have a place to talk about it with the kids on the team," Matt Schneck said.

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Last year, BYU had an undefeated season, going 19-0. They won the national championship in a 13-5 game. (BYU Photo)