FOND DU LAC - While Marian student-athletes spend the summer training and expanding their game, several members of the Sabre coaching staff were able to do the same coaching in high-level events for high-profile teams.

Robert Leary, head coach for the Marian University men's lacrosse program, spent part of his summer coaching the American Pride, a touring team that traveled to Melbourne, Australia to compete in the Australian Lacrosse Association Maverik Challenge. 

The American Pride competed against Chugoku-Shikoku out of Japan and a pair of teams from the host nation of Australia.  The Australian teams consisted of candidates for the 2020 U-19 Team Australia squad that will compete for the World Championship next summer in Limerick, Ireland.   Leary and the American Pride would go 6-1 over their time in Australia earning the squad the gold medal for the event.

"The trip was a once in a lifetime experience for sure," commented Leary.  "To be able to compete with the finest young players from Australia and Japan was exciting enough. To win the gold medal was beyond my wildest dreams."

Sarah Frings and Tyler Frings, head coaches for the Marian University women's and men's volleyball programs, respectively, each served as assistant coaches for Badger Region High Performance at the USA Volleyball High Performance Championships held in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.  Badger Region volleyball is the Wisconsin chapter of USA Volleyball and is one of 40 regions that make up USA Volleyball.  The USAV High Performance Championships (HP Championships) are a coed tournament that consisted of teams from the United States, Canada, Chile, Liberia, New Zealand, Peru, and Puerto Rico.  This summer saw approximately 145 teams compete from around the world.

The boys found themselves in a similar position qualifying for the medal round of the tournament giving Badger Region the opportunity to qualify for a gold medal.  After dropping both matches in the medal round, however, they would settle for a fourth-place finish.

It was an honor and pleasure having the opportunity to represent the Badger region and Marian as a coach for the boys national youth team," commented T. Frings.  "Folks back home can be proud of our fourth-place finish, having the opportunity to compete for gold on the final day is all you can ask for and our guys played high level ball against some of the best talent in the world."