Steve Lachut will return to the athletics department this year, taking over as athletic director after Scott Barr announced his retirement.  Now entering his 11th year at Saint James, Mr. Lachut served the previous four years as dean of students, but he was the assistant athletic director during his first six years.

“I’m excited to continue to usher the athletic department into the future and see how we can best support our coaches and student-athletes,” said Mr. Lachut. “The job has changed dramatically even in the past 10 years—from the way students get recruited to the thought process behind strength training or speed and agility training—so many things have evolved. I think Scott did a great job of updating our facilities and bringing in great coaches, and I’m excited to continue to build on that work.”

Mr. Lachut will continue to serve as an assistant coach for the boys’ lacrosse team and as head coach of the wrestling team, a position he has held for 11 years while winning four consecutive MAC titles (2017-2020).

“As the leader of the wrestling program, for me it’s been about making sure kids value something that’s bigger than themselves,” he said. “I think if we can continue to do that our students will leave Saint James with an appreciation for athletics, and all I can ask for as students look back on their time here is that they enjoyed what they did.”

A native of Buffalo, NY, Mr. Lachut said he played many sports growing up, although he was “asked to leave t-ball because I couldn’t understand why you couldn’t run through the first baseman like you could the catcher.” He then started playing hockey, and by the time he got to high school he focused on football, wrestling, and lacrosse. 

He went on to play lacrosse at Medaille College, where he earned a BA in education and worked in the athletics office. He has also earned his Master’s in Coaching and Athletic Administration from Concordia University.  

“I went into education out of high school because I had great coaches, and I had people that changed my life because of who they were as mentors and who they were as leaders,” he said. “I’m excited to get back to being a coach and mentor and being able to impact the lives of students and coaches in things they are particularly passionate about.”

This year, Mr. Lachut plans to start the Holloway Club to celebrate our three-sport athletes. 

“We’ll have a dinner in the spring recognizing them and thanking them for really being a part of what we value at Saint James; being all hands on-deck and contributing to their teams across all three seasons,” Mr. Lachut said.

Another addition this year will be an app called Volt Athletics that will bring personalized strength and conditioning programs to students’ cell phones. 

“All of our students will have an account, so when they go into the weight room, they will have a plan designated for them based on their sport and their level of performance that will adjust with how they perform,” Mr. Lachut said. “We have a lot of students who are excited to get into the weight room, but they don’t always have someone who knows how to tailor a workout for them, and Volt is providing that for us.”

The Athletics Department is also planning to partner with the College Counseling Office to host a “So You Want to Play in College” night, with college admissions officers and coaches providing insight for our students and parents on the college recruiting process. 

Grace Megaffin will join Mr. Lachut in the Athletics Department as the new associate director of athletics.  Mr. Lachut feels her experience and perspective will help elevate our athletics program, and that as a former college athlete herself, Ms. Megaffin can be a role model and advocate for our female student-athletes.

“We’re starting with a clean slate, so we’ll look at what can we do to keep the traditions and things that we value at Saint James, but also look critically things that we perhaps could do better or things that maybe we’re not doing that we should be doing.”