Luke Griemsman has been named interim head men's lacrosse coach at Calvin College. Griemsman is replacing Kyle Hofstaedter who recently accepted a position as the assistant athletic director for communications at Rollins College in Winter Park, Fla.
"I first want to thank Kyle Hofstaedter for his work with our men's lacrosse program over the last year,” said Calvin director of athletics Jim Timmer. "We are sad to see Kyle leave but we wish his family the best in their new endeavors. At the same time, we are excited to bring Luke on board as our coach. He has significant experience as a lacrosse coach at the collegiate level and I am confident that he will do a strong job at Calvin, leading our young men."
Griemsman is looking forward to the opportunity to lead the Calvin men's lacrosse team.
"I have friends and teammates who have graduated from Calvin and played lacrosse for the Knights," said Griemsman. "My respect for them makes me want to work hard to make this a team that they and the Calvin community can be proud of. It is exciting that I have the opportunity to lead another group of young men that can also grow to be quality representatives of Calvin and men’s lacrosse."
Griemsman began playing lacrosse in Huntington, New York. A varsity captain for Walt Whitman High School in 1991-92, Griemsman also played on the 1991 gold-medal winning, Long Island team in the Empire State Games. Recruited to Michigan State University for their NCAA Division 1 teams of 1993-96, Griemsman also received his Bachelor of Arts with a major in Communication in 1996.
Griemsman returned to the Michigan State club lacrosse program in 1997 as an assistant coach and was promoted to head coach of the program in 1998. In 1999, Griemsman held a 14-7 record and brought the Spartans to the Central Collegiate Lacrosse Association (CCLA) quarterfinal game. Griemsman took a short break from coaching to acquire his teaching certification from Northern Michigan University in 2001. He taught science and social studies at Apple Valley Middle School in Hendersonville, N.C. from 2002-2004 while serving as assistant coach for boys soccer, boys basketball, and track and field.
In 2004, Griemsman took charge of the Central Michigan University lacrosse club. Griemsman brought CMU to the CCLA playoffs that year, their first year in Division 1. In 2006, he had a hand in starting the Saginaw Valley State University club team. He successfully ran that club for two years. As an independent in 2007, SVSU finished with a 10-6-1 record. Griemsman also received his Master of Arts in Teaching Natural Science from SVSU in 2008.
From 2008-2013, Griemsman had a hand in building the new lacrosse program at Aquinas College in Grand Rapids, Mich. Then from 2013-2015 Griemsman shifted his attention to teaching high school science and health at Creative Technologies Academy in Cedar Springs, Mich.
Griemsman is also a US Lacrosse certified (Level 2) coach. He's held that certification since 2006 and has been working for US Lacrosse since 2007, in the Coaches Education Program (CEP) as a Level 1 & 2 CEP trainer. He founded the Grand River Lacrosse Club in 2012 offering post-collegiate playing opportunities to men in the western Michigan area. He has also been a certified lacrosse official since 1998 working in Michigan and North Carolina at various levels including regional finals and college level games.
Griemsman is a resident of Grand Rapids along with his wife, Stacie Griemsman, Md., and their children Grace and Charles.
The Calvin men's lacrosse team is heading into its fourth season as a varsity program. The Knights are scheduled to open their 2016 season on February 12 against Defiance College.
