2023 Hall of Fame

The longtime Brighton head coach heads into the 2023 MHSLCA Hall of Fame Coaching Class with a solid track record as a winning coach (149-86), as a tireless volunteer for the sport and the dedication to Michigan high school lacrosse that is unsurpassed by any of his peers, said many of his peers. The Saginaw Arthur Hill swimmer and Michigan State alum did not find lacrosse until he was a volunteer dad, but after accepting an assistant coaching post at Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard, the rest is history. One year as an assistant, catapulted Carl into Richard’s top spot where he built a winning tradition and an expanding program. After seven years at Richard, the Brighton Bulldogs came calling and the likable Carl moved home, so to speak, as he resides in that community. In his eight years at Brighton, Carl built a winning lacrosse program, a Top 15 annual ranking, on the field and in the classroom. Brighton has always been at the top of the annual USA Lacrosse’s Academic Achievement awards. Carl was president of the Michigan High School Lacrosse Coaches Association for eight years and continues to serve as the USA Lacrosse All American Chairman. The tireless volunteer runs an annual spring scrimmage, which benefits a number of area food banks and he continues his leadership in rules and regulations as part of several MHSAA lacrosse committees.

Mike Van Antwerp- Okemos/Holt

The veteran Okemos head coach is being inducted into the 2023 MHSLCA Hall of Fame Coaching Class as a Top 10 All-Time MHSLCA winning coach with 168 wins (118 losses) and a trail of successful student-athletes who have gone onto college under Van Antwerp’s guidance. The Royal Oak native matriculated to the University of Detroit for high school and excelled in there classroom and the field. As a standout prep defensemen, Van Antwerp found success after high school, suiting up as a Spartan in East Lansing, playing for another MHSLCA Hall of Fame Rich Kimball. Van Antwerp played two years of NCAA lacrosse for Michigan State, before hanging up the stick to concentrate on his academics. Van Antwerp said goodbye for a short time after college, he worked in Arizona as a wifelike biologist, but left the private sector and finished his teaching degree ending up at Holt, where he still teaches today. Van Antwerp inherited a small club team, when the school elevated Holt into varsity status and he ended up as head coach. Van Antwerp served the Holt program for seven years before moving north to assist MHSLCA Hall of Fame inductee Shawn Grady at Okemos, which is where his family resides. The motived coach elevated Grady’s already successful program in recent years and Okemos continues today to be a top notched organization. Van Antwerp continues to teach science at Holt and has spent many hours volunteering his time and efforts on behalf of the MHSLCA and USA Lacrosse.

Michael 'Moose' Kennedy

The longtime Brother Rice assistant coach, Michael ‘Moose” Kennedy enters the MHSLCA Hall of Fame posthumously as an inductee of the Contributing Category of the hall for his successful achievements assisting MHSLCA Hall of Fame coach Rob Ambrose in making the Warriors one of the best prep programs in the country. Mr. Kennedy passed Sunday, May 29, 2022. He was a 1986 Rice graduate who attended the University of Michigan and was an integral part of the university’s highly successful club (MLCA) lacrosse program. Kennedy received numerous honors as a player and began his coaching career as an assistant at Kingswood-Cranbrook and spent time in Great Britain spreading the ‘lax gospel.’ He coached and developed youth programs in England and was named coach of the Women’s National B team in Edinburgh during his tenure. While attending law school, after returning from overseas, Kennedy began a nine-year stint as a Rice assistant when the program was elevated to elite status. The likable Kennedy left the Ambrose’ coaching tree in 2005 and continued his coaching passion through the youth ranks until 2011. Kennedy was highly regarded by his players throughout his career, and while a successful law career flourished during his coaching days, according to coaching peers, it was lacrosse that filled his heart.