Upperman High School boys lacrosse head coach Jonathan Aldrich is working to replicate the championship success of other Baxter athletic programs as he prepares the team for the upcoming season.
Head Coach Jonathan Aldrich said the culture in Baxter is defined by winning championships across multiple sports. Aldrich said he wants the lacrosse program to reach the same level of success seen in the school’s football, basketball, and baseball teams.
“I mean, the culture in Baxter is to win championships. I mean, you look at football and there’s a lot of success in that program thanks to Coach Caine and his staff, and then you look at basketball and baseball, whether it be Coach McWilliams or Coach Shanks, they’ve kind of instilled this winning culture in Baxter and it’s just that’s something I want to replicate. I want to be able to say we’re another one of those Upperman programs that can go out, win regions and win a state title and ultimately bring home, you know, the plaque in May,” Aldrich said.
Aldrich said he began playing lacrosse at Cookeville High School in 2021 and reached the state championship and semifinals during his prep career. Aldrich said he transitioned into coaching with the Cookeville middle school program from 2023 to 2025 before signing as the head coach at Upperman this past summer.
“I mean I see a lot of kids who, you know, haven’t played a sport like this before, haven’t played the sport at all. I brought a few with me from the middle school program but I see a lot of kids that just have like a new passion for it that I see we build on this for who knows how long. I mean, they had a program from I think it was 2014 to 2020 and it just I don’t know that it really had the traction from a lot of people but now I feel like we’re starting to make a bigger name for lacrosse, especially in Baxter,” Aldrich said.
Aldrich said the speed of high school lacrosse in Tennessee is significantly faster than the middle school level, requiring a higher game intelligence and understanding of intricacies. Aldrich said offensive and defensive possessions move at a pace similar to football, while transitions between the two ends of the field move faster than any other sport.
“You gotta be out there. I mean, this this is something that a lot of people in Baxter haven’t ever seen before. We really need people out there to support us, right? These kids feed off of that. They feed off of the help and the energy that fans bring them. I mean, if you’ve ever been to a basketball or a football game here, you see a lot of people in the stands supporting them and I don’t think it should be any different for us. I mean, Baxter loves their athletics, so I know that that’ll probably be there for us too,” Aldrich said.
Aldrich said he credits his development as a coach to mentors like Cookeville Lacrosse founder Kurt Snyder and several former coaches including Elliot Woods and Scott Cole. Aldrich said that while he is 21 years old and has room to improve, the current roster of players will help him grow as a coach.
“I mean, just some overall thoughts, it was a little crazy because it was a pretty quick transition from coaching middle school and being an assistant at Cookeville last year and I can’t really give any more thanks to Kurt Snyder, he’s the founder of Cookeville Lacrosse, Jack Snyder, his son was the one that kind of got me into lacrosse, and then all of my coaches, Elliot Woods, Scott Cole, Brian May, Corey Gleesman, all those guys kind of helped me become this coach that I am now. And at 21 years old, I still have a lot of room to improve obviously, but I think where I’m at right now is a really good start and the players I got are really going to help me get better as well,” Aldrich said.
Aldrich said the team is focused on building traction for the sport in Baxter to ensure the program’s long-term growth.
