Each spring, a week or two after the lacrosse season ends, Mike Siegert sits down to reflect. He evaluates the previous couple of  months, taking time to remember the moments that have kept him coming back as Centennial’s coach for more than three decades.

In recent years, those sit-downs have come to include deciding on whether he will return the following spring to do it all again. And this year, after 32 seasons leading the Eagles, Siegert has decided it’s time to walk away.

“When I sat down and finally let myself think about it in detail, I really felt like it was the right time,” Siegert said. “This was a really fun season. We had a great staff, a group of really hard-working kids and we did some great things. To be honest, it wasn’t nearly as tough a decision as I thought it would be.

“I feel like I can leave now and have nothing but positive memories, which is the way I always hoped it would be.”

The Eagles went 15-4 this season before losing in to Hereford the Class 3A/2A state final. Siegert’s final season also included a county championship.

“Knowing that this ended up being Coach’s last season, it felt great to be able to send him out like that,” said Harrison Chaires, one of this year’s team captains.

Siegert has been around since the beginning, coaching Centennial’s lacrosse program since the school opened in 1977-78. Before that he spent three years at Wilde Lake coaching JV football and lacrosse, being mentored by Bruce Woodward. Jack Thomas, an assistant lacrosse coach at Centennial, got his start in coaching with the Wildecats at the same time.

Siegert led Centennial to six state titles. Four of those championships (1998, 2002, 2004 and 2005) came during the current state tournament format, which started in 1990, and the other two (1980 and 1981) came back when it was the Class B-C regional/state championship.

But Siegert says even more important than the championships are the relationships developed along the way.

“You do this as long as I have and you meet a lot of people ... great people,” he said. “It’s always fun to see the kids I used to coach all grown up. My dentist now, for example, is an ex-player. I run into guys all the time and we share stories, rehash those old memories. That’s what I love more than anything.”

In 32 seasons at Centennial, all but one of them coaching varsity, Siegert amassed a career record of 323-154. The Eagles won 10 county championships, and finished runner-up seven times.

Siegert, who was one of four of the original staff members (Al Dodds, Gail Purcell and Bruce Smith) still at Centennial this past year, says he will remain on the staff as a math teacher next fall. Dodds, a cross country coach for the Eagles, will now be the last of the four still coaching.

However, Siegert plans to stay close to the program.

“I love lacrosse, that will probably never change,” Siegert said. “I told Jean Vanderpool (Centennial’s Athletics and Activities Manager) that if she ever needs help running the clock, I’m available. And I’d do some scouting if the new coach needs some help. But most likely I’ll just come back and support the program.

“I’ve had a great ride. Now it’s time to start that next chapter of my life.”

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