Raised in Western Pennsylvania, Garrett Lucas has come a long way to make it to RV’s new coaching staff. The newly appointed head coach previously led Delran to the playoffs where they fell short in overtime against Burlington Township. This past winter, Coach Lucas left Delran with a 25-8 record transforming their program to be notable — not to mention, he sent players to Division I schools such as Rutgers and Temple. 

“I made the move out to South Jersey, and coached for Delran” Coach Lucas said. “Eventually became head coach for the last four years and led them to a 25-8 record, in doing so, flipped the program and had a couple DI players through the process. Also, I made a lot of pure relationships with the school, students, and of course, the players.”

Coach Lucas said the rich tradition and rapport he heard of Rancocas Valley is what attracted him to the school.

He said he found resonance in the phrase, “We are RV”, which he heard from Coach Flood, an assistant coach on the team.

“I’ve always heard nothing but good things about RV. Every time a team plays RV, they know it’s going to be a battle,” he said. 

In preparation for his RV debut, Coach Lucas has already started training sessions after school, in the weight room, to prepare his team for success and to form relationships with the players. Coach Lucas is an advocate for the weight room and believes that he can use the weight room as a way to complete the first goal in his motto, Believe. 

“The biggest challenge for a struggling program is that the team does not believe in each other,” he said. “The players must believe in themselves, and in the coaches and vice versa.” 

Coach Lucas uses the weight room to develop those relationships and form bonds between the players and staff.

“When I am spotting a player during their lift, they know I have their best interest in a health and safety perspective,” he said. “Now, that translates to the field, in August, when I tell them to do something, we already have that trust in each other to get the job done.” 

In addition, he entered a select few players to compete in 7-on-7 tournaments to help the players in understanding the speed, visual and mental parts of the game.

Coach Lucas shows excitement for this upcoming fall, especially to see how he can flip the program to get back on track to its winning standard. 

“I call it controlled chaos,” he said. “We compete every day in practice and everyone is working. No matter if you’re a starter or not, if you’re on the field, then you’ll be working. I make sure that the coaches are prepared to use practice as a chance for everyone to get better each day.” 

As the season approaches, Coach Lucas continues to push the team to work hard and be disciplined. He envisions the program to overcome the challenges it previously faced, and to get the team back on track. He has a lot riding on him this upcoming season, and despite this, he exudes confidence in his new team and staff.

“We are RV, and we believe, compete and win,” he said.