Bill Shatz
Tampa Bay Fire | IMG Academy • Echelon Sports Management / Tampa Bay Fire Lacrosse Club • IMG Academy • American Indoor Lacrosse Association • Athletiq Youth Development Foundation
Championship coach, organizational founder, and national thought leader who has shaped American lacrosse player development for more than four decades.
Biography
For more than four decades, Bill Shatz has shaped the sport of lacrosse at virtually every level — as elite player, championship coach, organizational founder, and national thought leader whose innovations have rewritten the playbook for American player development.
Career Highlights
- Three-year starting attackman at Sachem High School (Long Island, NY)
- Four-year starter at Ithaca College; all-time top-10 scorer in program history
- Co-founder, President/CEO and U-19 Head Coach, Echelon Sports Management / Tampa Bay Fire Lacrosse Club
- Director of Lacrosse, IMG Academy (2011); built National Team to a 118–16 record with annual Top-5/Top-10 national ranking
- Sent more than 60% of IMG National Team players to Division I lacrosse
- Co-founder and Executive Vice President/COO, American Indoor Lacrosse Association
- Architect of the DoubleCrosse system integrating box and field lacrosse
- US Lacrosse Selector Staff, U.S. Men's U-19 National Team — 2012 World Championship gold (Turku, Finland)
- Founding President/CEO, Athletiq Youth Development Foundation
Awards & Accomplishments
- 2018 US Lacrosse Florida Hall of Fame inductee
- Coached 36 US Lacrosse High School All-Americans
- Coached 10 Academic All-Americans
- Coached 3 Under Armour All-Americans
- Coached 5 USA Today All-Americans
- Three-year varsity captain; All-County and All-Long Island in ice hockey (Sachem HS)
Contribution to Florida Lacrosse
A pioneering builder of Florida's elite player pipeline, Bill Shatz established West Florida's first full-service multi-level elite club, launched and led IMG Academy's boarding prep lacrosse program to national prominence, and introduced integrated box-and-field development, LTAD principles, and indigenous-game experiences to mainstream American player development.