Spring Dates Added!

These include a Scrimmage and Skills Camp Day

  In some late breaking developments I wanted to share with our Blog followers that we have recently added two excited events to our Spring line-up in 2016.

  First is our Round-Robin scrimmages with Florida State University and Florida Southern at FSU in Tallahassee on January 23rd.  We will leave the day before and head South for this opportunity.  

  We couldn't be more excited about this opportunity, as it 'dangles the carrot' a little bit closer for everyone.  January 18th we will start practice and 5 days later Scrimmage!

  We have also added a second event to our line-up and will feature our last Advanced Skills Camp of the season, where you have the option to interact with both the Coaching Staff and some of the Berry Lacrosse players through College level skills and drills.  This is similar to a prospect day, with the intentions of preparing yourself for the upcoming season and beyond, it just lacks the 'song and dance' of organized tours and meetings with admissions.

  For more information about our Skills Camp, please click:  Here

  Hope that you will all be able to see us in action this Spring and look forward to having you on campus soon.

Fall Wrap - Up

  Wow!  What a Fall.  Where do we even start.

  We had an Advanced Skills day on Sept 26th where we had 42 players in to work with me and my team and then they stayed for the Annual Rookies vs. Returners game afterwards.

  The Rookies jumped out to a 2-0 lead over the Returners and were down 5-4 at the half, but experience and chemistry proved to be the achilles as the Returners won the game 11-6.

  The following weekend on Mountain Day we held our First ever Alumni game featuring 'The' Cory Hall and co.  Cory Hall and his gang of 16 graduated Alumni were hungry for the 1st Alumni game and through the guidance of Veteran Assistant Coach Byers were able to get the Win with a 8-6 victory.  Grown men playing against 19 Freshmen and 9 Sophomores proved to be the difference maker.

  We then hosted our 6th Annual Pumpkin Classic which featured 12 teams in a 7v7 format followed by the "High Steaks" Blue v. White Men's Varsity Lacrosse game at 5:00 pm.  Each team was drafted in accordance with one coach and one captain per team, and the winners ate steaks while the losers ate hot dogs at our team dinner at O'Charley's.

Lastly as our big crescendo on our last day of practice we hosted a Wounded Warrior Foundation Benefit and played against Young-Harris and Emmanuel College.  Additionally, there were three other teams that joined us for the event and we were able to raise and donate almost $7,000 to the WWP.  We played slow in the first game and were not able to overcome our 4-0 1st half deficit and lost by one, however, we faired much better in the afternoon game and won convincingly.

Very busy, but very productive.  A couple of wins and losses, but plenty of competitive situations.  We are now in the off-season, and the Captains are in charge.  I have heard they have lifting groups organized and some 3 by 3 competitions going on in the Richards.  I certainly hope they are working hard, because the season is right around the corner, and we have our work cut out!

  Thanks for reading and see you all soon.

Fall Line-Up

The Berry College men's lacrosse program begins their sixth season this fall and with an exciting fall line-up of events.


While Lacrosse is a Spring sport, the NCAA allows 16 days of practice in the Fall non-traditional season. For the first time ever, Head Coach Curtis Gilbert is using those 16 days over 5 weeks, rather than over 4 weeks.


"Fall Ball typically flies by in 4 weeks and we always wish it could have lasted longer, so this year we are trying something new," Gilbert said. "Additionally, there are a lot of events that we like to host in the fall and for the first time ever we will have an Alumni game to add into the mix."


The Fall lineup of events is as follows:


-Saturday, September 26th


Rookies vs. Returners Game, Valhalla (Berry's new stadium) at 5 pm.


The game will begin at the conclusion of our Recruiting Prospect Day #1. Link


The lacrosse team will begin practice the Sunday before and hold two separate practice sessions all week in anticipation of the big game.


**NOTE: The Returners team has NEVER lost to the Rookies. This year, the Rookies outnumber the returners**


-Sunday October 4th


Inaugural Berry Men's Lacrosse Alumni Game! Valhalla at 11 a.m.


This event will mark the conclusion of Mountain Day Weekend.


Berry College welcomes back its two graduated classes consisting of 16 former student-athletes to test their mettle against the 2015-16 Varsity Lacrosse team.


-Sunday October 18th


Sixth Annual Berry College 7v7 Pumpkin Classic


Ford Fields 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m.,


Please visit www.BerryCollegePumpkinClassic.com for more information.


Afterwards, stay for our Annual "High Steaks" game in Valhalla. The game will showcase two carefully drafted Berry College varsity teams in a Blue vs White Scrimmage. The winner will eat Steaks and the loser eats Hot Dogs at O'Charleys Restaurant. (NOTE: This is a VERY competitive scrimmage.)


-Saturday October 24th –


Wounded Warrior Project Play Day, Valhalla from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.


This event will mark the conclusion of the Men's Lacrosse Fall Ball season. Attending teams include: Berry College (D3), Emmanuel College (D2), North Greenville University (D2), Reinhardt University (MCLA), Sewanee (D3), Shorter University (D2) and Young Harris College (D2).


Schedules for the day's events are still being finalized. Please stay tuned.


Additional events outside of the Non-Traditional season include the following:


-Saturday, October 31st


Annual Halloween Costume Game / Food Drive


Location: Ford Fields


Game Time: 5:00 p.m.


Admissions Fee: At Least One Canned Good.


The Berry College Lacrosse team members have taken initiative to organize an annual canned food drive for the past five years. The Costume Game features some of the most outlandish and original outfits that still meet NCAA safety standards and allow for friendly competition for a truly 'must-see' event.


-Sunday November 15th


Berry College's second Prospect Day.


The Event begins at 9:00 a.m. and is open to all Prospective Student-Athletes.


For more information please visit here: Prospect Day #2.


The Prospect Day provides a valuable platform for the prospective student-athlete to not only showcase his skills and abilities, but to work closely with the Berry College coaching staff, and its team members. It is also a terrific atmosphere to meet and connect with other potential recruits, or possibly future teammates.




Please contact Coach Gilbert directly in regards to any questions. You can reach him at cgilbert@berry.edu or by phone at (706) 368-6369.

2015-16 Preview

I haven't been this excited to work with a new class of recruits in a long time.  I knew that last years recruiting class (my 1st at Berry) was a talented group, but I do feel that we have added a couple more in this years class compared to '15.

We graduated 10 Seniors off of our 30 man roster, and 2 were unable to return, so we will return 18 Varsity players, which is a little thin for comfort.  However, we were able to bring in 20 recruits and look to return 2 Juniors from hiatus.  This will bring our Fall roster to a little over 40 players (including walk-ons) where we will finally be able to ensure more competitive scrimmages within practice through additional depth and talent.

I am excited also for what the future holds, as I have already begun to move forward and recruit actively for next Fall, and we are incredibly excited about the guys that have expressed mutual interest in us.  

It is an exciting time to be a Viking.  Especially with the completion of our $7 Million brand new Valhalla Stadium.

Take a look at our Press Release regarding our incoming Freshmen class by clicking here.  As you will see almost all of the guys were either Team Captains, Leading Scorers, or All-County/All-State...etc.  

These guys are going to take our program to the next level, as is our 2016 Schedule where we will play host to Colorado College and Roanoke College, as well as, travel to Denison University and Washington College.  These games in addition to our SAA conference schedule will ensure our most competitive schedule to date.

I hope to see you on campus sometime real soon.

2015 Season Recap

This is one of my favorite photos from the 2015 Season, and was a great moment in time.  Cory Hall who was later selected by USILA to play in the North-South Game, scored the Overtime game winner at home on our Senior Day in front of a boisterous crowd.  

Click Here for Drone Video footage from our Pre-Game warm-up.

The SAA Conference is an incredibly competitive conference and proved again to be so in '15.  We finished as regular season champions in a tie and took a share of the crown.  We played in four one goal games.  We were fortunate to win the 1-goal games we needed, but ultimately lose the one we wanted in the SAA Championship game, where the winner receives an Automatic Qualifier to the NCAA Tournament.

Event though we didn't get the invite, we were still ready for the dance.

Post-Season accolades were our best yet, as Cory Hall and Jack Chase earned USILA Scholar All-American honors.  While the SAA All-Conference team featured four 1st team members in Cory Hall (Att), Jack Chase (Def), Max Smerka (Mid) and Nate Mayer (DM).  Additionally, the 2nd team featured Jake Lane (Def) and Christian Akers (Mid), while Patrick Towner (Def) rounded out the honorable mention accolades.

Other season highlights included a trip to Colorado and California on our Spring Break, our season opening win over Young-Harris in Kennesaw State University's stadium before the Duke/Denver rematch game, and the "Rome Mega-Bowl" it was glorious............................stay tuned............

2014-15 Season Recap

The 2014-15 Season featured our first ever graduating class, where we advanced to the SAA Semi-Final game and lost to Centre College in a heartbreaker.  I know that we could have won this game, but felt that I did not have my best season personally, as I was hit in the face with a shot and required reconstructive facial surgery.  I feel bad that I let my team down, but was proud of the way the guys battled through a season of adversity especially with a roster size of only 26 players.

Our 2014-15 season featured 9 all-conference players and 11 All-Academic SAA members.  However, the real thing I would like to boast about is that all 7 of the graduated seniors landed terrific jobs immediately after their graduation.  This is one area that Berry College excels at more than our competitors.  In fact, we have one player making $85,000 right out of college with AT&T!  The reason real reason why you go to Berry College ultimately, is to set yourself up for success in life.

We finished the season with a 12-5 record, and continue to show vast improvements, especially when comparing what we've accomplished in only 4 years against other new programs.  Berry College has been able to rise to prominence so quickly because of the facilities we offer, and the support we receive through both our administration and our budgeting resources.

You really have to see this place in person to fully grasp what an amazing place this is.

Coach Gilbert Introduction

I am sorry for the lack of posts over the past two years, and hope that you will continue to follow the Berry College Lacrosse program.  I will be updating this page more frequently, and hope you check in occasionally to see what is new.

With that in mind, I thought I would give you a little background about myself and where I am coming from.

In 2014-15 I accepted the position here at Berry College after spending 6 years as a Head Coach at New England College in New Hampshire.  I could not have been more excited for the opportunity at Berry Collge, and believe the potential for success here is infinite.

As stated, I spent 6 years in NH and took a team that was 1-13 prior to my arrival to 4 championship games in 6 years, including an NCAA Tournament berth, and also coached the programs first 2 All-Americans in over 70 years.  Additionally, 2 of my other players are now playing in the NLL.

With that said, I believe that if you bring in the right kind of student-athlete, success will follow.  I played at high level myself and was part of a National Championship team at Washington College.  I then went to Whittier College, Washington College, and Denison University all as an assistant and we advanced to the NCAA tournament at all three institutions, and twice we advanced to the Final Four.

Berry College is on the fringe of making the NCAA tournament as we have lost by 1 goal in the Conference Championship twice in the last three years.  Our guys are determined to score that extra goal that will help us advance to the tournament, and I too know that we can do that.

I hope you like what you hear, and continue to follow Berry College Lacrosse.

-Curtis Gilbert