John Sung was selected in May 2011 as the first women's lacrosse coach in school history. Sung is considered a pioneer in women's lacrosse after beginning a successful program at Adrian College in Michigan four years ago.
In only his third season at the helm of the Eagles in 2015, Sung guided the Eagles to a Big South regular season and tournament title and took Winthrop to its first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance. The Eagles finished 2015 with a 17-4 record, the most wins in a single-season in Big South history. Winthrop also set Big South single-season records for points, goals, free-position goals, shots, shots on goal, ground balls, draw controls and caused turnovers. Sung also was awarded the 2015 Big South Coach of the Year award.
Over his tenure, the Eagles have compiled an overall record of 34-23 and a 13-8 mark in the Big South. Winthrop has received 18 All-Conference awards in three years plus two Freshman of the Year awards and one Attacking Player of the Year honor. The Eagles have also been named to the IWLCA Honor Squad twice.
In addition to his coaching at Winthrop, the Troy, Michigan native also serves as head coach of the Haudenosaunee Nation, a mixture of Native American Nations. In the 2013 Federation of International Lacrosse World Cup held in Oshawa Canada, he led the Haudenosaunee Nation to a quarterfinals appearance, eventually losing to the gold medal winning United States. The Haudenosaunee Nation finished the 2013 World Cup in 7
th place out of 19 teams. Also in the 2009 Federation of International Lacrosse World Cup in Prague, Czech Republic the Haudenosaunee Nation finished 11
th out of 16 teams. At the time of his initial appointment, he was the only NCAA Division III head coach to be asked to serve.
Outside of coaching, Sung also serves on the NCAA Division I Lacrosse committee and on the US Lacrosse Convention Education Committee. As part of the Education Committee, he is jointly responsible for designing educational opportunities for lacrosse coaches at multiple levels at their annual convention.
Sung previously compiled a four-year record of 46-19 as head coach at Adrian and led the Bulldogs to a 16-5 record and a first round appearance in the NCAA Div. III Championship in 2011. The 2011 team put together a winning streak of 15 games before losing in the NCAA tournament.
Sung guided the Adrian Bulldogs through their inaugural season in 2008 as the only varsity program in the state of Michigan. The Bulldogs opened the season with four straight victories. His first team finished the season with a 6-7 overall record, but managed a very impressive 4-1 record at home.
Since that season, Sung's teams had three straight winning years as it went 10-4 in 2009, 14-3 in 2010, and 16-5 in 2011. His college head coach winning percentage now stands at .708. His teams have a reputation for their ability to score goals. His 2009 team ranked 5
th in the NCAA for scoring offense and set a NCAA record for points in a game with 53. The 2010 team finished the year ranked 2
nd in the nation in scoring and 1
st in scoring margin and the 2011 squad ranked 1
st in scoring.
Before taking over the Adrian coaching position, Sung spent five years as the assistant women's varsity club lacrosse coach at the University of Michigan. The Wolverines accumulated a 93-22 record while he was the assistant coach. Also while at Michigan, Sung was in charge of recruiting for the team and had one goalie tabbed as the pre-season player of the year.
A longtime trainer of goalies, Sung has held various coaching positions with Birmingham Seaholm High School and the Detroit Lacrosse Club. He has been the assistant director of the Great Lakes Women's Lacrosse Camp since 1997.
As a player, Sung was a two-year team captain and served as the starting goalkeeper of the Oakland University lacrosse team in 1997 and 1998. He was also a member of two International Cup U-16 championship teams in 1993 and 1994. He completed his Bachelor of Arts degree in communications from Oakland University in 2007.
Sung is married to Justina Sung and has three stepsons, Darek, Devin and Zachary and a daughter, Abby.
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