Growing up in Billerica, Massachusetts, about 30 minutes outside of Boston, Piedmont College’s men’s lacrosse coach Tim Dunton has had a knack for lacrosse since a young age.

“My best friend’s father, a high school lacrosse coach, got me interested in lacrosse at a young age, I then went on to go play my college ball at Endicott College where I was an All-conference midfielder and was a captain in my senior season,” he said. “At Endicott, I fell in love with the game even more, and I knew that I was going to get into coaching somehow.”

Learning the game of lacrosse from the inside out by playing for a multitude of years and transferring that knowledge into coaching and passing it on to a newer generation for players to live out their lacrosse careers is something that Coach Dunton is very passionate about. After graduating and working at a couple of admission offices, Dunton ended up landing a coaching job at Lasell College in Newton, Massachusetts.

“While there, I was an assistant coach for one season before that coach left,” he said. “I became the head coach the next year at the age of 24. The rest, as they say, is history. I’ve been a college HC ever since. The 2020 season was my 19th year as a college coach, 18th as a Head Coach.” 

Once given the opportunity to head coach at Lasell, Dunton never looked back and ended up finding his way down to Piedmont in the fall of 2015, “I loved the campus from the first time I stepped on it and knew that we could do something special here.”

At Piedmont, Dunton’s presence and passion of coaching have been recognized. 

“Coach Dunton loves the game of lacrosse and loves to learn more about the game. His passion for the game is present every day, whether it is in the office, practice, or play. He is passionate about his team and passionate about helping them achieve success,” said Ryan McKay, Piedmont College assistant men’s lacrosse coach. “I think the biggest takeaway is seeing how well Coach Dunton builds relationships with the players. He cares about them and wants them to succeed in all aspects of life. Not just lacrosse.” 

The amount of enthusiasm that coach Dunton has for the game and his players is evident, both on and off the field. The success of his players in life is something that Dunton cares about deeply.

“Coach Dunton does an excellent job building relationships with our guys. Players are always coming to the office to talk and catch up about everything going on in their lives,” said McKay.

With the experience and history that coach Dunton has with lacrosse, he has learned a thing or two and expects his players to play with a certain intensity.

“Mentally he pretty much just tells us what to expect, and if you mess up he’ll get on to you, but immediately he will immediately tell you how to fix it and that it’s fine,” said Jason Grexa, a junior applied math major and defensive specialist.”

Although born in the Northeast — a hub for lacrosse — Dunton was pleasantly surprised at the popularity of lacrosse in the South. It’s a sport he is continuing to help build in the region, and enjoys promoting it to prospective students. 

“Be open to exploring different parts of the country,” he said. “Don’t lock yourself into the Northeast. If I had known that there were schools that cared about their athletes like Piedmont does, or schools that have the facilities that we do, I would have moved down here 10 years prior.”