Notre Dame head women’s lacrosse coach Christine Halfpenny has announced the addition of Adam Sear to the staff as an associate coach. Sear is joining the Irish after spending five seasons with the University of Michigan.
“I am excited to welcome Adam to the Notre Dame Lacrosse Family,” said Halfpenny. “Over the past five seasons I have had the unique opportunity to see his growth as an assistant coach at Michigan. He understands the landscape of playing in a top conference, brings ACC playing experience to ND, has coached Michigan to the NCAA tournament twice and just recently had the opportunity to coach on the international stage at the World Cup for Team Australia.
“I can’t wait to see the impact Adam makes on our team as he coordinates the offense. His energy and enthusiasm paired with his high lacrosse IQ are an outstanding fit for our program.”
During the 2022 season Sear helped Michigan reach the second round of the NCAA tournament for only the second time in program history. The Wolverines finished 11-7 with 219 goals on the season.
The University of Notre Dame has an incredibly powerful reputation in the sport of women’s lacrosse and I am so excited to join the Notre Dame family,” said Sear. “I’d like to thank Coach Halfpenny for this incredible opportunity. I am ready to help build and continue to grow the already amazing culture and overall experience that Coach Halfpenny and these amazing student-athletes have already established. Go Irish.”
Sear has helped the Wolverines achieve the best campaigns in program history. U-M went 16-4 in the 2019 season, earning its first-ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament in which it hosted the first and second rounds. Furthermore, the Wolverines went 9-0 at U-M Lacrosse Stadium in the regular season and defeated six ranked opponents.
Sear helped the 2019 Wolverines break the school single-season goal record (257) tallied the most ground balls in a single game (30), ranked second in fewest turnovers in a single game (nine) and recorded the third-highest total of goals in a single game (20).
Sear has spent seven years in the collegiate ranks and has nine overall years of coaching, as he has also taught the game at the high school and club level.
Prior to his time at Michigan, Sear served as the director of athlete enrichment at Sports Academy in Thousand Oaks, California, beginning February 2017. Sports Academy is an all-inclusive sports and fitness facility dedicated to creating full-circle athletes of all ages and skill levels. Sear was directly responsible for the Personal Development Year program.
Prior to his stint at Sports Academy, he was the Director of 3d Lacrosse, LLC., a club team organization in Los Angeles, California, for three years (2014-17). He was responsible for the Los Angeles and Orange County markets and coached boys and girls ages 6-18.
Prior to his stop at Michigan, Sear was last involved in collegiate coaching as a men’s assistant coach at Stevenson University (Owings Mills, Maryland) for the 2013 and 2014 seasons. He helped lead Stevenson to the Division III national championship in 2013. He got his start in coaching at Ferrum College (Division III) in Ferrum, Virginia, spending two seasons as a men’s assistant coach and recruiting coordinator with the Panthers.
As a player, Sear competed for the University of Maryland for four years, helping lead the Terrapins to four consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances. Following his senior season, he was selected to play in the USILA North-South All-Star Game.
In addition to his collegiate career, Sear has also represented his home country of Australia at the highest level, competing in the 2010 World Championships. A native of Perth, Australia, he helped lead Australia to a bronze medal.
Sear graduated from Maryland with a bachelor’s degree in family science in 2010, and went on to earn a master’s degree in business management and information technology from Stevenson in 2014.