Report: ‘Godfather’ of Louisiana lacrosse, Karl Mitchell, dies at age 48

TopLaxRecruits.com, Posted 7/20/13

Karl Mitchell, who was instrumental in starting boys’ lacrosse in Louisiana nearly 20 years ago and continued to coach at the high school level, died suddenly Friday at age 48, the Shreveport Times has reported.

Mitchell was head coach at Byrd in Shreveport since 2001. He started that program after first launching lacrosse in the state at St. Paul’s (Now Loyola-Shreveport) in 1995.

“Everything that is lacrosse in Shreveport is because of Karl Mitchell,” said Loyola head coach Matt Volentine to the Shreveport Times. Volentine played against Mitchell and coached with him this summer. “He started the team at St. Paul’s that became Loyola, and then he built Byrd. He pretty much built lacrosse in Shreveport.”

Mitchell played high school in lacrosse in Baltimore, collegiately at The Citadel, according to the report.

“I call him the Godfather of lacrosse in this area,” Byrd assistant coach Michael Pabst told the Shreveport times. “He’s been the only coach a generation of Byrd players have known.”