COACH 2001 - PRESENT

John Hayden started the Apex High School Men’s Lacrosse Program in 2001 as a club team and it became a varsity program in 2002. Coach Hayden has won three men’s lacrosse state championships and has finished as state runner-up three additional times. Coach Hayden has won over 300 games, and over 60 of his players have earned All-State Honors. In 2018 Coach Hayden was elected to the North Carolina Lacrosse Hall of Fame. As an ambassador for lacrosse on a county and state level, John has volunteered countless hours in camps and clinics to grow the sport.

Coach Hayden is an alumnus of Farmingdale High School on Long Island where his 1983 team won the Nassau County Championship and Hayden earned All Nassau County Honors as a defenseman. Hayden also played Division I Lacrosse at Rutgers University and participated in the NCAA playoffs two times while playing “On the Banks.”

Coach Hayden’s teams are involved with the Apex Turkey Trot community event and several charities — most recently, the Wounded Warrior Project and the Vs Cancer Foundation. A true testament to Coach Hayden’s program is how involved the Apex Lacrosse Alumni remain and how many come from all over the country to attend games and the alumni reunion each year. Coach Hayden is proud to live in the Apex community with his wife, Susan, and his children, Jack and Lindsay, who were both athletes at Apex High School. John continues to coach Men’s Lacrosse at Apex High School today.