Dan Oliver leads Churchill lacrosse into new era after legendary coach Jeff Fritz’s departure

Following Fritz’s 30-year tenure, Oliver is shaping the Winston Churchill boys lacrosse program with a mix of tradition and fresh energy

Winston Churchill lacrosse is building on past tradition while forging some new ones under coach Dan Oliver, who replaced Jeff Fritz two years ago. Fritz spent 30-years at the Bulldogs' helm. / Winston Churchill Lacrosse Hudle

Two years ago, longtime Winston Churchill High School (Maryland) boys lacrosse head coach Jeff Fritz announced that he was stepping down after an illustrious 30 years. That summer, the Potomac high school announced that their new head coach would be Dan Oliver, who had previously coached boys lacrosse at Montgomery Blair High School from 2021-2022.

“[Fritz] had a really good culture going,” said Oliver. “He had a lot of community support. It was really nice to have all of that foundation there when I first stepped in to coach. I’ve coached a lot of places over my career, but it seemed like the Churchill guys really understood what it took to be successful right off the get-go.”

Oliver grew up in Silver Spring, Maryland and played lacrosse at Springbrook High School, where he played against Fritz’s Bulldogs until he graduated in 2008.

“When I was young and playing at Springbrook, Churchill was the team to beat,” said Oliver. “When I first started coaching in the county, we always went after Churchill. We wanted to win, and we would game plan. Now actually being on the other side of it at Churchill, it’s a really cool feeling being the coach of a team with such strong history.”

In terms of advice Fritz would give Oliver about the Churchill job, Fritz basically gave the keys to Oliver and let him do whatever he wanted.

“Coach Fritz is interesting because he doesn’t really give you advice unless you ask for it,” said Oliver. “A lot of what I had questions about were how the facilities work and what parents are more involved. Other than that, he was very hands off. He let me run what I think should be ran and didn’t really give input unless I asked for it. In that regard, it takes a lot to run a program for 30 years, then just hand it over and just have to trust the guy taking over.”

Over the course of Fritz’s tenure at Churchill, he led the Bulldogs to multiple regional titles and the 2022 MPSSAA 4A boys lacrosse state championship. He remains a beloved figure in Potomac.

“I was really excited to get the job,” said Oliver. “I thought that there’s a lot that can be done with a program like this. You’ve got really good participation, a really good community behind you. You can run practices a little bit differently when you have 30 kids versus when you have 15-20 kids on a team.”

Aside from Churchill, Oliver is also a science teacher at Mater Dei Middle School in Bethesda, Maryland. There, he coaches the seventh and eighth grade lacrosse teams.

“It’s a lot,” said Oliver. “They’re 12-hour days. Often times, I’m running over from a game with Bullis or Landon over to practice with Churchill, even to play another game that day. I love the sport. It’s fun, it keeps me learning, it keeps me sharp, and it keeps me thinking about the sport and tactics.”

The current Churchill coach is also one of the directors for Rebels DMV Lacrosse Club, which has players from all over Montgomery County and the surrounding counties like Frederick and Carroll County.

“It’s really cool to play games, and see some of our guys on every team in the county, and see how they’re doing and watch them win accolades at the end of the year,” said Oliver.

Oliver has been coaching lacrosse in the DC metro area for over 10 years now. His first head coaching job was at John F. Kennedy High School in Silver Spring, where his first game, funny enough, was against Churchill and Coach Fritz.

Oliver then served as a Varsity assistant at St. John’s College High School (D.C.) under Wes Speaks from 2016-2020. During that time, the Cadets made multiple WCAC championships appearances, winning the first title in 2017.

“My time there was basically just learning,” said Oliver. “Learning how to coach, learning what schemes are successful, what schemes aren’t, learning how to motivate. I learned from a lot of different people. Basically, I try and take different ways to teach from that experience.”

Oliver’s first season as Churchill boys lacrosse head coach in 2024 was a successful one. Last year, the Bulldogs finished 13-3 and made a deep playoff run to the semifinals, where they fell to Urbana.

“It was heartbreaking,” said Oliver. “We have a really tough road once the playoffs start. We have to play all the best teams in Montgomery County to get out of Montgomery County. We were pretty banged up at that point in the season. Everyone was just really exhausted. For me, this year we want to be a little more physical. We want to just get used to that pace and that level of play, because [Urbana] really went after us last year. It was not a great memory.”

One Churchill boys lacrosse player to look out for this season is attackman Jack Thompson, the team’s top offensive player who is going to Christopher Newport University. “He’s just a really good all-around player,” said Oliver. “Strong dodger, really good feeder, and he’s got a great shot from distance.”

Another player Oliver highlighted is long stick midfielder Cole Casten. “He’s been doing really well in the preseason,” said Oliver. “Ground ball machine. He’s up and down the field.”

Churchill is set to open the 2025 season at home against Wootton on Friday night. Churchill-Wootton has been one of the biggest rivalries in the county for years, especially in lacrosse.

“We’ve been working a lot these past two weeks,” said Oliver. “I think we’re in pretty good shape for [Friday]. Obviously, there are some things we need to tighten up this early in the season. But we have been working really hard, and I think we’re going to be really happy when we play [on Friday].”

One notable senior from last year who graduated from Churchill was Xander Frey, who is currently playing lacrosse at Bates College. In fact, he’s the only Class of 2024 graduate who went on to play lax in college.

The team also lost Taigh Merola, who was the main face-off man. “We’ve got some juniors that hope to fill his shoes this year,” said Oliver. “They’re doing a really great job, and we’re looking for them to step up.”

Other seniors who graduated last year include defensemen Charlie Butler and Will Stanish, as well as midfielders Declan Carnathan and Matt Glassman.

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