About Great American Lacrosse

San Antonio Lacrosse Coach
Paul Taylor

Family-Owned. San Antonio-Built. Growing the game here the right way — the same way it was grown for us.

Great American Lacrosse is a San Antonio family business, not a franchise. Everything we run — the camp, the club team, the training — started because someone did it for us first, and we did not want that to disappear when it was our turn.

What Great American Lacrosse Actually Is

SA Armadillos team celebrating together after a game

Great American Lacrosse is the parent brand behind the lacrosse programs we run in San Antonio. Different names, same coaching staff, same standard.

Summer Showdown Camp
San Antonio’s longest-running summer lacrosse camp, San Antonio’s longest-running summer lacrosse camp.
SA Armadillos
Our club and travel team — boys 1st–8th grade and girls 5th–8th grade.
Training & Clinics
Private and small-group training, the Speed & Skills Clinic, and the winter rec league.

Where This Came From

San Antonio Armadillos youth lacrosse team group photo

San Antonio lacrosse did not start with us. It started with Coach Earl Bill at Saint Mary’s Hall, and the Alamo Lacrosse Camp he ran there.

The Alamo Camp
For years it was the only lacrosse camp in the city. Players came from Keystone, Alamo Heights, The Academy, Central Catholic, St. Anthony’s — everybody, from every program, on the same field. Coach Bill hired the best coaches he could find and pointed the whole thing at one goal: grow the game locally. At its peak the camp drew 150 players from all across the state.
2008 — It Ends
The Alamo Camp ran its last summer. Coach Bill’s Saint Mary’s Hall teams had won three straight state championships from 1998 to 2000 and finished 150–23 over his tenure, and the camp went out at the top. San Antonio was suddenly without a summer lacrosse camp.
Summer Showdown
Coach Paul and his brothers started the Summer Showdown Lacrosse Camp to keep the tradition going. It has run in gyms and on fields all over the city — Trinity University, Saint Mary’s Hall, and Classic Elite Soccer Academy. The camp took two summers off when Coach Paul moved to Denver, where he ran it for one year before bringing it back home to San Antonio.
2022 — Great American Lacrosse
The camp, the club team, and the training programs came under one roof. Today that also includes the SA Armadillos, private training, the Speed & Skills Clinic, and the winter rec league.

Meet Coach Paul Taylor

Coach Paul Taylor playing college lacrosse
SA Armadillos players on the sideline at a San Antonio lacrosse tournament
Coach Paul Taylor

Paul was born and raised in San Antonio and learned this game the same way the players he coaches are learning it now — from someone local who cared. He played at Saint Mary’s Hall for Coach Earl Bill, and in 2008 was named a High School All-American, one of only eight players in the state of Texas that year.

He went on to play NCAA Division III lacrosse in Baltimore, one of the deepest lacrosse regions in the country. He was a two-time All-Conference defenseman on teams that won three conference titles and reached the NCAA tournament, and finished one season ranked the number eight defender in the country by LaxPower. He came home to finish a History degree, cum laude, at UT San Antonio.

Since then he has spent 15+ years coaching — first grade through varsity, in San Antonio and in Colorado, where he coached at the high school level for several years. He has helped dozens of players go on to play in college. Today he is the Varsity Head Coach at Central Catholic High School and runs Great American Lacrosse’s programs full-time.

High School All-American — 1 of 8 in Texas
NCAA Division III — 2x Conference Champion, 2x All-Conference Defenseman
USA Lacrosse Certified Platinum Level Coach — boys and girls
Parisi Speed Certified · CPR, AED and First Aid certified
Varsity Head Coach — Central Catholic High School
15+ years coaching, 1st grade through varsity

Coach Bill pulled me aside at Saint Mary’s Hall when I was in 7th grade and told me, ‘Son, one day you’re going to be a hell of a lacrosse player.’ From that point on, the rest is history. Now that I coach high school players myself, I realize how well he knew the game and what an impact he had on everyone’s life. He was a mentor and a father before he was a coach, and we hope to pass on the lessons he taught us.

— Coach Paul Taylor

How We Coach

Coach Paul with his college lacrosse team on campus
Coach Paul Taylor playing lacrosse during his college career

Discipline, hard work, commitment, and character — in that order, before anything that shows up in a box score. Lacrosse is called the fastest game on two feet, so we train speed, footwork, and body control alongside stick skills, because an athlete who moves well stays healthier and plays longer.

But the reason we do it is simpler than that. Our coaches shaped who we are. There is nothing more rewarding than watching a player reach their full potential as an athlete and as a person, and every program we run is built to make that happen.

Great American Lacrosse summer camp players on the field
Every year we give back to Lax Traders, Lacrosse the Nations, and STXYLA — three organizations working to make lacrosse more accessible for kids everywhere. We also run a free community clinic in San Antonio every February, and we help with gear.

Come Say Hello

Questions about a program, or not sure where your player fits? Coach Paul answers his own phone.

Call or Text · 726-234-3889
Email · Paul@GreatAmericanLacrosse.com