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  • Dana Hills lacrosse coach Chris Iltis talks with his team...

    Dana Hills lacrosse coach Chris Iltis talks with his team after a game during the spring season. Iltis took over the program in January.

  • Dana Hills boys’ lacrosse coach Chris Iltis, right, talks with...

    Dana Hills boys’ lacrosse coach Chris Iltis, right, talks with one of his players during a game this past spring. Iltis was hired by Dana Hills in January.

  • The Iltis family – Chris with wife Joanna and two...

    The Iltis family – Chris with wife Joanna and two sons Dylan, right, and Kirran – moved to San Clemente before Chris accepted the head coaching position at Dana Hills High.

  • Chris Iltis with South Coast Sand Crabs seventh-grade player Luke...

    Chris Iltis with South Coast Sand Crabs seventh-grade player Luke Perry and older brother Logan after a practice. Logan Perry was selected as Dana Hills varsity MVP this past season.

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The first six months of Chris Iltis’ tenure as Dana Hills’ new boys lacrosse coach were a real trial by fire.

After being hired in January, the 35-year old’s tenure was forced to a quick start as Iltis had less than a month with his new team to prepare for the upcoming season.

With so little time and a team that hadn’t been taught most of the proper techniques, Iltis endured quite a bit through his first season, but maintains a positive outlook about the experience.

“I felt bad for the players that they didn’t have consistency,” Iltis said. “I saw the fields and the area, and I was impressed. There’s talent here. It was just a lack of organization. Only a handful had played before high school.”

Iltis is the third boys lacrosse coach at Dana Hills in three years and the fifth coach in the last six years.

However, Iltis is already planning long term. A native of New Jersey, Iltis came into his own with the sport of lacrosse after moving near Towson, Md., a hotbed for the sport.

“I walked by a field and saw the kids playing lacrosse when I was 10 and I thought it was exciting,” Iltis recalled. “By the time I was 11, I had a stick in my hand.”

When Iltis got to high school, he had to make a choice. Up to that point, he had played both baseball and lacrosse, but at the time, students were encouraged to focus on one sport.

Iltis chose lacrosse and went on to play at Fort Lewis College in Colorado before heading to San Clemente.

A brief move back to Maryland was where Iltis got his coaching start with the Kelly Post Lacrosse organization, which claims to be the oldest youth organization for the sport in the nation.

There, Iltis coached year-round and worked with high profile names in the sport, such as Matt Lewandowski, who played for the Baltimore Thunder in the National Lacrosse League, among others.

But what focused him on coaching was his oldest son Dylan.

“I started coaching him when we moved back to Maryland. I really have to give credit to him for my start,” Iltis said. “I sat on the board of directors with these legends … who schooled me in coaching. When you’re playing and coaching, it’s two different things.”

After spending three years in Maryland, Iltis, along with his wife, Joanna, and sons Dylan and Kirran, moved back to San Clemente and got started at Dana Hills High.

Through his first six months, not only has he put a focus on fundamentals, but player safety has been at the top of his list, having players see the school’s trainer any time he notices something on the field.

“We had two kids suffer concussions that ended their career,” Iltis said. “They’ll never get a chance to play again. I hate seeing that, so we need to condition and be better prepared for this year.”

Now that Iltis has a chance to prepare for next season, his main objectives are to build team chemistry and establish those fundamentals, all while keeping positive influence.

For team bonding, Iltis brought in a good friend, Gunnery Sergeant David Hernandez – a veteran who has done four tours in Iraq and Afghanistan – to go over drills that force his athletes to rely on one another.

“When I first got here, they had the ‘blame game’,” Iltis said. “So we dropped the sticks and we did caterpillar crawls under the others who were planking and did carrying exercises where they had to finish as a team.”

As for the fundamentals, Iltis keeps it simple to start, telling his athletes to practice their stickwork by throwing the ball against a wall whenever possible.

“As long as we play and condition and hit that wall, we’ll make the playoffs,” Iltis said. “I always say, ‘The wall is your friend, you always get so many repetitions with the wall and you can practice your off hand.’ ”

Iltis hopes to stick around as Dana Hills’ head coach for the long term and has already begun efforts to generate interest in lacrosse with youth in the community.

“I always shoot for the sky. I really like these kids,” Iltis said. “I’m impressed with Dana Hills. We’ve already grown leaps and bounds with summer camps and club teams.”

Contact the writer: 949-492-5135 or npercy@ocregister.com