COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Scott Popelar, a fixture in the Colorado lacrosse community for the last decade, has joined the Colorado College men’s program as an assistant coach, head coach Guy Van Arsdale announced today.

Popelar’s addition gives CC one of the most distinguished coaching staffs in Division III lacrosse. He will focus on the defense, while fellow assistant Mike Podgajny works with the attack.

“The experience and knowledge those guys bring will give me a great deal of freedom to attack portions of our team I think may need attention,” Van Arsdale said. “I can bounce from one end of the field to the other because I have full faith that either of those guys can handle their end of the field exceptionally well.

“The true beneficiaries of us having two great assistant coaches are our players. They’re getting coached and taught in aspects of the game in ways they have never had before. In just a couple of days, we’ve seen the benefits of that.”

Popelar has more than 10 years experience with some of the most successful programs in the state. He also coordinated the Colorado Springs Parks and Rec Summer Lacrosse Camp from 2001-08.

“Because of his connections and knowledge of local players and local coaches, and the relationships that he has built over the years, he’s been able to act as an intermediary on my behalf,” Van Arsdale said. “That’s helped me meet and get to know some of these people a lot quicker than I would have been able to without Scott’s assistance.”

Popelar served as an assistant coach at Kent Denver the last two seasons, coaching the close defense and middies while coordinating the overall team defense. He helped lead the Sun Devils to the 2008 state championship and a quarterfinal appearance in 2009.

In 2007, Popelar was an assistant coach with state champion Fort Collins Unified High School. He also served as head coach at Air Academy High School from 2001-05.

Popelar’s collegiate experience includes one season as an assistant coach at the United States Air Force Academy and six seasons in the same role at Butler University.

He played at The Ohio State University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering (1988), as well as a master’s and doctorate in engineering mechanics (1990, ’93).

Popelar had an immediate impact on CC’s recruiting efforts in Colorado.

“Having him here has helped us already because of the esteem he has from all the other high school coaches,” Van Arsdale said. “Knowing Scott is involved with our program I think raises the specter of CC lacrosse in their eyes a few notches. It’s a nice situation for him and a tremendous situation for us.”

Popelar works at Aeroflex Incorporated in Colorado Springs where he leads the research and development of packaging engineering.