BUTLER TWP — Bob Conklin never played lacrosse himself — but not by choice.

“That sport wasn't around when I was in school,” the 1981 Elderton graduate said. “If it was, I have no doubt I would have played.”

Why not? Conklin, 56, approved as Butler High School's head girls lacrosse coach Monday night, has been involved with most sports.

Conklin was head girls lacrosse coach at Freeport the past four years. He was assisant coach for the Indiana High School girls lacrosse program the four years before that.

“I helped start that program, in fact,” Conklin said.

While doing so, a grant from U.S. Lacrosse enabled Conklin and the other Indiana coaches to travel to Philadelphia for a training session in coaching the sport.

“I was trained by the Ohio State goalie,” Conklin said. “That's where I learned the game — and I learned a lot about goalies. The rest of my experience has been on the job training.”

Conklin was one of two who interviewed for the vacant position.

“He's got a passion for it and we liked the fact he has experoence as a head coach,” Butler athletic director Bill Mylan said. “He knows we've had moderate success in the past and he likes the challenge of working with a bigger program.”

Conklin has been involved in coaching sports for 38 years. He started out coaching elementary basketball at age 18. He has coached high school basketball, soccer and softball through the years.

He also umpires baseball and softball during the summer and keeps the scorebook at Armstrong High School boys basketball games.

Conklin is employed as a township supervisor in Kittanning.

While an assistant lacrosse coach at Indiana, his teams never made the WPIAL playoffs. The Little Indians have reached the playoffs the past two years.

“We helped develop that program,” Conklin said. “Freeport has no youth program, so all of the girls in grades 9-12 were just learning the game. As a result, we did not have playoff caliber teams.”

He sees a different dynamic in Butler. The Golden Tornado were 5-12 last year under interim coach Annie Tigano.

“We didn't have enough girls for a JV team at Freeport,” Conklin said. “We will have one at Butler. I see a lot of potential there. They have a good youth program in place.

“Last year, they had a lot of people hurt. My immediate goal is to finish with more wins than last year and develop Butler into a consistent playoff team.”

Conklin plans to hire two assistant coaches. He is interviewing three prospects, all former collegiate women's lacrosse players.

“I'm looking forward to having those assistants work with the Butler girls,” he said. “I like to have multiple assistants. It's like football ... The more eyes and ears you have on things, the better.”

Conklin plans on meeting with Butler's youth coaches “to see what they're doing there and how I can help them.” He also plans on hosting a summer camp for younger players.

“I'll work closely with the junior varsity team, too, try to get them to the next level,” Conklin said. “This is all about building and maintaining a program.”