STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (WHTM) — Every team will tell you they're a family, but Penn State takes that brotherhood to another level. Nittany Lions senior Grant Haus and assistant coach John Haus are brothers, but the family roots in lacrosse go deeper than that.
The Haus lacrosse legacy was starter by their father, John, and his brothers as kids in Baltimore. John and his wife, Lisa, have four boys: John, Will, Luke and Grant; three of the boys played lacrosse in college.
That brother connection on Penn State has served John and Grant well in their time in Happy Valley.
"They really respect and like [Grant]," son John said. "For them to feel comfortable with Grant, allows them to feel a little bit more comfortable with me. At the end of the day, I like to think that I hopefully treat all of these guys like I treat Grant. Like a brother."
Grant was already being recruited by Penn State as a student in Palmyra High School before his brother became a coach in the program. Enrolling in Penn State meant another set of Haus brothers would get to experience the highs and lows of lacrosse together.
"People don't always think maybe I've gotten here on my own sometimes," Grant said. "But my dad's been the one that's always been supporting me and pushing me and keeping me on that path. Following my brothers' footsteps, they put their head down, go to work and don't complain. So I just learn from them."
John played lacrosse at Maryland before playing professionally and on Team USA. His younger brother Will played at Duke and won two national championships before playing professionally and in the World Games with John.
"It's just a really hard working group, and I think that's something that has been instilled in myself since day one from both my family and my mom and my dad," son John said of his lacrosse roots.
Father John, a 1983 graduate of North Carolina, holds a 190-150 career record in 21 years as a head coach at Washington, Johns Hopkins, UNC, and LVC. In that span, he led those teams to eight NCAA tournaments—including five NCAA semifinal or final appearances—and coached 55 all-Americans.
"When you're a coach and your kids are around practices and games all the time, I think it just it grabs you and you want to do it," John saind. "That's probably why they wanted to play lacrosse."
John built the program at LVC back in 2010 and has led the Dutchmen since.
"I've been hired; I've been fired. I've had highs; I've had lows," John said "But the main and the consistent thing is I love getting up every day. I love coaching and teaching student athletes."
As John continues his coaching career, his father lets him find his own way and carve his own path.
"He's hardworking<" John said of his son John. "He's diligent. He knows the game. But I think the biggest strength he has is he has relationships with his players."
Dad's lessons trickled down from the eldest son, John, to the youngest, Grant.
"He's been my biggest supporter through it all," Grant said. "He's one that has always just believed in me, no matter the situation. I don't know if I would even get to where I am today."
"Grant is awesome," John said. "He's hard working, and he wants to be successful. Part of that could be because his brothers were. So he wants to match up with them and he's done an awesome job."
As Penn State moves into the NCAA tournament, keep an eye on the Haus brothers on the field and their proud parents in the stands.
Penn State and Princeton will square off in the 2023 NCAA Tournament on Sunday May 14th at 7:30pm, and as the higher-seed in the tournament, the Nittany Lions have earned the right to host the game at Panzer Stadium.
0 Commentaires