SUPPORT STAFF
5
FRED ACEE VOLUNTEER ASSISTANT COACH Legendary coach Fred Acee is in his fifth season as a volunteer assistant for the Air Force lacrosse team. Acee, who retired at the end of the 2009 season, has more than 40 years of coaching experience, including 11 seasons at the helm of the Falcons’ program. Acee, who holds a career record of 350-223-1, was Air Force’s head coach from 1998-2008 before serving in an administrative capacity during his final year with the Falcons. Among the highlights during his tenure with the Falcons are an upset victory over ninth-ranked conference foe Notre Dame in 2006 and a historic win against defending national champion Virginia to open the 2004 season. The victory over the Cavaliers marked the first time the Falcons had knocked off a top-ranked team. Prior to his arrival at the Academy, Acee, a 1963 graduate of Cortland State, spent 30 years as the lacrosse coach at SUNY-Farmingdale, leading the Rams to three NJCAA championships and 25 Final Fours. Acee was also named the NJCAA Coach of the Year on four occasions (1977, 1981, 1987 and 1997). Over the past four-plus decades, Acee has racked up numerous accolades, including inductions into the Long Island Metropolitan Hall of Fame and the Junior College Lacrosse Hall of Fame. He served as the defensive coach for the U.S. lacrosse team which won a world championship in 1994 and was also the head coach for the South team at the North/South All-Star Game in 2002. Acee was honored as the Howdy Myers Man of the Year by the USILA in 2001, and in 2007, he was recipient of both the USILA’s Frenchy Julien Service Award and the IMLCA Creators Award. Most recently, Acee was inducted into the Cortland C-Club Hall of Fame in 2010.
JEFF KIPP STRENGTH & CONDITIONING COACH Jeff Kipp works with the Air Force lacrosse program as the team’s strength and conditioning coach. Kipp began his career at the Academy coaching career in 2004 when he was hired as an assistant strength and conditioning coach. Prior to joining the staff at the Air Force Academy, Kipp served as a performance coach at Velocity Sports Performance in Denver and Evergreen, Colo. Before his stint at Velocity, Kipp was an assistant strength and conditioning coach at the University of Denver. Kipp began his collegiate strength and conditioning coaching career as the director of strength and conditioning at the Colorado School of Mines. Kipp received his bachelor’s of science degree in kinesiology from Texas A&M University in 1995 and his master’s of science in exercise science from the University of Northern Colorado in 2004. Jeff also holds credentials as a strength and conditioning specialist through the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) and is also a member of the Collegiate Strength and Conditioning Coaches Association, USA Weightlifting, USA Track and Field and the National Association of Speed and Explosion.
DERRICK FITTS ATHLETIC TRAINER Derrick Fitts is in his sixth year as an athletic trainer at the Air Force Academy. His primary duties include working with the lacrosse team and the varsity and junior varsity football teams. Fitts arrived at the Academy in 2008 from the University of Tulsa, where he was an assistant athletic trainer for one year, working primarily with men’s basketball, football and track and field, while also serving as an ACI instructor. Prior to his stint at Tulsa, Fitts was an assistant athletic trainer and practice facility manager for the Denver Nuggets from 2004 until 2007. Fitts also worked as an assistant athletic trainer and insurance coordinator at Kansas State from 2000-2003, while serving as the assistant athletic trainer and student intern program coordinator at the University of Colorado from 2003-2004. Fitts graduated from the University of Florida in 1999 with a bachelor’s degree in Exercise and Sports Science, with an athletic training specialization. While pursuing his degree, Fitts worked as a student intern with the Denver Broncos from 1996-1999. He went on to earn an M.A. in kinesiology from the University of Northern Colorado in 2000. A member of the National Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA) since 1999, Fitts was also certified as a Performance Enhancement Specialist in 2005.
2014 AIR FORCE LACROSSE