To be a successful coach in any sport, it never hurts to be able to look into the future.

And not just a few months but, in some cases, a few years.

La Salle High head lacrosse coach Rob Forster has the aforementioned skill and he used it well, especially with this year's seniors.

All the Explorers did, with a team that had eight seniors heading to play lacrosse on the Division I-A level, was get all the way to the PIAA Class 3A final before his team fell to juggernaut Radnor, which won its fourth straight state title by knocking off La Salle High 9-6 in the championship game.

For seeing the future, and guiding his team in the present, Forster has been named the Courier Times/Intelligencer boys' lacrosse Coach of the Year.

"You could tell when our current seniors showed up on campus as freshmen that they were very talented and very focused on school and lacrosse and that they loved the game," Forster said.

"It was pretty apparent right away that if they continued to work hard and improve, they would just get better and better."

Forster's team, which finished 23-2, won its eighth straight PIAA District 12 Class 3A title and blitzed through the PIAA playoffs, outscoring its first three opponents by 33-8 to reach the state title game.

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The Explorers' only other loss came against Malvern Prep of the Inter-Academic League by the same 9-6 score as the state title game. The Friars finished ranked No. 3 in the country by USA Today.

"He (Forster) and the rest of the coach staff always have us ready to play," said La Salle High senior goalie Matt Nelson, who will continue his lacrosse year at St. John's University.

"We're prepared for every game and know what we have to do."

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The fifth-year head coach credits his seniors, and the players that came before them, for helping the Explorers enjoy the success they did this season.

"Every year has its challenges and highs and lows," Forster said. "And this year was no different. It's the first time we had a senior class like this and the seniors before them over the past couple of years laid the groundwork and showed these current guys the way.

"And they took everything they learned and ran with it and just had a great season."

Drew Markol covers local sports for PhillyBurbs.com. Support our journalism with a subscription.

This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: High School Boys' Lacrosse: La Salle High's Forster is coach of year