Club History and Coaching Staff

Lafayette Lacrosse Club was founded in 1991, as the first high school boys’ lacrosse program in the St. Louis area. Lafayette continues to be recognized as the perennial top public school in the state of Missouri. The club has churned out 13 All-America and six Academic All-America players, as well as over a hundred All-State players. Numerous Student Athletes in the program have gone on to play at all levels collegiately. 

Ren Pettinelli started his coaching career at Lafayette High School after moving there from the Syracuse area in 1992. He immediately found himself involved in the small but quickly growing lacrosse community of the St. Louis area. After serving as an Assistant Coach and Head JV Coach for three seasons, Coach Ren took over the Varsity Head Coaching duties for the 1995 season, where he has remained for the last 29 seasons. While at Lafayette, Ren accumulated over 300 wins, was part of three State Championships, participated in an additional three State Championship Games, and made appearances in five more Final Fours. During his more than 29 seasons as a head coach, Ren has been named Missouri Coach of the Year five times and Man of the Year three times. Coach Pettinelli is a member of the Missouri Lacrosse Hall of Fame.   

Off the field, Ren has been involved in lacrosse at both the state and national level. In Missouri, Ren has served a number of terms as President of the Missouri Scholastic Lacrosse Association and is currently the Treasurer of the organization. He also oversees the All-America process at the state level. Nationally, some of Ren’s fondest coaching moments came as a selector for three U19 USA Team tryouts. Coach Pettinelli also ran the National Senior Showcase for USA Lacrosse and served as president of NILA. In 2013, Ren Pettinelli, Joe Baccarella and John Kenney were able to re-organize NILA (NILCA) as a National High School Coaches Association now with over 525-lifetime members.    

Ren retired after the 2023 season, celebrating his 300th win and first place in the Suburban West Conference. In 2023, he was also inducted into The National Interscholastic Lacrosse Coaches Association Hall of Fame. 

Jason Seidel is the new head coach for Lafayette Lacrosse Club in 2024. He was born and raised in West Nyack, New York where he played football, lacrosse, and was a swimmer. He attended Colorado State University where he played lacrosse and later became assistant coach under his mentor, Flip Naumburg.  

 Coach Seidel coached Mizzou Lacrosse in 2003, and then attended the C.I.A. in Hyde Park, NY before settling in Chesterfield, MO in the fall of 2006. “Some of the guys from Mizzou convinced me to coach at Parkway West which was my first introduction the Missouri lacrosse community,” said Seidel.  

 Coach Seidel assisted Parkway West in the ‘07, ’08, ’09, ’14, ’15 seasons. He was also head coach for 10 seasons at Chaminade ’10, ‘11, ‘12, ’13, ‘16, '17, ‘18, ‘19, ‘20, and ‘21. He volunteered for Lafayette’s youth lacrosse program before assisting at the high school level for LHS in ‘22 and ‘23. He is also proud to teach gym classes at Chesterfield and Babler Elementary schools. 

Coach Seidel currently works as a chef at Prasino and lives in Wildwood with his wife Cecilia and two children (Eleanor class of 2023 and Henry 2027).