Catholic University of America

Coach Lyons has been with the Catholic Men's rugby program since 2017. During that time Catholic has finished repeatedly in the top 10 in the nation, reached the national playoffs multiple times and has made two appearances in the national final four.  

Most recently, he was the head coach of the St. John's College High School (DC) rugby team, guiding them to multiple playoff appearances and in his first season winning their first Brother’s Cup in over a decade. Prior to that, Lyons served as an assistant coach for the Georgetown Prep (MD) rugby team, helping Prep become a program of national prominence and landing the first top-10 ranking in program history. He has coached the Maryland State High School All-Star Teams and various invitational and select teams. For 15 years, Coach Lyons was the director of rugby for the Potomac Athletic Club Youth Rugby Program in Silver Spring, MD, where his teams won state championships in every age grade. From 1988 until 1997, while he was still an active player, Lyons was also a regular guest coach at Catholic University. Early in his coaching career he was one of the founding coaches for Gonzaga College High School (DC) and guided the Potomac Athletic Club Men's Sevens team to a National Championship appearance as a player-coach.

Coach Lyons began his playing career at The Catholic University of America after first playing football for the Cardinals. His senior year at Catholic he helped lead the team to wins over powerhouses such as the University of Maryland, Yale, and nationally ranked James Madison University, and was part of an undefeated tour of Southern California. After college, he continued to compete, playing with Potomac Athletic Club (PAC) Rugby team. Lyons was a member of the 1995 USA Rugby national championship team, represented PAC in the Rugby Super League, and made multiple appearances in national playoffs for both sevens and fifteens. He also played for a number of representative and invitational teams.

An active referee for over 20 years, he has officiated games across the United States and abroad. From 2007 until 2015, Lyons was a member of the USA Rugby National Referee Panel and officiated numerous USA Rugby national championship events and matches for the Rugby Super League. He is an accomplished international sevens and fifteens referee, and has officiated at events such as the USA Sevens, the Churchill Cup, the NACRA Sevens Championships and World Cup qualifying matches. Lyons has worked with the USA women’s national team and USA men’s sevens team as a subject matter expert and referee for player-selection events. 

Coach Lyons earned a B.S. in Computer Science from Catholic University and holds a Master's degree in Coaching (Western Michigan University). He is a licensed World Rugby Coach and Referee Educator and holds World Rugby coach (Level 2) and referee (Level 3)  certifications. Lyons holds various other certifications including Level 1 Strength & Conditioning (WorldRugby), Level 2 Coach of Match Officials (WorldRugby), and the USA Football Tackling and Contact Certification. He has been involved in rugby administration at local and national levels, and is a former member of the USA Rugby Board of Directors and the Rugby SuperLeague Board of Directors. 

Coach Lyons lives in Maryland with his wife Kyra (Catholic ‘89, ‘95).