Coach Brendan Finnerty, Head Coach of San Clemente High School Lacrosse, is known for building strong team culture and elevating players to compete at the high school and collegiate levels. In 2025, he led the Tritons to the CIF SS DII Championship and was named Orange County Coach of the Year and CIF SS DII Coach of the Year.
A Fairfield University graduate in Business Accounting, Finn was a 2008 team captain, competed in the 2005 NCAA DI Tournament, and was a two-time High School All-American in Long Island, NY.
Coaching in Orange County since 2010, he has led programs at Aliso Niguel, Trabuco Hills, Beckman, and now San Clemente. He has also coached youth lacrosse and founded several local club programs, including Wild Horse Lacrosse, Saddleback Starz, and SC Sharks.
brendan finnerty
SCHS VARSITY HEAD COACH
Hap Knowles grew up in North County San Diego and attended Torrey Pines High School, where he played four years of lacrosse as an offensive midfielder. He helped lead the team to a CIF championship in 2007, earned all-county honors, and served as captain his senior year.
He began his college career at the University of Colorado, studying economics and transitioning to Long Stick Midfield, earning Rocky Mountain Defensive Player of the Year in 2011. He later transferred to Chapman University to study Real Estate Finance, captained the lacrosse team, and became a three-time All-American.
Hap now works in Commercial Real Estate Investment Sales in Newport Beach. A San Clemente resident for 12 years, he has coached at San Clemente High School for 10 years and currently assists with the defense.
HAP KNOWLES
Assistant Coach Defensive Coordinator
Austin Boyer
SCHS VARSITY goalie COACH &
defensive assistant
Coach Austin Boyer, a San Clemente High School alum, brings both experience and leadership to the Tritons program. He was a four-year varsity player and a two-time team captain in his junior and senior years. After high school, he played Division 1 lacrosse at Cleveland State University.
After college, Austin spent five years serving in the U.S. Army. He’s currently finishing his bachelor’s degree and is in his second year of coaching. He works closely with Coach Hap, focusing on developing the team’s goalies and defense.
Coach John Kauo has led San Clemente’s JV team to four straight South Coast League championships, including a 10–1 season last year.
A 2016 Trabuco Hills graduate, he was a two-time All-League and two-time All-County middie and captained back-to-back league champions. He began playing in 7th grade under Coach Finn and now mentors players with that same passion.
Coach Kauo studied Psychology at Northern Arizona University and co-owns a custom furniture business with his brother. He also coaches the 7th and 8th grade Sharks teams.
JOHN KAUO
SCHS JR VARSITY head COACH
Coach Jason Kauo co-coaches the San Clemente JV team with his brother, John, leading the offense and developing attackmen and middies. The JV team has won four straight league championships under his leadership.
A 2018 Trabuco Hills graduate, Jason was a four-year Varsity Attack, earning three All-League and two All-County honors, serving as a two-year captain, and helping secure two league titles. He went on to play at Colorado Mesa University, graduating in 2022 with a degree in Construction Management.
Jason also coaches the 7th and 8th grade Sharks teams and owns Pono Hale Construction, a home remodeling business.
Jason KAUO
SCHS JR VARSITY offensive coordinator
Coach Kauo is a retired high school English teacher with 36 years in the classroom. Over the course of 42 years, he built an extensive career coaching both high school and junior college football.
A dedicated member of the lacrosse community since 2009, Coach Kauo previously coached alongside Coach Finn at Beckman High School. He is now entering his fifth year coaching the San Clemente Junior Varsity team, bringing decades of experience, leadership, and mentorship to the program.
Joe KAUO
SCHS JR VARSITY assistant coach
Coach Al Bodino serves as the Junior Varsity Defense Coach, applying his technical understanding of the game and firsthand experience as a former Triton to mentor and develop the program’s young defenders. A standout lacrosse player at San Clemente High School, he played four years as a long stick midfielder (LSM) and defensive pole under the guidance of Coach Finn and Coach Hap. Following high school, he began coaching lacrosse with the Sharks’ 5th/6th-grade team, where he has spent over four years developing young athletes. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from UC Irvine.
AL Bodino
SCHS JR VARSITY defense coordinator
Coach Jay Bodino returns to the San Clemente Lacrosse program with a deep-rooted passion for the sport and the local community. A versatile lacrosse player at San Clemente High School, he played under Coach Finn during his first two years as head coach and gained experience across multiple positions, including LSM, close defense, SSDM, and face-off, while also competing for Victory Lacrosse, 3D Select Lacrosse, and Brady’s Bunch Lacrosse.
Following high school, Jay began coaching lacrosse in 2023 as a volunteer with the Sharks’ 6th, 7th, and 8th-grade teams alongside his brother, Al Bodino. He currently focuses on developing the face-off units for both the Varsity and JV Tritons, while continuing his work with the middle school youth club teams. Jay is attending UC Irvine, where he is completing a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering. He is happily engaged to his fiancé, Barbara Shields, and is anticipating the arrival of Baby Bodino.