Dr. John Wesley Slider is the editor of this website. He is a US Lacrosse certified Umpire; a member of the Kentucky Lacrosse Umpires Board; a US Lacrosse certified Trainer and Observer/Rater for Women’s Lacrosse; and the Women's Game, Kentucky State Coordinator for Officials Development with US Lacrosse. He recently became a part of the US Lacrosse Officials Education Development Team.
John has earned a B.A. in history, and a masters and doctorate in theology. He has been coaching, teaching, and mentoring at various levels and in different venues for over four decades. He has taught academic subjects in middle school and high school classrooms. He taught theology as a member of the adjunct faculty of Lindsey Wilson College.
John played football and ran track in high school. He also played club soccer. At Hanover College he was a receiver on the football team, and a sprinter on the track team. He set three school records on the track.
John spent twenty-four years in the US Marine Corps, retiring in 1996 as a Lt. Colonel. His specialties were armor, infantry, and legal services. He has completed graduate level courses at Marine Corps, Navy, Army, and Joint Service schools. One of Lt. Colonel Slider’s roles in the Marine Corps Reserve was as a course and curriculum developer and instructor in the Marine Corps University system. He has commanded platoons and companies, and been a staff officer at the battalion and division levels.
In civilian life, John has served as a Methodist pastor for four decades. He has taught classes and led groups for adults and youth. He has served as senior pastor for small churches and large multi-staff, multi-lingual, and multi-cultural appointments. He has written and published Sunday School curriculum for all ages.
John has coached many sports at various levels including Cross Country, Swimming, Track, Basketball, and Softball. He has coached individuals and teams to state tournaments and national competitions. He has three books on coaching that are currently available.
In 2020 John will begin his tenth year as a girls’ Lacrosse Umpire. By the end of 2019 he will have officiated over 850 girls’ Lacrosse games. John spent nineteen years as a high school, club, and college Volleyball Referee - working 750 matches. He is also in his fifth year as a high school Field Hockey Umpire; and by the end of 2019 will have officiated more than 250 games. With almost 2,000 matches or games as a sports official and a life-time of teaching, coaching, and mentoring, John brings a wealth of experience to this effort to prepare and develop Lacrosse Umpires for long careers.
Dr. Slider is a member of the Clergy Advisory Council for the WHAS Crusade for Children. He is a regular panelist on "The Moral Side of the News" - a program broadcast by WHAS-TV and WHAS radio.
John is married to Lillian. Their daughter is Heather. Their son and daughter-in-law are William and Tina. Lillian was an NCAA D1 swimmer. Heather was an NCAA D1 Field Hockey player. William was an NAIA swimmer and cross country runner.