When Steven Brooks was in fifth grade, he told his mom that his dream was to play professional lacrosse. She chuckled, as she had never heard of anyone becoming a professional lacrosse player, especially in the state of Illinois during the 1990s. 

Less than 10 years later, Brooks’ childhood dream had come true. After winning a national championship at Syracuse and earning the MacLaughlin Midfielder of the Year award, Brooks was taken sixth overall in the 2008 MLL Draft by his hometown team, the Chicago Machine. 

From 2008 to 2019, Brooks was a standout pro midfielder, finishing his career with the Atlas in the Premier Lacrosse League’s inaugural season. 

Once Brooks’ playing career was over, he knew immediately that he wanted to stay connected to the sport through coaching. 

“One of the biggest things you miss when you retire is the locker room,” Brooks said. “It’s not really the playing. It's more of the camaraderie that you build and the type of unit that you have and that was the most important thing to me and that was the one thing I missed.”

Shortly after Brooks’ last professional season, he received a phone call from Ben Rubeor, who was interviewing for the vacant head-coaching role with the Atlas. Rubeor and Brooks discussed the dynamic of the Atlas locker room, and shortly after, Rubeor offered Brooks a spot on his coaching staff.

Brooks now enters his sixth year as the offensive coordinator for New York, working first under Rubeor and then under current head coach and general manager Mike Pressler. 

Over those six years, Brooks has been considered for several head-coaching roles within the league – most notably interviewing with the Atlas during their second coaching vacancy, as well as the Boston Cannons, Carolina Chaos and Philadelphia Waterdogs.

Brooks came up short for each position. Despite the setbacks, he asked himself what his true reason for being a coach was.

“I thought to myself, ‘What’s my purpose and what’s my plan?’” Brooks said. “That’s when I really dove into what my map looked like. I spent so much time working with Atlas and building that roster, and I’ve been with them since the inception of the PLL.”

Brooks has been able to use Pressler as a mentor to help grow his knowledge of the game each time they are on the sidelines.

“I want to continue to learn under Pressler’s tutelage and keep learning from his side of the game,” Brooks said. “I can be patient in this process, and when that time comes, that time comes, but I want to make sure I have all the knowledge and power that I can gather. When that time comes, I’ll have the map laid out and I know I’ll have been through every scenario.”

Brooks has gained some head-coaching experience during his time with the Atlas. He served as the team’s head coach for the 2023 and 2025 Lexus Championship Series, posting a combined 5-4 record in the two tournaments.

And New York’s offense under Brooks has been downright dominant. The Atlas led the PLL in scoring in 2021 and 2024. In 2022, they ranked third, just two points behind the league leaders.

Last season, New York paced the league in nearly offensive stat (scoring points, assists, shooting percentage, power play percentage, shots on goal, total passes) while boasting one of the PLL’s top attack trios in Connor Shellenberger, Xander Dickson and league MVP Jeff Teat. 

While he’s eager to continue building what he has started as New York’s OC, Brooks knows that his final destination is still in his sights.

“The end goal is to be a head coach,” he said. “But I’m just happy to be around professional lacrosse and help pass on the torch.” 

If the Atlas can build off their recent offensive successes, Brooks has positioned himself perfectly to be one of the leading candidates for the next head-coaching opening in the PLL.