St. Mary's Lax Book

Matt Hogan

Mary’s property, the plan was to tear it down due to liability issues. Chuck Schmidt, the head of our facilities, recommended to me that we should turn it into a “Team House” with a meeting room, trainer’s room, locker rooms, and uniform storage. It worked out well and we were able to watch film prior to practice. The school was growing, the enrollment was going up, and St. Mary’s was the place to go and play. The staff put together three years of excellent recruiting classes. Yes, recruiting had become a part of the high school landscape. It was important for the success of your team, but schools recognized it as an important part of maintaining enrollment. We had some great character players, and there are many I am sure I am leaving out. The guys who did not play were “all in” as a part of the program. We had some great kids and parents who were completely supportive of the program: Matt Lamon, Matt Bell, Joe Bonanni, JP Dalton, Jason Gonos, Neill Lewnes, Nick Doub, and Scott Hopmann. There were many other players and parents who were great to the program. We had initiated a mulch sale with the urging of Trina Mostyn, Jason Carter’s mom. We raised money initially to purchase team jackets and travel bags. We eventually purchased a computerized video system and had all the games taped in addition to scouting games. The mulch started as a $10,000 fundraiser and quickly rose to a $35,000 fundraiser. We supplemented our trips to Dallas, to Disney, and purchased enough tickets for the team to play in Ravens Stadium as part of the ACC Championship. We also purchased uniforms for the Fresh/Soph Team and supplemented coaching salaries since we added staff at all levels. The year we traveled to Disney and Dallas was a great experience for our players. The parents took over the mulch sale with Ellen Robertson and Joanne Bonacci doing the accounting and Tom Whiteley and John Lamon running the “yard.” Paul Rosseau committed trucks, forklifts and personnel. George Lewnes and Matt Cavanaugh secured trucks and ran the site with Jennifer Beard coordinating the Mulch tailgate. Many of these parents stayed involved long after their sons graduated. St. Mary’s during a period had more players in the Ivy League than any other school in the county. We continued the tradition of not only placing players in college programs, but in highly competitive academic and lacrosse schools. I was very pleased that a player, Connor Cerniglia, attended a NESCAC school, Bates. St. Mary’s was great to me during my tenure there. Sure, there were some bumps in the road. However, I enjoyed and respected the relationships I had and continue to have with players and the parents of the St. Mary’s lacrosse community. Matt Hogan

2003-2010

80