This spring Hawthorne High will compete in its inaugural season of Varsity Lacrosse. After a few years at the JV level, the program is moving into North Jersey Interscholastic Lacrosse League play (NJILL), and will face opponents from both Bergen and Passaic County high schools. The team will face new challenges with new enthusiasm and with a new coach.
Jay Salzman, a Ridgewood resident, will be leading the Bears Varsity into its first season. The first home game is Tuesday March 25 at 5:00 p.m. against Newark East Side. Saturday, April 25, the Bears host Waldwick at 10:00 a.m. on “Lacrosse Day,” which is expected to be a day-long event including clinics for boys and girls grades 2-6 and a youth game for the boys 7-8 team. Monday, May 11, Hawthorne hosts Demarest on “Senior Night” when Hawthorne will acknowledge the players and their families who helped lead the team during its first varsity campaign.
Coach Salzman encourages all students to participate. He said, “Boys who are interested in playing should know that my philosophy is ‘all inclusive’ meaning that no one will stand on the sideline watching 10 other players for 48 minutes. Like hockey, players will be shifted on attack and midfield lines every 2-3 minutes, defenders will rotate throughout the game, even goalies will come off the get a quick rest, hydrate, etc. Freshman and sophomores are strongly encouraged to participate. Everyone on this first year varsity team is a pioneer of sorts. Someone will score the first goal in school history. This team will win the first game for Bears Varsity Lacrosse. But 9th and 10th graders will have the opportunity of getting 3-4 years of varsity experience that will benefit the program, help them if they have talent to play NCAA lacrosse, and encourage boys in grades 5-8 to keep improving so when they get to HHS they are ready to compete too. Right now, the team needs another goalie. Sophomore Jared Chichizola has great enthusiasm and has been working hard this winter on his own. But for daily practice and games, we need a second student-athlete to step up.”
Coach also is looking for students interested in sports management. “We need scorekeepers, stat takers, ‘student managers’ so to speak. If you have photographic talent or video interest, there’s plenty of action during lacrosse games to capture and publicize. If you’re in the HHS band, or have a band and want people to hear what you can do, we could use a pep group, Lax Day entertainment, or something to get players and spectators pumped up during the game. Let any of our Senior Captains know that you would like to get involved, or come by when we have our first official team meeting on Friday, March 6th—opening day of the spring season.”
To know more about the sport and to get to know something about the Hawthorne team, the coach, and the sport here’s a quick Q&A:
Q: WHO IS THIS NEW COACH?
Coach Salzman has an unusual background, and it is his first competitive season as a head coach. He began playing lacrosse as a young teen. “It was summer (’68) and I was going into 8th grade. A guy came to our rec in a station wagon, set up a goal, threw a bunch of sticks on the ground, and said scoop up the ball, pass it, catch it, shoot into the goal, and have fun.” Coach played defense and midfield at Fair Lawn High School, but played soccer at Rider College (now a university) because there was no lacrosse program. “When my son was born I taught myself how to do everything left handed,” said Coach. “He’s now a freshman at Ridgewood High School and a goalie. Most goalies play with their dominant hand (right or left) but he can switch. It’s one of my greatest feats as a trainer to have him do that. Freaks players out during games.”
Q: WHO ARE THE CAPTAINS?
Coach: At a preseason meeting I told all the seniors they would be captains. It was during the time of sending out college applications, and since I did not know the students I wanted to give them a motivational gift. Knowing how important extra-curriculars are to college admissions reps, I told the seniors they could list “Captain” on their resumes. Steve Blanchard, Jon Carbone, Samantha Gonzalez, Juliana Kimberlin, Adam Tanz, and Alex Wojtecki have been very helpful in recruiting students and helping me get to know players on the team.
Q: GIRLS, ON A BOYS TEAM?
Coach: Yes. According to NJ State rules girls may participate in a boy’s sport when there is absence of a girl’s program. There have been girls who participate in football, wrestling, and baseball; in fact, the young girl from Philadelphia made the Sports Illustrated cover during the recent Little League World Series.
It would be nice if parents began a girl’s youth lacrosse program in Hawthorne. Two seasons ago, I taught 70 girls at Bishop George High School in Edison to play competitive lacrosse. The rules are different, the contact is different, the field is bigger, there are two more players, but the excitement of lacrosse for either gender is the same.
Q: WHAT IS THE GREATEST CHALLENGE FOR HAWTHORNE LACROSSE?
Coach: First is to be sound fundamentally. The game started on the ground, so having command of scooping up a ball, then passing to the “box” (vertical to head, horizontal to shoulder) so that the ball is at stick head height for catching and shooting is very important.
Second is to learn together. Only the goalie is a specialist, so all the other players must know how to play every position: attacking and movement to get quality shoots, plus defensive positioning anywhere on the field. Last but just as important, they have to believe they can succeed. According to the “Rule of 100” only one of 100 will be excellent; a few will be very good, and 95 percent will be average. All of the players must have the mindset that average is not good enough, just as getting a “C” in a class to pass is not challenging…strive to be better than average.
Q: WHAT IS YOUR GOAL AS THE COACH?
Coach: I need more players. There are 27 right now, but I’d like to have 33-35 when we meet on March 6 to start practice. I need boys who played in the Hawthorne youth program previously to play lacrosse again. I need athletes who are eager to give lacrosse a try because they’ve heard what a rush it is to play, and train them in the basics in the first two weeks before scrimmages start. And, I need the community to encourage young boys in grades 2-8 to participate in the youth program so they will be ready and skilled when they reach Hawthorne HS. I will take time to help the youth director, parent volunteer coaches, and the younger kids to understand the game and raise their Lacrosse IQ.
Q: IS LACROSSE A NEW SPORT?
Lacrosse is the oldest game existing and played on the North American continent. Native Americans created the game, which has evolved into one of the fastest growing youth sports for boys and girls in the United States. This past summer the Men’s World Championships were played in Denver, Colorado where 37 countries participated in a two-week tournament won by Canada. The U.S., Australia, and the Iroquois Nation along with Canada represent the top lacrosse countries in the world. Lacrosse is actually the national sport of Canada, not hockey.
Q: WHAT FUN FACTS SHOULD STUDENTS KNOW ABOUT COACH SALZMAN?
Favorite movie: Gladiator
Favorite movie marathon: Bourne Identity, Supremacy, Ultimatum
Favorite IHeart radio station: WAXQ 104.3NY HD2 – The Alternative Project
Favorite Bands: The Rolling Stones, Beastie Boys, Offspring
Ring tone on IPhone: The Ocean, Led Zeppelin