April 24, 2008

by Paul Ohanian, Lacrosse Magazine Online Staff

Connecticut's Greenwich Academy has a girls' lacrosse tradition that any school would be proud to emulate. The Gators have won their league's regular season title for 23 straight seasons, and also captured the league's tournament championship in 22 of those seasons.

It's clear that a succession of great players - which Greenwich Academy has had - is needed for a program to achieve that type of consistent success. What is equally clear is that outstanding leadership is necessary, and that's exactly what GA continues to have in head coach Angela Tammaro.

Now in her 43rd season, there's not much that "Tammy," as she is affectionately known on campus, has not accomplished. She was inducted into the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 1996. Last week, she registered her 600th career win.

Tammaro is also a member of the National Field Hockey Coaches Hall of Fame and has posted over 600 victories as a coach in that sport as well. GA's lacrosse and field hockey teams play on a field named after her.

To no one's surprise, Tammaro has her Gators poised for another championship run this spring. Greenwich is 11-0 following Wednesday's 19-13 Fairchester Athletic Association (FAA) contest against previously unbeaten Deerfield Academy.

"We're just taking one game at a time," said Tammaro. "Every year, the makeup of the team is different. The fun part is selecting a group of kids and working with a system that they can be successful at. I guess the kids buy in because we have had some success in the past."

Tammaro has always accepted the responsibility of serving as a catalyst for her team's success. She feels it's important for the coach to set the tone for the players.

"I think kids feed off the energy of the coach," she said. "I've always said that when I don't have the energy any more, that's when I'll step down."

Energy doesn't appear to be an issue for Tammaro, who arrived at GA in 1965. Tammaro also is also the school's director of athletics, overseeing 15 varsity sports offerings for 320 students.

"We encourage kids to play multiple sports," said Tammaro, who also coached the basketball team for many years. "I think the difference these days is that kids are in better condition and work harder. That's probably the influence of our culture more than anything else."

While there's no immediate end in sight, Tammaro knows that one day, somebody else will be the keeper of GA's tradition.

"It's been a great run," she said. "I continue to do it because I want to. The key is to like what you are doing."

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Battle of New England

Massachusetts' Longmeadow girls, last year's state runners-up, have long dominated the scene in the western part of the state. This week, the Lancers test themselves against two of New England's top privates, facing Pinkerton (N.H.) Academy and Loomis Chaffee (Conn.) in back-to-back games.

Still a force

Defending New York Class B girls' champion Garden City lost its first game of the season last weekend, as another state champion - Mount Hebron (Md.) - demonstrated that reports of its demise were evidently exaggerated. Tournament host Hebron defeated Garden City, 14-12, after GC had prevailed 16-9 against Maryland's St. Mary's one day earlier.

Best in the West

It's a common expression, used in many sports, and this week it applies to boys' lacrosse west of the Mississippi River. California's top-ranked team, undefeated St. Ignatius Prep, makes a two-game swing through Colorado to face Kent Denver and Fort Collins Unified - two of the state's best programs.

"It's going to be huge," St. Ignatius Prep Coach Greg Angilly told West Side Lacrosse. "We expect to see two of the best teams we've seen all year."

Angilly's Wildcats are 17-0 this season and bring a 39-game winning streak with them to Colorado. St. Ignatius Prep's last loss came in April 2006.

Meanwhile, the two highly-ranked Colorado teams prepared for this weekend's California visit by playing each other Wednesday. Kent avenged its loss to Fort Collins in last year's state final and maintained its undefeated record by posting its second shutout of the season, 6-0.

Status quo in Florida

The more things change in Florida, the more they apparently stay the same. Last week, the Florida High School Athletic Association crowned its first "official" state champion, and some familiar teams grabbed the honors once again.

On the boys' side, St. Andrew's, which had won the "unofficial" state title in 11 of the past 13 years, defeated Lake Brantley in the championship game to become the FHSAA's first champion. Meanwhile, Vero Beach cruised to the first sanctioned girls' title with an 18-2 victory over Park Vista in the final. VB had won the previous two unsanctioned championships as well.

Desert Storm

In Arizona, Chaparral and Brophy Prep meet Saturday in the state's Division I boys' final for the third straight year. Chaparral defeated Brophy in the 2006 final to claim its third straight state crown and fifth in six years. Brophy returned the favor last year with a convincing 12-2 championship victory, and also defeated Chaparral, 10-6, when the teams met earlier this season.

The girls' final features Pinnacle against two-time defending state champion and top-seeded Horizon. The teams split their two meetings during the regular season.

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Did we miss something? Submit news and notes, questions or comments to Paul Ohanian at gpohanian@uslacrosse.org.