Catching up with Jackson Massillon boys and girls lacrosse teams
MASSILLON, Ohio — Few teams in Stark County have had the success of the Jackson boys’ and girls’ lacrosse teams. That success starts at the younger grade levels and rises up to the high school level. The bonds and familiarity formed in the early years playing together cement the foundation of success witnessed at the high school level.
Jax Girl鈥檚 Lacrosse
The Jackson girls’ lacrosse team has earned unprecedented success. The team has won regional championships in 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019 and 2022. The other years, the team has lost in the regional championship game. The team is looking for the elusive opportunity to play in a state championship game. The program’s success starts with head coach John Kroah, who has been the high school coach since. Prior to that, he coached the middle school team from 2012-2014. Kroah, a graduate of Massillon High School and the University of Pennsylvania, discussed his feeder program. “Our feeder system is definitely one of the key components to our success,” wrote Kroah, who is married to his wife, Victoria. They have two daughters, Alexis and Olivia, and a son, Jack, who all played lacrosse for Jackson. “We spend quite a bit of time on building the “culture” of the program at every level. We try and get the high school girls involved with the lower levels as much as possible. We will do youth nights, summer camps and attend practices.” But the true secret to the program’s success is in the commitment of the athletes and their families. “The overall commitment from the athletes and their families to this program in the off-season is where I feel we separate ourselves from the others,” wrote Kroah, who owns 4.40 Performance and ESC (Computer Consulting Co.). “They place a very high priority on the success of the Jackson girls’ lacrosse program, and it definitely shows. “I have spent more time this off-season working with the middle school and youth programs than any year past. We’ve been coaching the middle school four days a week since last September and had an eight-week winter clinic for fifth and sixth graders.” Last year, the team said goodbye to its most talented class in program history, losing 13 seniors, nine of which are playing at the collegiate level. This year, four letter winners will look to replace the previous talented class. The returning letter winners are seniors Lauren Pallotta, attacker, and Lauren Esposito, goalie, and sophomores Sam Weaver and Katie Debevec, both midfielders.
Boy鈥檚 Lacrosse
The boys’ lacrosse team has enjoyed equal success. The boys are seven-time regional semi-finalists and one-time regional runners-up. Boys’ head coach Bobby Lyle played lacrosse at Hudson High School. “I started playing lacrosse during my freshman year of high school, where I played goalie at Hudson,” wrote Lyle, who teaches social studies at Jackson High School. “I continued playing Club level at Kent State University. While finishing up college, I helped coach my high school alma mater before coaching at Medina, and now at Jackson.”
Lyle also discussed the importance of having a terrific feeder system. “The goal of our youth program is to provide a fun and meaningful experience for all our players,” wrote Lyle, who is married to his wife, Kim. They have a son, Weston. “We believe if we keep this at the core of
our program’s values, excellence and wins are a byproduct.” “Strong high school programs have an excellent youth program with student-athletes learning the fundamentals of the game,” wrote Lyle, who has been the coach for eight years. “We have been extremely fortunate over the last few decades to have some incredible leadership and volunteer coaches develop our youth program (K-8) which provides the boys with a meaningful experience learning the game of lacrosse while having fun.” Lyle explained his role working with the younger kids coming up. “I work with our Lacrosse Association Board and Youth Director/Coaches who are all volunteers to ensure we are on the same page,” wrote Lyle. “I work diligently to do my best to work with our coaches and board on developing our young student-athletes. Our coaches (K-12) are constantly communicating on how we can develop our program and better player development through drills, practice plans, games, camps and travel teams. During the summer, our program runs a youth camp in which we see roughly 100 players participate.” This year’s team returns 21 letter winners, which includes a large senior class of 22 players. On offense, the Polar Bears are led by senior Thomas Chevalier, attacker; junior Gregory Thomas, midfield; and senior Jason Davide, midfield. Defensively, the purple and white are led by senior Jack Bryant, goalie and senior Ethan Lesco, defense. “The goal of our program is about making the experience fun and meaningful for the players,” wrote Lyle. “If players are having fun and able to build meaningful relationships with their teammates and coaches, success is a byproduct.” The Federal League does not offer a league championship trophy due to not enough league teams offering lacrosse.
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