Third-Grade Boys Lacrosse Coach Talks About ‘the Recipe for Success’

John Pizzo, during a recent conversation at The Star concerning his 23-0 Police Athletic League third-grade boys lacrosse team, said of his and John Tintle’s charges, “They’re a unique blend of talent and heart — it’s a wonderful team.”

“Every kid has brought something to it — speed, great stick skills, field intelligence. . . . Some lack the skill set at the moment, but they have heart. The other stuff will come in time. They’re little role models among their peers, and the parents have been great. They never tire of it; they’re always there for their kids. I’m lucky to be a part of this.”

When they were first graders, “it was a little like babysitting, just trying to keep them under control — they’d take the ball and run, like the girls — but every year the numbers and the skill level have grown. In their first-grade year we had no subs. Now, we’ve got 18 kids. We can almost field two full teams in practices.”

As for the three-year win skein (which followed a winless season as kindergartners), “I don’t think we’ve ever been behind after the first quarter. We come out and take it to them. . . . Eastport-South Manor, North Fork, William Floyd, and Riverhead all have P.A.L. teams. Some of the margins have been fairly close, within a couple of goals, but mostly we rule.”

He added that “when you have a four-goal lead, you have to make three successful passes within the [35-by-60-yard] box before you shoot. Three successful passes: You have to catch it. That’s the rule.”

“Checking at this age is limited,” he continued. “You can’t reach out to a player with your stick, though you can apply some pressure within arm’s length. Our kids rarely commit fouls. They’re smart and disciplined.”

 Six of his players, he said, had been invited recently to try out for a very competitive E-3 club team in Westhampton Beach, whose level of play is “a step or two above the P.A.L.’s. They’ll play from now through mid-August, in four or five tournaments. Lacrosse is almost a year-round thing now. P.A.L. and club experience makes a big difference come high school.”

The invitees were his son, Finn, Tintle’s son, William, Alex Davis, Henry Cooper, Evan Schaefer, and James Corwin.

Four — Pizzo, Tintle, Davis, and Corwin — are starting. “James has been outstanding in the goal, and Finn and Alex are the team’s leading point-scorers,” goals and assists, the elder Pizzo said in an email Monday. 

Concerning skills, the coach said, “The first year, as I said, we’d just take the ball and run, but last year, and particularly this year, we had a balance of scoring on offense. We started to set up like seventh and eighth graders do. Actually, you don’t even see that at the high school level — it’s rare.” 

Pizzo himself, who played football and baseball and wrestled at East Hampton High School (and later wrestled at Gettysburg College), never played outdoor lacrosse, “because it wasn’t offered when I was in high school. I remember we played informally in the gym, with blue and red sticks, in the spring. . . . We’ve been emphasizing the basics, ground balls, passing and catching, face-offs. . . . We’re not trying to overthink it.”

Anyway, he said, he would soon have his elder son, John, who starred in lacrosse here and played club lacrosse at the College of Charleston, as an assistant. “He’ll bring his expertise and experiences at just the right time, when the kids are fourth and fifth graders. The kids love him.”

“It’s all about year-round exposure,” he added. “We’ve had these kids practice at Sportime in the winter — 10 to 12 catch-and-throw sessions with Wiffle balls in the middle of the winter. You rarely see that at the K-1, K-2 level. We’ve done it now for three years. It gives you a huge advantage going into the season.”

As for the boys lacrosse program here, a program that has been struggling of late, Pizzo said in parting that he thought it was “on the upswing. James Corwin’s dad [Chris] coaches the fifth and sixth graders, and they’re tough. We have a ton of numbers coming up.”

“Everything has to be there when it comes to the recipe for success — the parents, the kids, the coaching. . . . Otherwise it’s like a chocolate chip cookie with no vanilla extract.”