About the Staff
In hiring staff for our camp, we seek coaches who know the game and
are enthusiastic about teaching it. We also strive to maintain an
excellent camper-to-coach ratio (6 to 1 in 2006) so the campers receive
a great deal of individual attention. While our staff goes through
some changes each year, below are some brief bios on the regular
staff of experienced coaches.
Dave Walsh, Director: Dave Walsh has been coaching lacrosse for fourteen years. After playing for George Mason University, he began as an assistant coach at nationally ranked W.T. Woodson High School in Fairfax, Virginia, and 2008 marks his ninth year as the Head Coach at Lexington High School. He earned Middlesex League Coach of the Year honors in 2002 and 2006, and the Minutemen have qualified for the state tournament six straight years. They reached the state quarterfinals in 2006 and earned at least a share of the Middlesex League title in 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2007. In addition, he worked at various local camps for several years before launching the Blue Cheetah camp, and continues to play lacrosse in the Old New England Lacrosse League.
John Wilkens: Coach Wilkens played for two legendary teams: Ward Melville on Long Island, consistently one of the best high school programs in the country, and Johns Hopkins University, one of the original and most celebrated college programs, where he was an All-American defenseman. While continuing to play club ball, and he is the head coach at Marblehead High School.
Jason Andalo: Coach Andalo has headed up the Walpole High School program for the past five seasons, one of the up-and-coming teams in Eastern Massachusetts. The team has gone 31-10 in the past two seasons, this year reaching the Division 2 Eastern Mass Semi-Finals. After playing at Canisius College in the early 1990's, Jason's coaching experience has taken him as far as Manchester, England, in addition to several other camps from Duke University to other camps to this area. He was elected the Bay State League Coach of the Year in 2002, and his 2005 team had their best season in team history with a 14-6 record in one of the most competitive leagues in eastern Massachusetts.
Kevin O'Brien: Goalie for Georgetown Hoyas, 1995-1999. Member Major League Lacrosse's Boston Cannons from 2001-2005. Currently goalie for Rochester Rattlers. 2003 MLL All-Star. In 2004, O'Brien made 33 saves in one game, then an MLL record, and was named MLL Defensive Player of the Week. Assistant coach of Boston University's women's team, 2004-2006. Assistant coach of Harvard University's men's team as well. Goalie for Lincoln-Sudbury High School's 1994 state championship team. Boston Globe High School Goalie of the Year, 1994.
Sarkis Asadoorian, Professional Athletic Trainer: Graduated from the University of Maine in 2006, with a degree in Kinesiology and Physical Education, and a concentration in Athletic Training. Passed the National Board of Certification for Athletic Training exam during the summer of 2006 and has been working for Belmont High School since. Works with athletes of several sports at the University of Maine and Belmont High school, and a wide variety of age groups and demographics.
Kathy Fritz: Girl’s Coach is Kathy Fritz. Kathy Fritz has been coaching lacrosse at Lexington High School for four years. Before arriving at LHS, Kathy played for Tufts University where she was a captain and NESCAC All-Star. Kathy played for Needham High School and won three state championships while she was there.
Christine Yoon: She is a senior at the University of Vermont graduating in May 2007 after serving as the team's two-time co-captain. She was named team's "Best Defensive Player" for the 2005 season, and has earned a spot on the America East all-academic team. She also stepped in to play in goal against LeMoyne and recorded 10 saves in her debut as a goaltender. She graduated from Lexington High School in 2003 as the team's Defensive MVP award.
Younger Staff
Bringing to the camp the latest in skills, techniques, and drills, we also have a host of excellent younger coaches, all of whom are accomplished players in their own right. We seek players with current or recent college experience for these younger positions, so we have goal-keepers, faceoff specialists, dodging/shootings specialists, attackmen and midfielders, and long-pole defenders. Some of the college varsity programs our student-coaches have recently represented: Oberlin, St. Vincent's, St. Anselm, Wooster, Georgetown, Manhattan College, Southern New Hampshire university and Johns Hopkins. Through these younger coaches, therefore, we are able to improve the finer skills of those campers who feel committed to one position and offer the opportunity for any camper to try out something new. These younger staff members display their skills in daily demonstrations, inspiring enthusiasm among the campers. Indeed, the staff demonstrations have quickly become a camper-favorite!
