Former Newtown Lacrosse Coach Is First To Win State Coaches Award

Brian Micena not only built a winning lacrosse program in town, he's the first coach from Newtown to receive the Coach of the Year award for boys lacrosse from the Connecticut High School Coaches Association.

"It felt great," Micena said. "I didn't realize what it was like until (Newtown Athletic Director) Greg Simon said to me that no one from Newtown got it before. I had mixed emotions because I'm not coaching anymore but it still felt great. It's a tribute to my assistant coaches."

Micena, who accepted the honor during a May awards ceremony, retired from coaching last year and now plans to become a New Canaan police officer.

Before taking the reins as head coach at Newtown, Micena was the junior varsity coach at Fairfield Prep in 1999 and a varsity assistant at Prep in 2000.

In 2001, Newtown Athletic Director Greg Simon hired him and Micena had a successful nine-year run in leading the Nighthawks to four South-West Conference titles (2002-04 and 2009) and eight State playoff appearances.

"It felt great and it was an honor," Micena said. "Greg Simon gave me a lot of freedom to do what I needed to do to build the program. I made mistakes along the way but I'd like to think I improved every year."

Newtown had on-the field and off-field issues before Micena took over and won 40 percent of its games – if that. His goal upon taking over was to establish discipline and control. Mission accomplished as the Nighthawks went 8-8 in the regular season before losing to Ridgefield in the first round of the Division II playoffs.

"The first year was tough and I give the kids a lot of credit for sticking it out," Micena said.

When he began his first year at the helm, 60 boys tried out for lacrosse. At the end of the year, 22 stuck with it but they were very disciplined and focused and the program's problems became a thing of the past.

"You have to understand the culture you go into," said Micena. "First, you have to find out what makes them tick and what their goals are. Once you do that, they end up buying into your system."

In his second year at the helm, Newtown began its three-year run as SWC champions and reached the Division II finals where the Nighthawks lost 10-9 to Joel Barlow.

On offense, he pushed an aggressive style of play and his defense attacked the opposing offense. The ability to adjust pertaining to the situation also helped him thrive as coach.

One assistant Micena also credits for the team's success was his former offensive coordinator, Chuck Chiodo, who primarily worked on setting up the offense, which allowed Micena to work with the defense.

"I may get all the credit but if anything, we were 50-50," Micena said.

Playing lacrosse Sachem High School in Long Island before graduating in 1994, Micena started to realize that he wanted to get into coaching.  Sachem was the 1993 Class A State champion. He especially learned from his defensive coach.

After graduating from Sachem, he played for Sacred Heart University in Fairfield. He majored in political science and his desire to coach continued to build inside of him. He was a graduate assistant after graduating from Sacred Heart and served as an assistant coach.

"To be around a Division I program, I learned about other stuff and it was able to help me behind the scenes," Micena said.

While serving as a graduate assistant, he got a masters in teaching and history. When Simon hired him to coach the Nighthawks, he taught social studies for two years at Newtown Middle School and for the following seven years, taught history at Newtown High School.

Lacrosse wasn't the only thing in his blood. Police work was as well. His father was a Nassau County police officer for 21 years and his paternal grandfather was a Nassau County police officer for 20 years and an Arizona officer for 20 more years.

Last summer, Micena, who is married and has a 16-month-old daughter, decided to follow in his father's and grandfather's footsteps. He took the test to become a New Canaan police office and began attending the police academy on Feb. 19 full time. He eventually stepped down as Nighthawks lacrosse coach.

"It was hard and I thought about it a couple of years ago," Micena said. "Last summer, my wife said, 'why don't you give it a shot.' The physical and mental challenges of being a police officer appealed to me and I'm glad with the decision."

Newtown players and their family were sorry to see him go.

"The only thing Coach Brian Micena ever promised us was that he would teach our kids to stand up for themselves," wrote Nighthawk lacrosse parent Woody Thompson in a memory book the team gave Micena after he retired from coaching. "He never staked his reputation on the number of All-Americans or Division I scholarships his program could generate. He never claimed to have the secret that would allow kids to score goals or make saves or learn how to hustle and give it your all. He simply provided insights and advice, got his players into shape, and asked them to play hard. After all, he couldn't do it for them. 

"Brian Micena is a no-nonsense kind of guy. All those who played for him over his nine years at Newtown are acutely aware of that. No excuses, no apologies, no gushing motivational speeches, no hand-holding or twelve-step programs - just a firmly held and unflinchingly practiced belief that young men need to stand up for themselves and do the right thing. 

"Above all else, this:  young men need to stand up for themselves and do the right thing. And whether they loved him or hated him, whether they were champions or also-rans, our kids learned that important lesson from Brian Micena.  And that's all he ever promised us."

Although he's happy in the academy, he wishes he could still be coaching.

"I miss it so much," Micena said. "I miss the little decisions I made as a head coach and the leadership and guidance I provided to my players."

One thing he wants to be remembered as a coach was his team's competitive spirit.

"When we walked on the field, the referees and opponents knew we were here to compete," Micena said.

On July 28, he graduates from the academy and becomes a New Canaan police officer. Although he "retired" from coaching, he hopes this only a temporary leave, similar to what Michael Jordan did from basketball in the 90s and Brett Farve did for less than six months when he ended up as a New York Jet.

Once he's able to juggle his police officer duties with coaching, he hopes to be back on the lacrosse sidelines.            

"I definitely aspire to coach again," Micena said. "It's not out of my blood."