Local Lax Star Brings Talents Overseas

When Pete DeLisser, coach of Italy's national lacrosse team, called Rockville Centre's Tom Wilmot to come to Manchester, England to play in the Federation of International Lacrosse World Lacrosse Championship, he was expecting to get a solid defender with a Division-I pedigree. What he got was was an on-field coach from halfway around the globe.

Wilmot — one of four Americans on the team who were eligible to play due to their dual-citizenship in the United States and Italy — was an instrumental cog in Italy's surprising 5-3 record in the tournament, finishing a shocking 17^th overall, far exceeding team expectations.

The Italians played eight, 80-minute games without any days off, but there was no rest for Wilmot either, who used his down-time to show his new teammates some techniques he learned back home that had not yet made it overseas.

"We had a late game, and I took a couple of kids aside in the morning and we went through things that are basic to guys in the U.S., like positioning and certain angles on shots," he said. "They were fast learners, and after they picked something up they'd do it and score a goal."

After a slow start — they were outscored 32-6 in their first two games — the Italians started to absorb what their teacher was preaching. Italy tallied their first international victory, a 12-3 thrashing of Mexico.

"We lost big in the first two games, and then they just started to pick up the things we were saying to them and they were scoring most of the goals," Wilmot said. "These guys just started running up to the net and scoring.  They have such passion – every time they scored a goal they celebrated like they were winning the World Cup."

Wilmot's impact on the Italian team was so great that his mother, Linda, received a phone call from the coach's wife, who spoke highly of Tom and his character.

"The Italian coach's wife called me to tell me that every time they had some time off, he was on the field teaching the Italian young men techniques they had never learned," she said. "I was so proud that he could actually help this team so much."

The tournament was also a successful endeavor for Wilmot and his family.  He was able to play in a prestigious international tournament, and get in touch with his ancestry.

"He always says he's an American and an Italian," Linda said. "I feel so happy for him because this was always a dream of his to play on that team...We have a lot of stories connected to Italy in this family, and we have a lot of memories and stories about our connections to Italy."

Now they have one more.