Norristown Lacrosse Looks to Grow in 2011

The Norristown boy's lacrosse team tied a school record for wins last season, equaling a mark they had set the year before. They went 5-13.

So while the sixth-year program hasn't historically been a strong one, they are, according to their coach, headed in the right direction.

"I'm looking for an improvement in wins this year and we are looking to close our goal differential," said the Eagles goal-oriented head coach Jeff Calhoun.

Calhoun, who started the lacrosse program at Norristown, is in his fourth-year coaching the varsity after spending the four previous years growing the youth team.

Building a program from the ground up, he's learned, is not without its challenges. Two of the more prominent of these challenges are right down the street.

While Plymouth Whitemarsh and Upper Merion outscored Norristown 53-9 in three matches last season, Calhoun thinks his Eagles are catching up to them. He wouldn't call it a rivalry quite yet though.

"We don't have a real rival because of our talent differences but Upper Merion and Plymouth Whitemarsh are traditional rivals for Norristown and I believe we are closing the talent gap."

While he acknowledges the team he's built isn't quite ready to compete with the elite of Montgomery County lacrosse (who themselves are amongst the elite of the nation), he thinks they're primed to make a jump regardless.

Though they lost 40-goal scorer Shane Franzone, facilitator Dan Stauggenberg and defensemen Blake Griffin to graduation, the Eagles have an impressive lineup of returnees.

Mike Malloy figures to give the Eagles solid play in the net while defenders John Kennedy and Rick White are expected to ensure solid play will be good enough to keep opponents off the board. On the offensive end, Matt Grill and Chris Angelucci will man the midfield and Jake Naseef and Sean Calhoun will try to replace Franzone and Stauggenberg's production.

It's a tall order, but the Eagles have a plan – hard work.

"Life is tough but hard work and preparation make it easier. My coaching philosophy is to work hard and ask my players to work hard. [You do that] and then good things happen," said Calhoun. "Practice and conditioning are extremely important and pay off late in the season."

Will they pay off with a sixth win? Time, as it usually does, will tell.

The boys open their season March 12 with a scrimmage at Harry S. Truman High School in Levittown.