Strengthening East Meadow community pride by teaching lacrosse

When Josh Tobon took over East Meadow’s Nassau County Police Activity League boys’ lacrosse program in 2021, he thought it could use a reboot. He had already been coaching for two years when he was asked if he wanted to be the director, and since he had some ideas, Tobon decided to go for it. Now, two years later, the program is seeing more than triple the number of boys signing up than it did before his tenure.

“It’s been a huge undertaking and it takes a village,” Tobon said. “I wanted to create an environment where, regardless of ethnicity, culture, or whatever, everyone feels included and has a place and has fun.”

PAL typically serves kids in grades one through six, with seasons running from April to May for first- and second-graders and from March through May for third grade and up.

While the registration for East Meadow’s girls’ PAL lacrosse has been consistently strong, the boys’ numbers had been waning.

“I just don’t think there was a culture, and there wasn’t enough connection between PAL and Clarke and East Meadow,” Tobon said, referring to the high schools. “There wasn’t enough promotion of the sport.”

Tobon, a 1999 graduate of East Meadow High, said East Meadow has a rich history in lacrosse. John Danowski, the head coach of the men’s lacrosse team at Duke University in North Carolina, grew up in East Meadow and played on the lacrosse team from 1969 to 1972. He helped his team twice win the county championships during his tenure.

Tom Schreiber, a professional lacrosse player who was once voted the best player in the world, grew up in East Meadow as well. Although Schreiber went to St. Anthony’s High School in Huntington, Tobon said that he got his start in the East Meadow PAL.

“For a town that has such a great history of lacrosse, to not even be competitive, I knew we had to fix it,” said Tobon, whose sons Miles and Jack, in fifth and fourth grade, respectively, also play lacrosse. “It’s not about me, it’s about the kids, and I have a lot of helping hands.”

Matt Caramente, a 2015 graduate of East Meadow High, got his start playing lacrosse in the East Meadow PAL program. He said that he has fond memories growing up in PAL, playing with friends and having his dad coach the team.

Now, Caramente has been back in the district to help coach the high school boys’ lacrosse team. He volunteers his time to help Tobon with PAL.

“The boys’ lacrosse program was doing really well when we were younger, and then it kind of started to fade,” Caramente said. “The high school players now, there really was no PAL lacrosse program when they were all PAL age.

“We have a lot of kids saying how much they love to play, but they really weren’t introduced until maybe late middle school or high school.”

Caramente started playing because his two older brothers played and he quickly grew to love the sport. He remembers his time in PAL as a fun learning experience.

He reminisced about a lacrosse camp he attended as a kid, which included competitions and prizes.

“One thing I strictly remember was on Wednesdays everybody would get ice cream,” Caramente said. “So I use what I remember to bring it to the clinic now. It’s a really big group effort and we’re all using what we have, and I think it’s been working out really well.”

Tobon believes that lacrosse doesn’t stop once the season is over. He offers clinics for prekindergarten- and kindergarten-age kids to let them get the hang of holding the stick and throwing the ball. There are also summer clinics and free fall clinics for the little ones. On April 12-14, a free lacrosse clinic was held for boys in pre-K through eighth grade.

For the clinics, dads are out there coaching with the assistance of East Meadow varsity lacrosse players.

“The grass-roots (of PAL) is what makes it special,” Tobon said. “It’s the first time most of these kids have ever started playing a sport.”