by Beth Wallach
When Molloy, who already has a men-s lacrosse team, decided it was time to add women-s lacrosse to their roster of sports teams, the athletic department reached out to coaches throughout Long Island. Campolettano, who was twice named Newsday Coach of the Year in 2003 and 2004, and Nassau County Coach of the Year in 2001, decided he had as good a shot at landing the coveted position as anyone else. He said he applied as a lark, but became more interested after meeting Harry Herman, Molloy-s athletic director, and assistant athletic director Karen Freed. They really got my juices pumping, Campolettano said.
The feeling is mutual, according to Herman. We are thrilled with the addition of Coach Campolettano to the Molloy College coaching staff. His experience with women-s lacrosse will be an asset to the college and to the beginning of our women-s lacrosse team.
The women-s game is a beautiful game. It has even more athleticism than the men-s game, said the outspoken coach. The girls have no pockets in their sticks and I still don-t know how they keep the ball in there and I-ve been coaching them for seven years.
Although a team has yet to be formed, Campolettano is hoping to have 24 women suited up and ready to go on opening day. The team will be playing their matches on the newly resurfaced Skelos Sports Complex on Peninsula Boulevard, a surface the coach said he-s familiar with. He said that some of the new recruits might come from student athletes already enrolled at the college who just stopped playing simply because there has been no team. Not knowing where the next great player may be lurking, he was serious when he said, Anyone who wants to play Division II women-s college lacrosse should call me.
A fan of Title IX, a federally mandated program which paved the way for women athletes to be on equal footing with men, Campolettano said, If it gives more opportunity for girls then bring it on. Under his tutelage, the Manhasset team, who had a 16-3 record in 1996, won two conference titles, two Nassau County championships, two Long Island championships, and one state title. He said that having won a state championship there-s no bigger thrill than to see the girls accomplish something like that.
As president of the Long Island Chapter of U.S. Lacrosse, Campolettano, who never belonged to a fraternity in college, said that the tight knit lacrosse community is like one big fraternity. He said the nature of the sport is such that the minute you start talking to a fellow player, people you have in common invariably come. Regarding his coaching philosophy, he said, I love this game. It-s fun to watch and I want the girls to try their hardest. I want them to leave everything on the field.
Molloy will play in the New York College Athletic Conference, one of the largest of the Division II conferences. Rather than be intimidated by the achievements of some of Molloy-s future competitors, such as Adelphi University and C.W. Post, Campolettano is bolstered by what those teams have been able to accomplish in a few short years. He said that both of those teams have already won Division II national championships. I-m here to compete and be successful. We may not win many games next year, but our goal is to start a program and be national champions.
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