Pynchon starts Prep back
Alum here for rebuild
‘We are worried about getting better every day. We wanted them to have good energy and enjoy playing every day.’ — JOHN PYNCHON, St. John’s Prep head coach
John Pynchon hadn’t recalled those early Saturday morning lacrosse practices at St. John’s Prep for a few years. This fall, those memories rushed back as he returned to coach his alma mater.
“I remembered playing in Cronin Stadium on the grass,” said the 2001 Prep graduate and former Providence College defenseman. “Just the little things I hadn’t thought of in a long time, but now I do since I’ve been back here. Saturday morning practices on the grass where we practice now. The locker room, the weight room, the gym, it’s all the same.”
Pynchon hopes to bring similar fond memories to the Eagles he works with now. Just the third head lacrosse coach in the school’s history, he succeeds the 22-year reign of his own coach,
John Roy. Pynchon spent the last nine years with Beverly, finishing his time there as runner-up in Division 2 North.
The Eagles haven’t been to the postseason since a 2014 Division 1 North quarterfinal loss to eventual state champion Acton-Boxboro. It’s odd to ever find any St. John’s Prep team outside its playoffs, so expectations are high for Pynchon’s tenure, but he warns there are no shortcuts on the road back to playoff contention.
His first year at the helm is focused on the love of the game.
“I wanted to make sure this year wasn’t about wins and losses,” said Pynchon. “We are worried about getting better every day. We wanted them to have good energy and enjoy playing every day.”
Pynchon preaches, and his team has bought into, a team-first mentality. He points to senior attack-turned-goalie Mitch Carpenter.
“I met Mitch in the fall. I had a table at a school fair, and he came up and introduced himself,” said Pynchon. “The first thing he said was, ‘Coach, I’ve played attack two years and two of our goalies transferred. I’m the goalie now.’ You watch him play, you watch him warm up, and Mitch looks like he’s been out there playing goalie for years. He had a teamfirst mentality the entire time.”
The Eagles opened 0-3, but Pynchon hopes it propels his squad to better things later on.
“Losing is never easy, but the guys are getting stronger and learning from losing,” he said.
And along the way, the Eagles hope to develop the same type of lacrosse memories Pynchon has himself. Tourney of tradition
Dave Walsh had a selfish reason for creating the Creator’s Crosse tournament in 2012.
“Selfishly, I wanted to create a playoff-type atmosphere for my own team,” said Lexington’s boys coach.
With a good mix of teams from the north and south, the eightteam tournament will do just that this week. The action starts Tuesday at 10 a.m. with Franklin facing Westford Academy and the Minutemen playing Walpole. At noon, St. John’s Prep will face Marblehead and Beverly will spar with
Masconomet. Thursday’s second round will be held on the Grey Ghosts’ field; Saturday’s championship and consolation games will be hosted by Lexington.
The overall winner will receive the tournament’s now-famous wooden trophy of a lacrosse stick with a “Stanley Cup-style” base. The impressive trophy was made by Billerica’s Rick Ortolani, a woodworker whose son, John, plays for Major League Lacrosse’s New York Lizards.
“That’s something I wanted for the tournament since the very beginning,” said Walsh. “I wanted it to be a symbol of respect for the game and its history.”
When the Pynchon-led Beverly team won the tournament last year, 8-7 over Walpole, the trophy was the icing on the cake.
“The game was nice, but then Dave brings out the trophy ... Holy cow, this thing is beautiful,” he said. “It’s a work of art.”
Walsh hopes that win or lose, every player gets additional respect for the game that he loves.
“I want all the teams to feel a connection to the game of lacrosse,” he said, “that special camaraderie of the game.”