This is a printer-friendly version of an article from Zip06.com.
04/04/2019 12:00 AMThe new head coach of the Valley Regional High School girls’ lacrosse team is no stranger to the program. In fact, 17 years ago just after Randy Netsch received his State Department of Education coaching certificate, he was called upon to help two girls begin a lacrosse program at Valley. Randy served as an assistant coach with the program last season, and with the departure of the former head coach, he takes the reins of a Warriors’ team that’s on the rise in the Shoreline Conference.
When Randy was first approached to start a lacrosse program at Valley Regional, he didn’t have much experience in the sport. Still, Randy was willing to learn and help anyone who wanted to learn, as well.
“I knew the girls through their parents and they approached me to see if I’d be willing to start it, since the school said they could start as long as they had a certified coach,” says Randy. “I said to them, ‘I know very little about lacrosse, so if you’re willing to take me on, I’m willing to take on the challenge.’ It’s a beautiful game to watch that’s fast-moving and takes a lot of skill. We have a talented team that can catch and throw.”
The first year the program began, it was about gathering interest and the team played a few pickup games. The popularity slowly began to grow, gaining numbers over the years. By the third year, Valley had a JV team and, in the fifth year, it became a varsity program.
Because Randy had a full-time job with his construction company—he worked in the field for 40 years—he stayed involved with the team as an assistant coach, not able to commit to the demands a head coaching position held. This past January, that changed when Randy retired, and the head coaching position became available.
“Being recently retired, I was able to put in the extra time required to be the head coach,” says Randy, whose assistant coach is Jim O’Brien. “There’s a little more administrative work, and that gets added in to the coaching part of it. Our biggest issue this year is field use because of the weather we’ve had.”
With his first match quickly approaching, Randy arranged for his team to get in some practices at the Wide World of Sports in Montville, which has given him a chance to get to know his team and discuss team goals. Last year, the Warriors finished 9-9, qualifying for the Shoreline Conference Tournament and the Class S State Tournament for the first time since 2010.
“We definitely would like to get into the tournament again—we’ve been fortunate enough to get in several times over the years, and that’s always a nice team achievement,” Randy says. “We have a young team this year so we want to take the players on the field and see what they can do.”
Randy noted that the program’s numbers had been on a downward trend, but that changed this year with a large group of freshmen joining the team. While many of the freshmen are new to the sport, Randy has met some of them, as he is also an assistant coach for the field hockey team.
About five years ago, the assistant field hockey coaching position became available under Head Coach Beth Powers. Randy had worked with Powers in the past, as she was the head coach of the lacrosse team for several years.
“I applied and I was fortunate to get the position. For people who don’t know the sport that well, it can be confusing, but once you get to know it, it’s a great sport, too,” says Randy. “Some years we get quite a few crossovers, and we get some athletes from soccer, as well. I always try to put a bug in the ear of freshmen on the field hockey team to get them to come to lacrosse.”
Jeff Swan, the athletic director at Valley, is excited to have Randy take over the head coaching position for the lacrosse team and continue to have him involved in field hockey.
“Randy brings experience, an ability to relate effectively with his athletes, and a passion for the game of lacrosse,” says Swan. “He’s an excellent addition to an already experienced coaching staff at Valley Regional.”
While both lacrosse and field hockey were new sports for Randy—he played soccer and golf at Valley—he had been coaching for more than 15 years before starting the lacrosse program. Randy and his wife Elizabeth raised their three children in Chester, where all three played sports.
“I coached my children through all different sports—basketball, baseball, softball, soccer—and worked my way up through the levels,” says Randy. “It’s great working with young people, getting them together to work as a team, and seeing all of the benefits of being involved in sports.”
His son Matthew, who now lives in Groton with Randy’s grandkids Dana and Greg, went on to play tennis in high school. His daughters, Danielle and Randa, played lacrosse and Randy had the opportunity to coach them at the high school level. Both girls attended college in Virginia, where Danielle still lives. Randa lives in Deep River. Now that he is retired, Randy plans to spend more time with his family, especially with his wife, who is the Parks and Recreation director and town treasurer for the Town of Chester.
Every year, Randy has the chance to work with his wife as he runs a youth lacrosse program through her department, hoping to build interest in the program from a young age. He also noted that the Ticks, a youth lacrosse program in the tri-town area, has helped build awareness of the sport as well.
For now, though, Randy is back in action as lacrosse season kicks into full swing. While he and his team would love to get back to states, Randy has other priorities.
“There’s always a lot of pressure for winning, but I’m never all about winning,” says Randy. “It’s great to win, but it’s more about teaching young athletes to work together as a team, cooperate to achieve the goals they set, and see the reward for staying active and being healthy. The emphasis is more about being a well-rounded individual than a winning athlete.”