OrangeXtreme
The Mayor of Dewitt
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Orange Xtreme does great job running this site and posting the various articles. I enjoy and appreciateWell done Syracuse.com. Trip down memory lane. I still have no idea why Cuse didn't recruit Mike Zoanetti back in the mid 90's. He was a very good goalie.
The culture has certainly changed at WG since I was a kid - I've talked to quite a few parents and the buy in is no longer there. Don't get me wrong, they still produce a lot of really talented kids who have been playing since they were 7 years old (and younger), but there is an awful lot of complaining going on behind the scenes by parents and recent alumni. It's the kind of stuff that has gone on at every other program for years, but not at WG. Why does my kid have to go to practice at 6AM the day after prom? Why isn't my kid starting? My kid is better than that kid. Coach Messere demands a certain buy in to the program - you didn't have to play for him to respect the level of commitment and dedication he demanded from his players. Didn't matter if you were a starter or last guy on the bench - if you didn't meet the standard you didn't play. WG will still be a top team without him for years to come, but the new standard of excellence is Victor...and as a central new york guy that pains me to say. Glad to see Coach Messere leaving on his own terms - class act all the way.
I would think it is closer to 3-4x not double. There were years in the 80s and 90s that saw double digit college AA from WG. Here is the list of college AA from 70s-90s...Messere’s list of collegiate All-Americans would be quite a slideshow - probably more than double his list of high school AAs.
IIRC, Messere was in SI’s “Faces in the Crowd” way back in the day and I think it said he coached 30 something high school AAs and 60 something collegiate AAs.
Unreal. Schools like Nazareth built their programs on second/third string WG kids who starred for them.
I would think it is closer to 3-4x not double. There were years in the 80s and 90s that saw double digit college AA from WG.
He was my gym coach and wanted me to play for him one season when he had a couple of players become ineligible at the last minute. I turned him down once I found out that I would have had to quit my job in order to be on the team.The culture has certainly changed at WG since I was a kid - I've talked to quite a few parents and the buy in is no longer there. Don't get me wrong, they still produce a lot of really talented kids who have been playing since they were 7 years old (and younger), but there is an awful lot of complaining going on behind the scenes by parents and recent alumni. It's the kind of stuff that has gone on at every other program for years, but not at WG. Why does my kid have to go to practice at 6AM the day after prom? Why isn't my kid starting? My kid is better than that kid. Coach Messere demands a certain buy in to the program - you didn't have to play for him to respect the level of commitment and dedication he demanded from his players. Didn't matter if you were a starter or last guy on the bench - if you didn't meet the standard you didn't play. WG will still be a top team without him for years to come, but the new standard of excellence is Victor...and as a central new york guy that pains me to say. Glad to see Coach Messere leaving on his own terms - class act all the way.
Here goes, All-Time West Genesee Team...
A - Mike Buzzell - Navy
A - John ZulburtI - SU
A - Rick Gilbert -Hobart
M - Brad Kotz - SU
M - Todd Curry - SU
M - Phil Willard - Maryland (snuck in past Brian Keith due to faceoff numbers at WG)
M - Charlie Lockwood - SU
D - Joe Fletcher - Loyola
D - Jeff McCormick - SU
D - Mike Schattner - Virginia
G - John Galloway - SU
It’s hard to argue against either of those two. I was looking at more of each players total lacrosse career, not just time at wg. While his play preceded my time as a lax fan, Ricky Gilbert held the NCAA scoring record (444 points at Hobart) for a long time.I think Tom Nims in goal and Lundblad over Gilbert. Nims was a fantastic all around athlete.
I think the key for Galloway was that he started playing Goalie so early..just my IMO...My daughter started playing goal at a very young age as well & I think it makes a huge differenceIt’s hard to argue against either of those two. I was looking at more of each players total lacrosse career, not just time at wg. While his play preceded my time as a lax fan, Ricky Gilbert held the NCAA scoring record (444 points at Hobart) for a long time.
As for Tommy Nims, basically he is the reason I became a goalie (and I hated running). He was awesome in the cage and ahead of his time with his play outside of it. That said, if you look at what Galloway has done, it’s really hard to argue against those accolades.
And man the middies were tough. I feel like I left out a bunch of guys that were awesome.
Google helped me find the SI blurb I was thinking about - 33 high school AAs and 56 college AAs as of 1995.
true. I grew up near tom. I think he got in the net because the rest of us were afraid to in backyard games.I think the key for Galloway was that he started playing Goalie so early..just my IMO...My daughter started playing goal at a very young age as well & I think it makes a huge difference
Definitely a parent issue. Same stuff going on with the Bville girls' volleyball coach. Parents want kids to be part of the success, but not buy in to the program.I think that statement says less about Messere than it does about the WG parents. And WG is certainly not alone in that regard. The number of horror stories I could share just about the crap that goes on at my kids' high school...
Parents, and by extension their kids, believe they have a level of entitlement that is OOC...
Curfew was no joke. Captains divided the team and called everyone, then reported back to coach. All this time later, I still have his number locked in from dialing every night. Probably one of five phone numbers I have memorized.