Alumni Bulletin - Winter 2008 - (Page 14)

lacrosse • softball • swimming SPORTS men’s lacrosse NEW COACH IS A REAL PRO Like his father before him, ﬁrst-year Lehigh men’s lacrosse coach Kevin Cassese has enjoyed success as a professional player and as a coach. 6 record in 2004. From there, he returned to But unlike his dad, Tom, who played in the his alma mater as an assistant under Pressler, AFL, NFL, and CFL before becoming the who was ﬁred in the midst of the scandal that winningest high school football coach in Suffolk County, N.Y., history, Cassese has been rocked the Duke lacrosse program in 2006 able to play professionally and coach his sport when three players were falsely accused of assimultaneously. saulting a Durham woman. The second overall selection in the Major With Pressler gone, Cassese served as inLeague Lacrosse (MLL) draft by the Rochester terim head coach while the program’s future Rattlers in 2003, Cassese currently plays as a was uncertain. midﬁelder for the Philadelphia Barrage, a team “To see a coach that I really care about as he helped to the 2007 league title. And he well as a program and a university that I truly brought in Taylor Wray, a fellow 2003 Duke love get dragged through the mud was really grad who plays professional indoor lacrosse difﬁcult,” Cassese says. “I just tried to keep the as a defenseman for the Philadelphia Wings, pieces together, to be there for the players in as one of his assistant coaches at Lehigh. the program and for their parents.” “It’s helpful that Taylor and I still play proAfter the North Carolina attorney general’s fessionally,” Cassese says. “The game of ofﬁce dropped all charges against the three inlacrosse is always evolving, so we’ll see the dicted team members in April 2007, the Blue changes and will be able to Devils—with Cassese serving as the top assistant to incorporate them into our Duke’s new head coach, program.” John Danowski—made it Coming out of high school on Long Island as a all the way to the 2007 nafirst-team high school Alltional championship game. American, Cassese starred Cassese accepted the at Duke University, where Smith Family Head he led the Blue Devils to Lacrosse Coach position at three NCAA Tournament Lehigh in early July, after berths and a pair of ACC former coach Chris Wakely At 26, Cassese is young enough to relate to colchampionships. stepped down. “When I recruited lege players but experienced enough to coach. “I see a lot of similariKevin out of high school, I ties between the type of knew he would be a star as a student-athlete, players I coached at Duke and the ones here at and once he played his ﬁnal collegiate game, I Lehigh,” Cassese says. “We have smart, driven knew he would be a star as a coach,” says foryoung men here at Lehigh and I’m thrilled to mer Duke coach Mike Pressler. be the head coach here.” While playing with Rochester, Cassese The move from Durham, N.C., to Bethlespent one season at Stony Brook as an assistant hem is a homecoming of sorts. Cassese’s wife, coach, where he helped the Seawolves to a 10Katie, attended Bethlehem’s Freedom High 14 lehigh alumni bulletin PHOTOS COURTESY OF LEHIGH ATHLETIC DEPARTMENT Cassese hoists the 2007 Major League Lacrosse trophy that he helped the Philadelphia Barrage win. School before becoming a Duke student-athlete herself (she played tennis for the Blue Devils). “We’re only a mile and a half from Katie’s parents’ house, which is really nice because family is so important to both of us,” says Cassese, who married his college sweetheart in December 2006 in Bethlehem. Cassese doesn’t seem worried that he and the rest of his staff aren’t much older than the players they’re coaching. “If you earn the respect of your players, it doesn’t matter how old you are,” Cassese says. To add a veteran presence to his coaching staff, Cassese has added a volunteer assistant coach that he trusts completely—his dad. “He recently retired from coaching high school football,” Cassese says. “He knows how to coach kids. He’s a winner and he wants to help out. It brings things full circle in my mind.”—Bill Doherty

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Alumni Bulletin - Winter 2008

Alumni Bulletin - Winter 2008 Contents From the President's Desk Mailbox On Campus Research Arts & Culture Sports Ugly is in the Eye of the Beholder Fitch's Law of Motion A Blessing to the Community The Amidonian Acclamation China Trip Bridges Cultures, Generations From the Publisher's Desk Alumni News The Last Word

Alumni Bulletin - Winter 2008

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.