Tony O'Donnell has been named new Peabody lacrosse head coach after spending 11 years as assistant under Kevin Houlden, who stepped down at the end of last season. O'Donnell will have former Peabody High and Springfield College star Greg Welch as his assistant.
"Tony knows the system and is familiar with the kids coming back," said Houlden, who recommended O'Donnell to replace him. "He is very dedicated and will do a great job. It's not a question of knowing his Xs and Os; that's a given. He knows the game well, but the other big asset is how well he deals with the kids. He really cares about them."
Houlden did the scheduling for this season in October and will be around to make the transition as smooth as possible for O'Donnell, who is only the third Tanners coach following Bob Danish, who started the program, and Houlden.
"I've got some big shoes to fill. Bob called to congratulate me, and that was an honor," said O'Donnell, who grew up in Salem and Lynn. He started playing lacrosse in the fifth grade at Shore Country Day and went on to play lacrosse and hockey at St. George's in Newport and Roanoke College.
"We've got a good group of younger players returning including our scorers, but we graduated the whole starting defense and goalie so I am going to concentrate on working with the defense," said O'Donnell, who lives in Salem and works at the family business O'Donnell's Funeral Home.
"Greg will run our offense. When I made the decision to apply for the job I had talked to (Welch); when he came on board I was delighted."
O'Donnell is a former long stick midfielder so he is very familiar with the defensive aspect of the game. He coached the Northeast team in the Bay State Games as head coach for two years and four more as assistant. Welch has been an assistant coach in Longmeadow the past few years.
"We had some very good players and won four gold medals and two silver," O'Donnell said. "I believe being part of the Peabody program for so long will help me. I know the coaching styles of the different teams we play, and a lot of coaches on the North Shore have been there a long time. Of course, scouting is always important. Peabody has such a great tradition, and I can't wait to get started."
