An unprecedented 13 former Tribal Youth Lacrosse players from the Tri-Town area (Boxford, Topsfield and Middleton) will go on to play lacrosse in college next year at the Division 1, 2 or 3 level.
Currently, 10 of those players are seniors playing the final few games of their careers at Masconomet Regional High School.
So it was a special night last Thursday when some of the current Tribal Youth Lacrosse players got to showcase their skills during halftime of a Masconomet boys and girls doubleheader. In addition to the 10 from Masconomet, one player each from St. John's Prep, Pingree and the Brooks School who were Tribal graduates going on to play in college were in attendance.
The event was dubbed "Masconomet Night" and saw the U-13 Tribal players (5th and 6th graders) take to the field for exhibition games. The Tribal U-13 boys played at halftime of Masco's game with North Andover, and the Tribal girls squared off at halftime of the Lady Chieftains' contest with Manchester-Essex.
"This was our very first Masco Night, and the two people who made it possible are Jim Gillespie and (Masconomet athletic director) Jared Scarpaci," said Jill Godett, a member of the Tribal board of directors. Her daughter, Sydney Godett, was one of the 13 former youth players honored that night.
"Jim was president of Tribal until this year, and he's still very involved as coach of our U-15 girls. Those two deserve all the credit for pulling it all together.
"It was special for the high school kids, their former youth coaches, and also the little guys who were all so excited to be part of this special night," added Godett. "We're thrilled to have this record number of girls and boys going on to play in college."
The high school seniors getting ready to take their game to the next level came up through the Tribal program. They include Masconomet players from Boxford: Alexa Coleman (St. Michael's College); Sydney Godett (Boston University); Mary Guinee (Assumption); Elizabeth Iorio (Bentley); Blair Shrewsbury (Bates); Brendan Dahlgren (Union); Mike Magnifico (St. Anselm's); and Chris Roach (Southern New Hampshire) of Boxford; as well as Reed Goodhue (UMass Amherst) and Will Vallette (Southern New Hampshire) from Topsfield.
In addtion, St. John's Prep's James Fahey of Boxford is headed to UMass Amherst; Pingree Brittany Mscisz of Topsfield will play at Wellesley, and Brooks School's Olivia King of Georgetown is going to Bowdoin.
Tribal Youth was founded by Mark Mscisz back in 1993. His daughter Brittany is one of five girls who played for the Revolution Girls' Lacrosse Club, and son Tucker is a freshman at St. John's Prep, on the junior varsity team.
"When we started a youth lacrosse program, only 10 or 12 towns had youth lacrosse," said Mscisz, who is still very involved in Tribal. "We would mentor kids and parents from other towns by letting them play with us for a year or two. Then the parents would start their own programs, having a much better idea how to run them. Now there are thousands of kids involved in youth programs, and the largest (youth) tournament in the world is held at Fort Devens every year.
"It's exciting to follow the players from our youth program through their high school and college careers; we have several All-Americans. Having a night to get them all together from the various high schools was a great idea, and I have to credit the youth coordinators for putting the night together.
"Both Masco teams are doing great this season — and it's nice to know Tribal had something to do with it."
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Got a great idea for a youth sports story on the North Shore? Contact Salem News sports reporter Jean DePlacido at jmdeplacido@aol.com.
