By Chris Goldberg
Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 2/5/13
Joe Staerk, a 2002 Abington graduate, has been named head boys’ lacrosse coach at his alma mater.
Staerk was an All-Northeast League attackman for the Ghosts who played on season at Widener and later served as a co-captain at Penn State Abington when the program was launched as a varsity program in 2009.
New Abington boys’ lacrosse coach Joe Staerk (second from left) is flanked by (from left) Ghost players Austin Pifani, Will Dulin, Matt Gormley, Joe Lomady
Staerk has a diverse coaching background. He was an assistant at Abington and was both an assistant and head coach at Norristown for one season. He also coached youth girls’ lacrosse with Abington Lacrosse Club and St. Luke’s Middle School.
“I love lacrosse; it’s always been a part of my life since starting to lay in second grade at A.L.C.,” said Staerk. “I always wanted to coach at Abington’ I love the town and the school; I have gotten so much out of Abington.”
Staerk said he plans to work with the local organizations such as the Abington L.C. and the Bandits club team.
Last year Abington went 15-7 and reached the District 1 quarterfinals under rookie coach Ryan Greer, who resigned due to his work schedule. Before last year the Ghosts had won five straight Suburban One National Conference titles.
“I want us to get to the point where we are consistently winning our league and the obvious goal is to win a state championship,” Staerk said. “For now we’ll start small and hope to win the league and win a couple playoffs games. That’s a pretty realistic goal for us.”
Staerk said he will depend heavily on returning All-America defenseman Austin Pifani (signed with North Carolina) as well as senior midfielders Joey Lomady, Matt Gormley and Joe Bisacquino and junior attackman Will Dulin.
What is his coaching philosophy?
“I figure the harder we work, especially in the preseason, the better off we’ll do in the regular season,” he said. “I want a team that is disciplined and works hard, plays smart lacrosse and has everyone thinking and using their brains.”
