By Chris Goldberg
Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 6/23/10
Julie Martinez, who built Abington into a Suburban One girls’ lacrosse power, has resigned as Ghosts’ head coach for personal reasons.
Martinez, a scholastic All-American at Upper Moreland who also was a two-time All-American at James Madison, led the Ghosts to at least a share of the Suburban One National Conference crown in each of the past four years.
When Martinez first came to Abington in 2001, her team went 4-16. In the past six years the Ghosts posted a standout record of 95-25.
“We have steadily improved,” said Martinez, an English teacher at Abington High. “When I first started I was coming off a trip to the Final Four at James Madison and I was full of energy.
“We had a good talent pool at Abington and I couldn’t wait to mold and shape.”
Martinez credited many of the coaches she had in high school and in scholastic tournaments for her success. She said a major reason the Philly area remains so strong is due to many others that have come back to coach in the region after playing at the collegiate level.
Martinez also was pleased to see many Abington players go on to enjoy success at the college level. One is Mary Kate Lomady, a 2008 Abington grad who was a third-team All-American this spring at Martinez’s alma mater, JMU.
Martinez noted that former Abington great Megan Condon (Temple grad) has been one of her assistants the past three years. He added that other Abington grads have enjoyed college success, such as Kelly Condon (MAAC Player of the Year this spring at Marist), Rachel Dirksen (first-team all-Middle Atlantic Conference pick this year at Messiah) and Courtney O’Connor (starter at Hofstra).
“I am confident the tradition we’ve built here at Abington will carry on,” said Martinez.
Leave a Reply