Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 7/27/22 – From Press Release
Shipley School has announced that Joe Donnelly has been named its permanent Varsity Boys Lacrosse Head Coach. Donnelly had served as interim coach for two full seasons.
Shipley went 11-11 the past two years under Donnelly, who began as interim head coach just as the pandemic canceled the 2020 season.
Donnelly was a 3-time All American goalie for Navy and was the team MVP his junior and senior years. He ranks 4th on the Naval Academy’s all time save list. He was also a 2x All American high school player for Penn Charter where he helped lead the Quakers to a PA State championship in 1983.
He played professionally for the Philadelphia Wings while on active duty but in between military assignments. A retired Navy Commander, he flew helicopters for special operations forces and served 5 tours in Iraq and was awarded a Bronze Star for Valor.
Donnelly has been on the Shipley staff since 2017 as both an assistant coach and interim head coach. He works primarily with the goalies and defense but through this tenure has helped the entire Shipley program establish a culture of hard work, accountability, and striving for success.
“I’ve been associated with a lot of teams over many years and I can’t think of a group of players, parents and athletic department folks that I have enjoyed being around more,” Donnelly said. “It’s a privilege to coach and hopefully serve as a mentor for high school boys on the path to maturity.
“In my opinion, lacrosse is a great vessel for that journey. I look forward to being part of the Shipley community as the boys lacrosse coach and am available to any player, parent, faculty and alumni that is interested in the team and would like to help me in our collective support of the program.”
Continuing his role as assistant coach and offensive coordinator will be Ty Martin who will take on a larger recruitment role working with local clubs and programs. Trevor Green ‘17 will remain as the Middle School Head Coach and Varsity Assistant.
