By Chris Goldberg
Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 10/21/23
Marple Newtown’s Kevin Merchant (boys) and Twin Valley’s Courtney Kaplan (girls) were named the Pennsylvania Lacrosse Coaches Of The Year Thursday by the PIAA.
Merchant guided the Tigers (20-5) to their first state championship in school history in June, winning the PIAA Class 2A crown with a thrilling 11-10 overtime win over Mars at Penn State’s Panzer Stadium. Marple Newtown had also reached the final in 2022, falling to Mars.
Kaplan led the Raiders (21-7) to a second straight berth in the PIAA 2A title game before bowing to nationally-ranked Archbishop Carroll. Kaplan’s squad also reached the 2022 state final, falling again to undefeated Carroll. Twin Valley became the first Berks County team to reach a PIAA championship.
PIAA Coaches of the Year:
Kevin Merchant, Marple Newtown boys
The Tigers’ 2023 season featured a dream ending – with Marple Newtown’s Ryan Gorman scoring with 2 seconds left to win it. The Tigers had rallied dramatically, after falling behind 5-0 and 6-1 through the first quarter.
Just as impressive was that the Tigers second run to the state finals was done with many underclassmen playing key roles. They won their first District 1 title in 2022 and figure to be a force at the state level for at least a few more years.
Merchant, a Marple Newtown grad himself, said when he took over 5 years ago he wanted to build with homegrown coaches and work with the community. Mission accomplished.
Every member of the staff is a Marple grad and Merchant has used a strong youth program to build with youth, commitment and grit.
The assistants include: Joe Kostack, offense; Tyler Kostack, offense; Steve Viola, defense; Jake Huey, faceoff and transition; Kyle Barroni, defense; Jim Small, strength and conditioning guru. Merchant said the team’s success has been due to its dedication and teamwork.
“I know we have a group of guys on my staff that all have the same mentality,” he said. “We wanted to stress a consistent culture above everything else. We have always stressed our core principals: commitment, discipline, respect, loyalty, and hard work. I think when you build a foundation like that, it sets the team and players in position to grow and improve every time they step on the field.”
Merchant said another key goal besides improvement and post-season success is to contend in the competitive Central League, which features 3-time defending 3A champion Radnor, 2023 3A runner-up Springfield-Delco and other perennial 3A powers like Garnet Valley and Conestoga.
“We have daily and yearly goals and and we always want to grow upon what we previously did,” he said. “The kids understand that everything comes with hard work and that nothing is given.
“I’m a Marple Newtown guy and I am grateful as can be for the opportunity to coach these kids. Seeing the growth of these kids through their hard work and commitment and dedication is so gratifying. Whether they go on to college to continue to play or not, each year we’ve had a phenomenal team of seniors that’s going to succeed in college or go into the working world and that’s what makes me the proudest.”
Courtney Kaplan, Twin Valley girls
Courtney Kaplan said the credit for Twin Valley’s success is due to the commitment of the players and the entire coaching staff as well as the supportive community.
“I think, first of all, this is not for me,” she said of the PIAA honor. “It’s a total testament of the coaching staff and our players and parents. Everybody is so involved that it makes it so easy to put expectations out and set goals. And if everyone is on board, you can get there as long as you have a nurturing culture.
“We try to protect it every time. When we get new kids, half the battle is getting them to believe they can do it.”
Indeed, Kaplan – now starting her ninth year as coach – has had to make people believe.
Twin Valley was never considered a lacrosse power. No team – girls’ or boys’ – from Berks County (although a portion of the district is in Chester County) had ever come close to reaching a PIAA title game until 2022. The Raiders lost many key seniors after going 25-2 in 2022 and giving Carroll a major challenge. They also had several key injuries and many minor injuries in 2023. But even though some of the starters don’t play club, the 2023 team won the Berks and District 3 titles and made it to State College for the PIAA title game. What’s more, Twin Valley had to take a tougher road in the District 3 tourney since they lost some out-of-district games to District 1 squads and were the seventh seed despite being ranked as the top team in the district in the PA State Lacrosse Rankings.
Kaplan also has been forced to overcome the fact Berks teams do not field middle school squads. Lastly, the school district did not fund the team until 2022 since lacrosse was relatively new.
“Our coaches dedicate all this time to the team and the girls do everything we ask of them,” said Kaplan, whose assistants are Kate Munn, Sue Bennett, and Erica Wolfgang. “It goes both ways. There is respect all over the place. We tell them, we’ll give you all the tools to get there and they do what we ask to get better.”
