What is the true background on Boys coach Polizzotti?

Seems he likes to talk about himself as the next coming of a Lacrosse god.
We'd like to hear from past parents and players from Robinson and Lake Braddock!

he is a very busy man:

http://www.facebook.com/philpolizzotti

https://twitter.com/#!/ExcelTi

http://www.excelti.net/

He is probably a high achiever on many levels.

and a prolific twitterer on his own: https://twitter.com/#!/pp1033

Great Follow-up PP!

greatest lacrosse coach ever

Pardon me but...where is "Westfiled" High School?

I thought he was a big goof, walks around like he invented the game.
Always screaming and yelling, it was hard to take him serious.

Tim Thomas Wrote:
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> Pardon me but...where is "Westfiled" High School?


where have you been? It is the feeder school from D'Filed Middle School - where all the, uh, more mature girls go to finish their "education".

Changes whatever he is doing every couple of years(whether it be a job or coaching). It's the same story over and over again-Moving on for personal reasons. The reason he moves on is because he usually alienates everyone and he looks for a fresh start. Like a predator looking for the next victim-This time around it is Westfield Boys lacrosse.

Shame on Westfield for not looing into his past a little deeper? He is good at covering tracks. Don't always check references an applicant provides, seek out others who have worked with him or coached with him.Past Track records speak volumes.

Where there's Smoke there's Fire!

A bully, A phony, Full of himself, Not to be trusted,It's about his Ego, Holds grudges, Dated a players(2) Mom and put it in the boys face, Arrogant.
I watched him belittle many of my teammates who he was suppose to be coaching and make better players.He should never been allowed to coach then and now!

For the Record-COY award was given to Tufts who then asked the board to award it to one of his staff .That staff member was PP who indirectly received it thru the graciousness of Tufts.PP takes full credit and even states he was interim Head coach at Robinson during our Championship year.He was never named interim Head coach at any point while at Robinson.
Manager at Lax World-Fired and the locks were changed!

Price is glad he moved on from Lake Braddock!Next up Westfield.

Poor Westfield!!!!!!!!

Spoke to some people in the know and it seems that his current coaching staff consists of himself, 1 other and a local Dad(part time). Second year as head coach and can't put together a staff. That in and of itself should tell the admin of Westfield something!

Your "people in the know", aren't in the know. There are 2-3 assistant coaches that came to WHS from other NoVa schools this year.

Great coach!

In the Know-JV coach was asked to help out at the last minute and he was kind enough to bring 2 fellow workers with Lax playing experience.

Knowing the whole story paints a different picture!

Up to 2.5 weeks before the season it was the big _______ and 1 assistant!

As a Mom of a former Robinson player. This guy should flat out should not be allowed to coach any kids-regardless of their age!
Many of our friends had kids who went to LB and they feel the same.They were glad to see him go!

My son participated at Robinson when the fore mentioned individual was there as an assistant. I can tell this entire forum group that we as Robinson parents were blessed to have as our Head coach Tom Tufts and we also would never had stood for PP to ever be a head coach for Robinson.His lack of morals and his actions with players would have any conscience parent worried. I'm certainly not glad he's still in coaching but, glad he has moved west.

As a parent all you need to do is in the privacy of your home ask your child about their coaches behavior towards them and there fellow teammates? The answers may or may not shock you.But,the question should be asked.

What a stupid game. No wonder the games draw only immediate family.

I suppose it makes kids that can't play a real sport feel better, but I would be ashamed to wear a lacrosse letter.

screw lax Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> What a stupid game. No wonder the games draw only
> immediate family.
>
> I suppose it makes kids that can't play a real
> sport feel better, but I would be ashamed to wear
> a lacrosse letter.

Sour grapes there. When did you get kicked off the team??????

SunnyD Wrote:
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> Sour grapes there. When did you get kicked off the
> team??????


Not quite, LOL. When I was going to FCPS in the 60's, I played football and baseball. They didn't have lacrosse or at least I don't remember them having it. When was this silly game invented anyaway?

My job has me at various high schools often and I see the lax team practicing. I've tried and tried to watch it, but it's just too damned stupid. Worse than soccer, if that's possible.

As a concerned parent, I would like to inform you all that I do, in fact, enjoy tickling bums.

screw lax Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> SunnyD Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Sour grapes there. When did you get kicked off
> the
> > team??????
>
>
> Not quite, LOL. When I was going to FCPS in the
> 60's, I played football and baseball. They didn't
> have lacrosse or at least I don't remember them
> having it. When was this silly game invented
> anyaway?
>
> My job has me at various high schools often and I
> see the lax team practicing. I've tried and tried
> to watch it, but it's just too damned stupid.
> Worse than soccer, if that's possible.

Get used to it, because it's not going anywhere. It's the true American sport in that it was "invented" by the Indians 100s of years ago. The field of play wasn't limited to 55 x 110 yards, but over square miles with teams consisting of 100s if not 1000s of players. Games lasted days. What you see now is a modernization of the game.

Lacrosse got its foothold in Northern Virginia in the 70s and steadily picked up steam during the 80s and even moreso after VHSL adopted it as a varsity sport in the 90s (late 80s?).

Having played both baseball and lacrosse growing up, I can assure you that baseball doesn't hold a candle to lacrosse. As more and more kids are discovering it, baseball will be relegated to a niche sport enjoyed only by those kids whose parents refuse to sign them up for lacrosse.

Because of its fast pace and potential for high-scoring games, it's not surprising that interest in the sport has grown year after year as evidenced by the number of players signing up at the youth level.

Take off your blinders and enjoy the game; you'll be surprised with what you see.

Tickling bums became a passion of mine when I was 7 years old. My friends thought it was funny, but I found the hobby of "bum tickling" to be beyond bizarre. As an advocate of the Anti-Non-Bum-Tickling-Association-Clause of 1994, I believe that EVERYBODY should experience a good bum tickling!

P.S. I've had a few beers...

"This silly game" is older than the United States itself.

screw lax Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> SunnyD Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Sour grapes there. When did you get kicked off
> the
> > team??????
>
>
> Not quite, LOL. When I was going to FCPS in the
> 60's, I played football and baseball. They didn't"
> have lacrosse or at least I don't remember them
> having it. When was this silly game invented
> anyaway?
>
> My job has me at various high schools often and I
> see the lax team practicing. I've tried and tried
> to watch it, but it's just too damned stupid.
> Worse than soccer, if that's possible.

Westfield administration did not do their due diligence on this character who calls himself a coach!

Is it not the Administrations responsibility to protects those under their guidance?

As the mentioned is my previous coach, I will say he has an ego, is bullyish, and tends to simply irk people. No doubting it. That being said - he's also one of the best coaches I've ever had. This man knows the game of lacrosse as well as anyone I'd ever come across in my 16 years involved in the game. He is a HELL of a coach and if you aren't a better player and athlete by the time you leave his program you're a scrub through and through.

The issues tend to be his way with people. He's a hard ass and doesn't like to BS. Being in the HS ranks he's often dealing with kids who haven't been pushed before and either take it personally or fold under pressure. That being said there's also been issues with stud players and it came down to personal things that I can't speak of. I don't know what you're looking for in a coach, and I'm sure anyone who knows sports knows there are many different ways of coaching. He happens to be the guy who will yell, and curse, and get angry. He takes what he does seriously and has a passion for winning, as any serious competitor should. I myself had issues with him throughout my four years but came out damn better for it. On a personal level, I cannot comment on his "jumping around every couple years" or "alienating people" but if you want a lacrosse coach, you got one. If your kid plays for him tell him to lift weights, listen to every piece of lacrosse knowledge this man passes on to you, don't be a puss, and play hard. He may not be your role model but he'll make a winner out of you.

And Screw Lax..it seems you suffer from some elitist syndrome and badmouth any athletic endeavor you didn't play or succeed in or have the ability to wrap your brain around. And why don't you go ahead and research the sport backgrounds of D-1 lacrosse players and tell me 95% of them "can't play real sports". Even better, you being so in touch with FCPS for so many years I'll bet you couldn't imagine how many of those kids you saw on the football field laced it up for lacrosse in the spring. I'll assume you had no idea the great Jim Brown played lacrosse and loves the game or that Wayne Gretzy, among countless other athletes, played the game for years. I only name drop because you seem too small minded to recognize anything else. Enjoy your 8 hours of baseball though.

maybe uva has more space for ill behaved lacrosse folks

dbs Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> screw lax Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > SunnyD Wrote:
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> > -----
> > > Sour grapes there. When did you get kicked
> off
> > the
> > > team??????
> >
> >
> > Not quite, LOL. When I was going to FCPS in
> the
> > 60's, I played football and baseball. They
> didn't
> > have lacrosse or at least I don't remember them
> > having it. When was this silly game invented
> > anyaway?
> >
> > My job has me at various high schools often and
> I
> > see the lax team practicing. I've tried and
> tried
> > to watch it, but it's just too damned stupid.
> > Worse than soccer, if that's possible.
>
> Get used to it, because it's not going anywhere.
> It's the true American sport in that it was
> "invented" by the Indians 100s of years ago. The
> field of play wasn't limited to 55 x 110 yards,
> but over square miles with teams consisting of
> 100s if not 1000s of players. Games lasted days.
> What you see now is a modernization of the game.
>
> Lacrosse got its foothold in Northern Virginia in
> the 70s and steadily picked up steam during the
> 80s and even moreso after VHSL adopted it as a
> varsity sport in the 90s (late 80s?).
>
> Having played both baseball and lacrosse growing
> up, I can assure you that baseball doesn't hold a
> candle to lacrosse. As more and more kids are
> discovering it, baseball will be relegated to a
> niche sport enjoyed only by those kids whose
> parents refuse to sign them up for lacrosse.
>
> Because of its fast pace and potential for
> high-scoring games, it's not surprising that
> interest in the sport has grown year after year as
> evidenced by the number of players signing up at
> the youth level.
>
> Take off your blinders and enjoy the game; you'll
> be surprised with what you see.


Hey Dude!! I enjoy Lax as much as the next non-athletic, can't play other real sports, white kid. Lax allows these white kids to have a sport they can still call their own. Lax and Soccer will always be secondary sports to Football, Basketball and YES.... Baseball. NOW you do have some real athletes playing it .... BUT those kids are staying in shape for their primary sport Football.

Look at any FCPS or Private High School and what you see on the Lax field are White kids who cannot hang at the Primary sports. I am happy they have a sport that they can participate in. BUT don't ever think it will be more than a secondary sport to Baseball. Major League Baseball players get paid Millions, entire Lax pro teams don't generate that much money in a season. The only niche sport, as you describe, is Lacrosse.

lax bra - you are forgetting the real reason behing the sport's surge in popularity. It has long been the province of the upper middle class (and higher). It is no accident that Division III Johns Hopkins is a Division 1 power in lacrosse. They could, from a historical perspective, recruit athletes who could survive the school's academic rigor. These athletes would then go on to largely replicate their parents' upper middle class lifestyle.

Fast foward to today. Lacrosse is a ticket to college admission at competitive, prestige schools. Look at TJ college admission statistics and see what it takes to get into Cornell, Princeton, etc without an athletic or other special hook. It is supremely difficult. Plat at an all region lacrosse level? And it is much easier. And forget football. Even kids with good speed don't have the size to play at the D 1 level. Lacrosse is a much more realistic enterprise, and a much greater cultural fit for the middle and upper middle class than football. It will continue to grow in popularity.

I think George H could give you some pointers about the sport.

lAX bRA - YOUR A FUCKING RETARD - no need to mention what team i am affliiated with but the team is filled up with football and basketball players.[ who happen to be starters on those squads] So your theory that these are 2nd rate athletes makes no sense -Lacrosse is becoming a mainstream sport and for you to say it is filled with non-athletic white kids who cant play other sports is just stupid . I agree that it will never be as popular as football and basketball but the kids in my school cannot be be considered as non-athletiv [ we are in the toughest district and field quality teams

Joe Blow Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> lAX bRA - YOUR A FUCKING RETARD - no need to
> mention what team i am affliiated with but the
> team is filled up with football and basketball
> players.[ who happen to be starters on those
> squads] So your theory that these are 2nd rate
> athletes makes no sense -Lacrosse is becoming a
> mainstream sport and for you to say it is filled
> with non-athletic white kids who cant play other
> sports is just stupid . I agree that it will never
> be as popular as football and basketball but the
> kids in my school cannot be be considered as
> non-athletiv [ we are in the toughest district and
> field quality teams


Joe Blow... Dude you need to spend a little more time in the classroom. Show your reply to any of your HS teachers and you may never get out of High School. Heres a clue..... Spell Check!

Like I said the PLAYERS on your team are the kids that play Football and Basketball. Guys like YOU can't play the PRIMARY sports, thats why God invented Lacrosse and Hockey for the slow, non athletic white kids. My response was to the post saying Lax was more popular than Baseball and would relegate baseball to a niche sport. PLEASE, that is comical, Baseball is the National past time... I don't know what school you attend, but any school I know of the better athletes are playing Baseball. In fact let us know what school you go to so the baseball players can read this and kick your Lax ass.

Westfield had issues with Coach P last year. Can't believe he was still coach this year. Now he's at it again. Not only is his behavior horrible, his coaching decisions make no sense. I feel sorry for the players.

unbelievable wrote:

"Westfield had issues with Coach P last year. Can't believe he was still coach this year. Now he's at it again. Not only is his behavior horrible, his coaching decisions make no sense. I feel sorry for the players."


Actually the only issues this year have been a select few players, including one of the team captains, who have shown nothing but disrespect to coach Polizzotti. The issue has been snowballing since the beginning of the season, these upper classmen show up late or don't show up at all to practice. Then they and their parents are "upset" because the coach sits them for the 1st quarter or the entire game following these ongoing incidents. It's like these kids and parents believe they are entitled, totally forgetting about the other players who show up for practices, off season conditioning and tournaments, and put the time and effort in.

It's funny, at the beginning of the season coach P had mostly the upperclassmen starting and playing the majority of the games. When it became apparent that it wasn't working, coach started putting in younger players. Many of the parents of the upper classmen became upset but coach P did what any smart coach would, went with the future because the present wasn't working. Now the common theme seems to be the coach gave up on the team, wrong, he gave up on the kids who were given an opportunity from the start but didn’t do anything to make the most of it.

I've seen and heard the stuff that these kids and parents are spewing and it's nothing more than utter garbage. "my little Johnny doesn't get enough playing time or any at all". My question to them is did little Johnny attend all the off season workouts and conditioning? Does little Johnny play on any competitive club level teams in the summer or fall? You know, programs like Blackwolf, Madlax, VLC, etc.? Or does little Johnny believe he can just show up when the season starts and beat out the kids that have done all these other things to be prepared to step onto the field.

The problem with sports at any level is that you can never please everyone, there will always be a group that is offended for whatever reason. In this case, the kids who didn't care enough to put in the extra work are now upset because things didn't go their way, too bad!

This small group of players who have been the issue all season, mostly seniors, even let it be known prior to the start of the playoffs that they didn't care if Westfield won or not. Going into the first round of district play against Oakton several parents in the stands commented on how little Johnny was done with the season and ready to move on. Boy, that sure is some great leadership for the rest of the players to look up to.

Just to give one example, both captains were benched for the 1st quarter of senior night because they blew off practice the day before for no reason. That is some fine leadership there I tell you! Then after being embarrassed at home that night these guys are walking off the field laughing and fooling around like it was some big joke, pathetic!!

The icing on the cake was when one of the captains stood up in front of the team in the locker room after they were blown out by Chantilly last week and began berating coach P. He was upset that the starters were pulled late with the score being 12-1 at that point. Since the team plays tomorrow night what was the use in having one of the starters injured in a game that was over at that point. So coach P told the kid to sit, he blows up and starts cursing at the coach and coach P drops the f bomb and tells the player to leave.

Guess what, coach P did the same thing that almost anyone else in his position would have done, and that's why he's been suspended. I'm not sure what he's done in the past but that was his crime this time, not sure potentially losing his job seems to be fair. Hell, even the parents who were on the program last year have said on numerous occasions this year how quite and well mannered coach P was compared to years past.

Seems to me that coach P did everything he could all season to become a successful program however he and his staff were constantly undermined by these few players. You know the saying, it only takes one bad apple, in this case there were a few more. It will be a travesty if the coach loses his job, the only mistake he made was keeping these kids on the team....

I totally agree with the above post. My only argument is if kids skip practices and pull all that crap, don't just bench them, cut their asses and make a point no matter how valuable they are to the team. It is not worth it to put up with that for an entire season. If Coach P does leave Westfield, their loss, there will be plenty of other schools chomping at the bit to hire him with his history and experience in the region.

He should have never been hired and he certainly should never be able to coach kids at any level in any state. Talk to those who have coached with him at Robinson and Lake Braddock. The comments are all the same-not good!
Enough is enough, his smoke and mirrors are hopefully over! It was just a matter of time, as it was at Robinson and Lake Braddock. Check with any football coach at Lake Braddock they will tell you the truth.

I certainly would even trust him to watch my dog!

P.S. Infromed Parent(Informed) This whole rant is a typical PP response, always someone else's fault.Any person who has been around him will note that the informed parent is PP. Just like his past Bio on the Generals website(since taken down) he rambles on about everything and his latest rant is no exception.

Has anyone heard any update if Coach Polizzotti fired or not?

OKTRUTH, that was no rant, simple observation from being around the coach, his staff, the players, and fellow parents all season long. Also happens to be the voice of opinion from the majority of the parents involved with the program.

I looked at some of your previous posts, seems like you have an issue with not only Polizzotti but Newell as well. I see a pattern, you don't like brash coaches who do not tolerate kids thinking they are entitled to anything they have not earned.

Because both these coaches are from the same mold, you either like them or hate them but they do know how to coach and if the players pay attention and work, they'll actually become better at the sport. That's pretty much the point of being a coach, some people just don't like the in your face type, oh well.

Laxbait, yes the news is out, coach Polizzotti has been retained at Westfield as the varsity lacrosse coach. Of course I'm sure this will cause OKTRUTH to rant on about the injustice of it and the incompetence of the administration, see his previous posts.

In the end the powers that be realized what the fuss was about, spoiled kids who didn't get there way throwing temper tantrums.

Oh yes, by the way OKTRUTH, I'm not PP but actually an informed parent. One, who had my son acted how a few of the kids on the team did, would have been embarrassed.

You see I'm old school, I still believe anything you want in life must be earned, nothing is owed. I guess not everyone feels that way which explains why this was an issue in the first place....

So, is coach p back or not?

CareBear Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> So, is coach p back or not?


You obviously don't read which makes me to believe that you were one of the idiot kids/parent that he had to deal with. If you simply read above it the "informed parent" stated that he has been retained (def: Verb, Continue to have (something); keep possession of: "the house retains many original features". Also Not abolish, discard, or alter.) Simply put so you can understand, he will be back to coach if he chooses.

Looks like after the investigation of the coach and "the incident" they found that his actions were credible and the player in question (not going to throw a minor's name out, but we all know who it was) was wrong. Good for Coach P and standing his ground and putting an a-hole kid in his place when he needed to.

Well at least he's not hitting kids like the last coach.

I'll give my two cents about this I played Lax at WHS back when the school opened eons ago and the coach they hired seemed to have the same hard ass attitude and discplined the top players for very minor infractions but these players did have entitled attitudes but they where good players. Anyways that coach only lasted one season I'm kind of suprised that WHS is supporting the coach I guess WHS has changed their attitude.

Then the coach we got after was a pushover but we played well and for certain players had certain rules and shit was able to slide, so the moral of the story talent trumps attitude if you want to win and a good coach can get the most out of his players and seems like this guy can't. ohh well

Coming from someone who actually played under coach P in 2010, the guy's ego is through the roof. He had no respect for players, good or bad, and would show players up in front the team during drills.

I understand being a HC is tougher than it looks, but the guy had a hard time earning the locker room's trust. I wasn't an all-met player or a stud on the team, but coach P certainly did not access and strengthen his relationship with any of his players, at all. Being a good coach is much more than just knowing the X's and O's, which he does know.

Like someone said above, the guy knows the sport well, but the guy's ego and monarchy was ridiculous to say the least. I'm glad I left when the season was over.

Why is it every year he loses a coach? The school has never interviewed any coach who has left the program or asked why they left. It is clear he is a A Hole.
No matter what this guy does he will never have the respect from current and certainly past players. The talent is there and it will become evident when he is dismissed and they get a quality coach. The kids certainly deserve it.

Laxer Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Why is it every year he loses a coach? The school
> has never interviewed any coach who has left the
> program or asked why they left. It is clear he is
> a A Hole.
> No matter what this guy does he will never have
> the respect from current and certainly past
> players. The talent is there and it will become
> evident when he is dismissed and they get a
> quality coach. The kids certainly deserve it.


What? Schools lose coaches every year. Try devoting at least 3 hours of your day every day for 3.5 months then factor in all the offseason stuff. Coaches want to move on to other positions or spend more time with their families. It's a thankless position.

the whole sports mentality gets on my nerves.

As a former assistant coach under Coach PP. He's a great guy and I never had a verbal argument with him or any issues when I was there. Yes, Phil loses coaches every year, but doesn't mean his an ass hole. Coaching a sport is very hard for 3 months. Trying to leave work at 3pm and dealing with 66 and 28 traffic to get to practice at 4pm is very hard. You deal with a angry wife, upset kids, and frustrated boss. To answer laxer's question. The school DSA only interviews candidates who want to be a head coach. After that, the HC can pick his OWN coaching staff or can tell the DSA to post a opening an opening on the fcps website. Interested candidates email the DSA first and than the DSA forward the email to the HC so that he/she can has a interview with them.

Coach PP always looks for high profile coaches or lynchburg alum who played lacrosse, so regardless whether or not he loses coaches, he always get good coaches. Before I came to Westfield, I thought I knew everything about lacrosse, but I was totally wrong. He help me realize that coaching the fundamentals is important and doing 6 v 6 isn't going get the kids better. When you join Phil's coaching staff, Phil educates you about the game and his philosophy of what he wants. Every season we always implement a new drill or play that PP discovered. He personally made me a better coach and most head coaches wouldn't do that. It's been a privilege to coach your kids and PP will put a banner in the main gym. It took Chantilly 7 years to become a top caliber team and going to states every year and has done a great job since being hired. I been living in fairfax for over 30 years and boy I tell you Westfield never been rank a top 5 lax program since it open and never had a lacrosse culture before PP took over. In 2-3 years Westfield going be a dynasty and will win a state title. The talent is there!!!

Simply put, those who excel at football, baseball and basketball come from the same talent pool as those who excel at bowling and fly fishing.

Poor.

Are lacrosse teams down this year? I haven't seen very many good games.