Angela Barbuti wrote a terrific article about five former Manhasset High School lacrosse players who now play for the LI Lizards in the MLL.

In the article, it cited Bill Miller, Charles Morrison, and Joe Fields as founders, in 1965, of the Manhasset PAL lacrosse program. I have the utmost respect for these three men and what they did for lacrosse in Manhasset at the youth level. Bill Miller is still involved with the program, some 40 years later. However, they were not the actual "founders" of the program. They succeeded an earlier group that should also get some credit.

The Manhasset youth lacrosse program as we know it today was actually founded in 1963, when I was a fifth grader at Manhasset's Munsey Park School. The men who created it were Richie Moran, then the head coach of Manhasset High School; Luke Belsito, the JV coach at Manhasset; Patrolman Jerry Fitzgerald, then Manhasset Police Boys Club's sports program (baseball, football, basketball, and then lacrosse) administrator; Frank Martocci (father of Bill Martocci, a Plandome Road School sixth grader, Victor, Jay, and May), Al Levine (my dad), Jason Stranahan (the legendary Plandome Road School phys. ed teacher and the man who brought the game of lacrosse to Manhasset back in the 1930s), and Ken Molloy (father of Ken Jr. and Jamie). Charles Morrison's son Tommy was in the first group of players in my age group. His older son Al (called Almo by his teammates and coaches) was on Coach Moran's varsity team and was one of the high school players who helped us in the first practices we had on the back parking lot. Stranny used to bring his car loaded with equipment he had amassed over the years and used in his phys. ed programs at the Plandome Road School. It was a great beginning to youth lacrosse in our town.

Coaches Moran and Belsito along with the great Manhasset players on their team (Garth Weber, Buddy Dehoust, Jack Heim, Steve LaVaute, Joe Capella, and Al Morrison among others) gave us the boost and ran us through our drills. But Mr. Martocci was the driving force when we finally settled down into teams. He had played lacrosse at Poly Prep (Brooklyn) in high school and at Rutgers University. He knew the game and taught it to us well. He also commanded respect from all of us because he was a very talented PBC midget football coach.

When the snow melted we moved to the back fields next to the tennis courts during that first spring. For the next eight weeks or so we played against each other each weekend, like a house league. Then, to conclude the season, Mr. Martocci coached us in travel games against Garden City and Port Washington on the field in front of the school (then the JV football field and varsity lacrosse field). I remember this well because it was perhaps the only time in my career when I scored a goal. I played goalie most of the time, but got a few minutes on attack that day.

Mr. Fields and Mr. Miller picked up the program when their sons started to play a couple of years later. Mr. Morrison continued to make valuable contributions because he had younger ones coming up as well.

I feel very fortunate to have grown up in Manhasset and to have played lacrosse there. I just wanted to add to the great lacrosse tradition I came out of by giving credit to a few more important people.

Mathew J. "Matty" Levine

Manhasset High School Class of 1970