July 1, 2008
by Daniel Malloy, Special to Lacrosse Magazine Online
In 1988, the International Lacrosse Federation hosted its first Under-19 world championship in Adelaide, Australia. Team USA consisted mainly of players from the hotbeds of Baltimore and Long Island. Their summer began with a week of training in San Francisco, a three-week, championship-winning trip to Australia, and a stopover in Hawaii on the way home.
Commemorating the 20th anniversary of that first U-19 squad, Lacrosse Magazine caught up with some of the players and coaches responsible for starting a still-running unbeaten streak (29 games) in ILF U-19 play. They highlighted a historic melding of players from different places, an incredibly deep and talented roster and, most of all, a shared camaraderie that lasts to this day.
Doug Tarring, Head Coach
Where is he now? As he was in 1988, Tarring remains the head lacrosse coach at St. Anne's Belfield School in Charlottesville, Va.
Quotable: "This was one of the first times you had a mingling of kids from other places. That team also kind of set a tone for what has now become a fairly commonplace practice at camps and tournaments [mixing players from different areas]. That was a neat experience to watch those kids who didn't know each other, watch them mesh as a team."
Garth Appelt, Midfield
College: Virginia
Where is he now? After college, Appelt returned to the land down under as an assistant coach for the Australian national team. Upon returning to the U.S., he got into investment banking and now works as a trader for Goldman Sachs in New York.
Quotable: "The interesting thing about that team was any person could have been on the field at any time. We didn't have to have set lines -- people just got it. A lot of that had to do with Coach Tarring and [assistant coach Bob] Shriver. They were committed to the idea that no individuals are going to win this, there is not going to be an individual who stands out. At the end of game, you're going to say, `What a great lacrosse team.' You're not going to say, `No. 7 was fantastic.'"
George Glyphis, Defense
College: Virginia
Where is he now? Glyphis has been an investment banker at JP Morgan in New York for the past 15 years.
Quotable: "What was interesting about the Hawaii portion of the trip was that we checked into this hotel on Waikiki beach and it turned out they were having the Miss Teen USA pageant in the hotel. We were in the lobby, and all these women competing for Miss Teen USA were standing there. Here comes this lacrosse team rolling in, and you could see their escorts kind of shepherding them away from us and scooting them into the elevators. It was pretty funny."
Bryan Kelly, Defense
College: North Carolina
Where is he now? Kelly joined the coaching staff at his alma mater, Calvert Hall College (Md.) High School, after graduation and has been the head coach there for the past 13 years.
Quotable: "In Adelaide they had mopeds, and we moped-ed everywhere. It was 28 guys on mopeds, to the point where [goalie Gerry] DeLorenzo wiped out and had scrapes all over his body. We were going everywhere and riding these stupid mopeds wherever we went...Those coaches earned every ounce of their money -- if they got any money -- because being a high school coach trying to corral a group of 18-year-olds is tough."
Keith Melchionni, Defense
College: Duke
Where is he now? Melchionni has worked in sales for Merrill Lynch in New York for the past eight years.
Quotable: Years before "Seinfeld," Melchionni had a Kramer-like altercation with a kangaroo at a petting zoo. "I guess I startled him trying to feed him, and he certainly didn't think too kindly towards Americans. He gave me a one-two [punch] in the chops and that was it. I kind of ran for the hills. At that time I was pretty fast, and that definitely helped me out at that moment."
Andy Towers, Midfield
College: Brown
Where is he now? Towers started off working for Xerox -- "selling copiers in wool suits in the middle of summer" -- before deciding to get into coaching. He is now an assistant lacrosse coach at Dartmouth.
Quotable: "What at first was something that was a lacrosse event, a credibility gainer, once we actually went on the trip, the lacrosse part became very secondary to getting to know the guys and going out and having fun with guys from different places...When we were going down there I don't think any one of us had any doubt we would [win gold]. That was something we all just knew was going to happen, and it did happen."
July 1, 2008
Note: This article appeared in the June issue of Lacrosse Magazine, a US Lacrosse publication available exclusively to its members. Join today to start your monthly subscription!
by Daniel Malloy, Special to Lacrosse Magazine Online
In 1988, the International Lacrosse Federation hosted its first Under-19 world championship in Adelaide, Australia. Team USA consisted mainly of players from the hotbeds of Baltimore and Long Island. Their summer began with a week of training in San Francisco, a three-week, championship-winning trip to Australia, and a stopover in Hawaii on the way home.
Commemorating the 20th anniversary of that first U-19 squad, Lacrosse Magazine caught up with some of the players and coaches responsible for starting a still-running unbeaten streak (29 games) in ILF U-19 play. They highlighted a historic melding of players from different places, an incredibly deep and talented roster and, most of all, a shared camaraderie that lasts to this day.
Doug Tarring, Head Coach
Where is he now? As he was in 1988, Tarring remains the head lacrosse coach at St. Anne's Belfield School in Charlottesville, Va.
Quotable: "This was one of the first times you had a mingling of kids from other places. That team also kind of set a tone for what has now become a fairly commonplace practice at camps and tournaments [mixing players from different areas]. That was a neat experience to watch those kids who didn't know each other, watch them mesh as a team."
Garth Appelt, Midfield
College: Virginia
Where is he now? After college, Appelt returned to the land down under as an assistant coach for the Australian national team. Upon returning to the U.S., he got into investment banking and now works as a trader for Goldman Sachs in New York.
Quotable: "The interesting thing about that team was any person could have been on the field at any time. We didn't have to have set lines -- people just got it. A lot of that had to do with Coach Tarring and [assistant coach Bob] Shriver. They were committed to the idea that no individuals are going to win this, there is not going to be an individual who stands out. At the end of game, you're going to say, `What a great lacrosse team.' You're not going to say, `No. 7 was fantastic.'"
George Glyphis, Defense
College: Virginia
Where is he now? Glyphis has been an investment banker at JP Morgan in New York for the past 15 years.
Quotable: "What was interesting about the Hawaii portion of the trip was that we checked into this hotel on Waikiki beach and it turned out they were having the Miss Teen USA pageant in the hotel. We were in the lobby, and all these women competing for Miss Teen USA were standing there. Here comes this lacrosse team rolling in, and you could see their escorts kind of shepherding them away from us and scooting them into the elevators. It was pretty funny."
Bryan Kelly, Defense
College: North Carolina
Where is he now? Kelly joined the coaching staff at his alma mater, Calvert Hall College (Md.) High School, after graduation and has been the head coach there for the past 13 years.
Quotable: "In Adelaide they had mopeds, and we moped-ed everywhere. It was 28 guys on mopeds, to the point where [goalie Gerry] DeLorenzo wiped out and had scrapes all over his body. We were going everywhere and riding these stupid mopeds wherever we went...Those coaches earned every ounce of their money -- if they got any money -- because being a high school coach trying to corral a group of 18-year-olds is tough."
Keith Melchionni, Defense
College: Duke
Where is he now? Melchionni has worked in sales for Merrill Lynch in New York for the past eight years.
Quotable: Years before "Seinfeld," Melchionni had a Kramer-like altercation with a kangaroo at a petting zoo. "I guess I startled him trying to feed him, and he certainly didn't think too kindly towards Americans. He gave me a one-two [punch] in the chops and that was it. I kind of ran for the hills. At that time I was pretty fast, and that definitely helped me out at that moment."
Andy Towers, Midfield
College: Brown
Where is he now? Towers started off working for Xerox -- "selling copiers in wool suits in the middle of summer" -- before deciding to get into coaching. He is now an assistant lacrosse coach at Dartmouth.
Quotable: "What at first was something that was a lacrosse event, a credibility gainer, once we actually went on the trip, the lacrosse part became very secondary to getting to know the guys and going out and having fun with guys from different places...When we were going down there I don't think any one of us had any doubt we would [win gold]. That was something we all just knew was going to happen, and it did happen."
