By Josh Fendrick, Rumson-Fair Haven student correspondent
When Matt Walrath found out that Reid Jackson was going to be an assistant boys lacrosse coach at Rumson-Fair Haven, it was like "a dream come true."
"Growing up, Reid had always been my idol," said Walrath, a senior defenseman on RFH's lacrosse team. "I had seen him play once, was like 'Wow!' Then, I saw him speak at a camp at Rutgers, was like 'This is my idol.'"
One can only imagine the feeling of being able to attend a clinic with a childhood hero, or having the chance to listen to your role model speak. But for the members of the boys lacrosse team at RFH, they get more than the opportunity to attend a clinic or listen to their childhood idol speak. They get the opportunity to practice, play, and learn with their role model every single day of lacrosse season.
Jackson joined the RFH staff in 2007 with a reputation as one of the best lacrosse players to play the game. He had all the credentials to back that reputation up, as he was a three-time All-American while playing in college at Rutgers University. After Rutgers, Jackson moved on to professional lacrosse, first for the Long Island Lacrosse Club, and then later, for the New Jersey Pride of Major League Lacrosse.
These accomplishments and achievements throughout his career gave Jackson instant credibilty and allowed him to forge an immediate bond with the players in the program.
"Reid and I have been real close the past two years,'' Walrath said. "He's definitely helped me out a lot, with recruiting and getting better as a player. He's a real nice guy, and has been close with all of us."
This bond that Jackson was able to form with the players in the RFH program has been pivotal in allowing him to share the knowledge and expertise, and mold this group of players into better lacrosse players.
"His whole wealth of experience from being around the game at a lot of levels puts him in a unique position to help individual players," said RFH head coach Jim Barbiere. "He has a sensitivity for seeing things and correcting things that I don't pick up on."
Jackson is able to draw on many of his experiences as a professional lacrosse players to illustrate some key concepts that he wants to get across to the players. The 1998 World Championship game in which Jackson's USA team lost an 11-goal lead to Canada, but ended up winning in triple overtime, is something that Jackson references often.
"I reflect on a lot of my game experience,'' Jackson said. "We played in the 1998 World Championships, had an 11-goal lead, and it went into triple overtime. I always tell our guys, any given day, anything can happen, and you have to play four quarters. I try to bring my experiences from my high school, college, and the pros."
However, when talking to Jackson, one gets the impresssion that his impact on the Bulldogs lacrosse program has had a far greater impact that just a matter of X's and O's, and what to do in which situation while out on the playing field.
After being asked what the most important thing he feels he has done during his time at RFH, Jackson jokingly stated, "Lacrosse balls. I went out and bought 92 balls for the team, and we've been using them since I got here."
But when talking in a more serious light about the question, Jackson responded: "For me, lacrosse is more than just X's and O's. Lacrosse has given me a career, not just an athletic one, but a professional business one as well. It instilled in me a lot of discipline, drive, determination, teamwork, and dealing with adveristy. Yes, there are X's and O's, but the bigger picture for me is building men of character."
Added Barbiere: "Although we have stylistic differences in how we coach, Reid and I both believe in the idea of a 'double goal' coach. You're trying to make better lacrosse players, but you're also trying to instill virtues of character, and make better young men."
It this overall similarity in coaching philosophy that has made Barbiere and Jackson a dynamic duo of coaches, a tandem that fills in each other strengths and weakness perfectly.
"Barbiere can kind of synthesize the information that Reid is giving us, because he comes from a coaching background, while Reid comes from a lacrosse background," said Walrath of the combination. "They complement each other very well."
"One person might be better with big picture, while one of us might be better with details,'' Barbiere said. "While one of us might be more vocal, the other might be a little more reticent."
In 2007, Jackson's first year at RFH, the Dawgs went on a magical run in which they beat Christian Brothers Academy in the Shore Conference Tournament semifinals, and then Colts Neck in the final to take home the SCT title. According to Walrath, Jackson has been been a huge part of the level of success RFH has attained.
"I think that that Reid's presence was one of the biggest factors towards our success," said Walrath. "We've always had good offensive coaches, but our defense has grown. Reid can take players who don't have a lot of experience and make them into great defenders."
For Jackson, coaching at RFH has been more than enjoyable.
"The community at RFH has been great,'' he said. "The parent's involvement, the school's involvement. It has amazed me the power of community and the dedication that everyone has. That's the biggest pleasure around here, that win, lose or draw, everybody's involved, everybody's caring, and everybody's working towards the right goal."
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