Lacrosse Recognition: Corsetti Named to NILCA Hall of Fame
Lou Corsetti, director of boys’ lacrosse at Fellowship Christian School since the 2019-20 school year, has been selected for the National Interscholastic Lacrosse Coaches Association Hall of Fame.
.gif)
Corsetti, who was inducted into the Georgia Hall of Fame in 2011, and the rest of the Class of 2026 will be inducted during the annual awards dinner at the Milleridge Inn in Jericho, N.Y., on Oct. 17, 2026.
"We are extremely proud to announce the 2026 NILCA Hall of Fame Class," said Joe Baccarella, NILCA Vice President. "Each of these men has established himself among the best to ever to have coached the game of lacrosse, and we look forward to recognizing their incredible accomplishments.”
The NILCA is dedicated to the support and education of Secondary School Lacrosse Coaches. Dating back to 1968, the NILCA has supported educational clinics, conventions, HS lacrosse record keeping and selected national Coach and Man of the Year awards.
"With the selection of these coaches, winners of over 3,200 games in total and who have made an impact on countless young men, we are beyond excited to announce the 2026 honorees,” stated John Kenney, Hall of Fame Committee Chair. “The NILCA applauds those coaches whose mentorship and groundbreaking coaching careers have left an indelible mark on the high school game of lacrosse.”
In addition to Corsetti, the Class of 2026 includes:
- Bill Cherry, Sewanhaka and Manhasett High Schools, Long Island, N.Y.; Jack Crawford, Loyola Blakefield High School, Md.; Peter Fiorini, Baker High of Baldwinsville, N.Y.; Kevin Gates, Virginia Episcopal School, Va., and Worcester Preparatory School, Md.; Bob Healy, Salesianum School, Del.; Andy Hilgartner, Sewickley Pa. and McDonough Georgetown Prep, Md.; John Laden, Chaminade High School, N.Y., and West Forsyth High School, Ga; William Leahy, LaSalle Collegiate, Pa.; Harry Mohrman, Freeport High School, Long Island, N.Y.; Ian O’hearn, Mercer Island, Wash., and posthumously: James Loman, Geneva High School, N.Y., and Bill Martens, Ward Melville High School, Half Hollow Hills, N.Y.
“It is a tremendous honor for me personally and our school,” said Corsetti, who worked with fellow coach and lacrosse icon Doug Horn to bring scholastic lacrosse to Georgia in 1993. “The Georgia recognition was very cool, and I appreciate the honor very much. This one is extra special because it was voted on by coaches around the country. I was nominated by two guys I know and respect. It’s a tremendous honor.”
After serving many years as a USA Lacrosse volunteer, Corsetti spent 10 years on the paid leadership staff of USA Lacrosse before recently retiring. He’s coached lacrosse at the high school level in Georgia since 1996 (Pace Academy, Marist School and Riverwood High School).
He’s coached the sport he began playing as a youth more than 51 years ago now for 48 years. During career, Corsetti has coached 41 All-Americans, 18 Academic All-Americans, and more than 180 All-State players in New York and Georgia.
“I was just a high school coach from Georgia who was moderately successful, and USA Lacrosse asked me to help grow the lacrosse across the southeast, southwest and Midwest,” a humble Corsetti said. “I wound up at Fellowship six years ago, and I enjoy it here.”
The West Babylon, N.Y., native has plenty of stories about a sport that can be traced back to Indigenous nations across the Northeast, Southeast and Midwest, including the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois Confederacy), Cherokee and Choctaw.
..gif)
During his playing and coaching career, Corsetti had the opportunity to visit and participate in matches on the fields enclosed by box wood and chicken wire on the Onondaga Indian Reservation near Syracuse, N.Y. The Onondagas are part of the Iroquois nation.
Corsetti began coaching while still in high school on Long Island and continued coaching after graduation from Marist College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
“I coached little kids when I was a senior in high school,” said Corsetti, who coached at the college and high school levels in New York since high school and has been involved with the sport Georgia since 1993. “All told I started coaching lacrosse at 18, and I am now 66. I have had my day in the sun with the corner office [in the business world] with Smith Barney, but I find coaching very rewarding.”
In more than 51 years as a player and a coach, Corsetti has crossed paths with many of the sport’s legendary names, including Horn, West Genesee High School (Camillus, N.Y.) head coach Mike Massaro (the sport’s winningest coach), longtime Cornell University head coach Rich Moran, Yale University lacrosse legends Jon and Jason Reese, and Dave Cunningham, a high school and youth coach from Long Island.
“It’s a wonderful sport, and I am so glad for all the playing and coaching opportunities I have had,” said Corsetti, who is president of the Gordon J. Corsetti Mental Agility Foundation in honor of his late son.
Fellowship hosts the annual Gordon J. Corsetti Mental Agility Lacrosse Tournament.
(File Photos by Mile Falcon)
.gif)
.gif)
.jpeg)
