Toniann Panetta packed her bags in January and moved from Florida to Seattle to fulfill her dream career: to coach lacrosse. The parents, faculty and athletes at Nathan Hale High School were there to help her adjust.
Panetta will coach the school's relatively new girls lacrosse team, whose season began late last month.
"It's been surreal being in Seattle," Panetta said. "Nobody in the other regions that I was looking to move to was as nice as the people in Seattle. I was shocked at how everyone was nice and helpful."
The players welcomed Panetta by mailing her a poster with their team picture from last year and wrote notes of welcome.
Panetta said, "I cried. I knew I had picked the right school right then and there."
AT A 'BUILDING STAGE'
Panetta will coach Nathan Hale High School's new girls' lacrosse team, which is a varsity B team. About 26 girls are on the roster at various skill levels, ranging from those who have never played before to girls who have been playing since middle school.
Parent manager Doug Brown said, "The program has been at a building stage, and now the girls are learning things that they haven't learned before because Toniann brings in a lot of experience."
"Our coach from last year had to leave to dedicate more time to her studies," Brown explained.
Player Hannah LaCroix said, "In the past we've had coaches who don't know a lot about the game, but with Toniann, it's different. We're learning stuff we've never been taught before."
AN EXPERIENCED PLAYER
Panetta is no stranger to the sport. She helped form the first lacrosse team at her middle school in Alabama and played throughout high school.
At Auburn University in Alabama, Panetta was captain of the women's lacrosse team that played in the Southeast Lacrosse League. As a sophomore, she was named the best defensive player in the Southeast Women's Lacrosse League.
Last year, Panetta graduated from college and came across a Washington lacrosse-team website that posts job openings. She was drawn to Nathan Hale High School because the program was new.
She said that to keep lacrosse growing, schools need access to a solid lacrosse program. "At first, I was scared of coaching high school girls, but my experience has been extremely positive," she said.
She's been trying to re-vamp the team, teach the basic fundamentals of the game and bring all her players together. She's already observed a change.
"I think this is a whole different team; they click. I paired girls up that weren't friends in school," she said. "You just can't have cliques."
Brown agreed: "This season, we want the girls to have good teamwork, and they need to learn how to depend on each other."
A NEW ENERGY
At an extra practice on the weekend, the girls completed several drills to prep for their first game. Panetta was on the field with a lacrosse stick in hand.
Sarah Jewell, a new lacrosse player, said, "Toniann has been so helpful. We've been doing skills. She likes to make sure we're focused on the game."
The team has had two weeks for practice, and Panetta said that since she isn't from Seattle it was a challenge to gauge the level of experience locally.
Another challenge was adjusting to being a player, then becoming a coach.
Panetta said, "The player-to-coach transition was hard. I've always been a player so being a coach is a development process."
She recently joined a Seattle lacrosse team called Barracuda Lacrosse and is working to earn her credentials to be a referee.
Brown said, "It's exciting to have Toniann on board. The team gets excited because Toniann has so much energy. Overall, she's a great coach."
Her players also have commended their new coach. Player Isabelle Burke said, "She knows what she's doing, and now I'm a better player and we're a better team."
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