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XCEL LACROSSE - DIRECTORS AND COACHES
BOYS & MEN'S LACROSSE LEAGUES & CLINICS
CHRIS WIDELO - Director of Lacrosse Leagues and Clinics
 Chris Widelo has been a fixture in Central Massachusetts lacrosse for over 12 years. A defenseman at Division II Assumption College from 1994-1997, he went on to be an assistant coach at Assumption after graduation and spent six seasons as the school's head men's lacrosse coach. In 2005 Chris served as the assistant varsity lacrosse coach at St. Peter-Marian High School in Worcester.
Chris is currently entering his sixth season as the the associate head coach at Mount Ida College in Newton, MA. While at Mount Ida he has helped lead the Mustangs to three of their six North Atlantic Conference Championships (2007-2009), a Great North Atlantic Conference Championship in 2011 and three appearances in the NCAA DIvision III Tournament.
Widelo also serves as the head coach for the Connecticut Valley Lacrosse Club's elite girls travel team.
Regionally, Chris has coached the Bay State Games Metro Region Lacrosse team on five different ocasions and also served as an assistant with Team Central. For the last 4 years he has presented at the US Lacrosse National Convention in Baltimore on various aspects of team and individual defense. This summer Chris will take a team for the 4th time to Prage, Czech Republic to compete in the Prague Cup International Lacrosse Tournament.
Chis is Double-Goal certified by the Positive Coaching Alliance and has completed Level One of the U.S. Lacrosse Coaches ' Certification Program.
ANDREW FINK - Director of Boys and Men's Lacrosse Leagues
 Andrew Fink is currently in his ninth year as the Mount Ida College men’s lacrosse head coach and 10th year with the program overall. He has compiled an overall record of 95-42, including an impressive 56-1 mark in regular season play versus North Atlantic Conference competition. In Mount Ida's first year as a member of the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC), Fink and the Mustangs captured their first ever GNAC title with a 9-6 victory over neighboring rival Lasell College. Along with the championship victory, the Mustangs compiled an 11-7 overall record in 2011 including a perfect 7-0 slate in GNAC play.
Fink has brought six NAC titles, one GNAC title and three NCAA tournament appearances to the college since he took over as head coach. Fink played his college lacrosse at the University of Hartford, graduating in 2001 with a degree in communications from the College of Arts and Sciences. As a four-year varsity player and three-year starter, Fink played defense for Hartford. In his junior campaign, the Hawks earned the American East Conference regular season title.
Fink was honored as Mount Ida College's "Coach-of-the-Year" in 2009 and most recently in 2011. He was most selected by his peers as Coach-of-the-Year for the North Atlantic Conference (NAC) for 2004 and 2010 and was also selected as Coach-of-the-Year for the GNAC this past season (2011). He was also selected to present at the United States Lacrosse (USL) National Convention for the third consecutive year discussing "Offense vs. Defense - Strategy and Adjustments", "Team Defense", and Man-Down Defense" in Baltimore, Maryland.
Andrew is also the owner and operator of the B3 Lacrosse in Barrington, Rhode Island and recently traveled to Prague, Czech Republic for the third consecutive year with his international team to compete in the Prague Cup.
GIRLS & WOMEN'S LACROSSE LEAGUES & CLNINCS
PERI STEERE - Director of Girls and Women's Programs
 Peri Steere is in her third year with XCEL Lacrosse and oversees our girls lacrosse leagues. Steere is in her fourth season as the head women's lacrosse coach at Mount Ida College in Newton, MA.
Prior to Mount Ida, she spent three years as assistant coach for the Wheaton College Women's Lacrosse team and helped lead the Lyons to their fifth straight New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Tournament championship game in 2006. In 2005, Steere was the junior varsity lacrosse coach at Weston High School after a one-year stint at the Westonbirt School in Gloucestershire, England. At Westonbirt, Steere coached and trained three teams comprised of girls in different age groups.
Steere, a two-time captain for Wheaton, helped her team capture their first two NEWMAC titles. She missed only one game during her career and started all 68 games in which she played. She helped the Lyons to a 20-4 mark in NEWMAC play and was Wheaton's co-captain her junior and senior seasons, when the Lyons won the NEWMAC regular season and tournament titles and advanced to the NCAA Tournament. Steere totaled 53 goals, 23 assists and 76 points during her career and was twice named to the NEWMAC All-Conference team.
She graduated from Wheaton in 2004 with a Bachelor's degree in Philosophy.
AMANDA PELLEY - Assistant Director of Girls and Women's Lacrosse
Amanda Pelley is the the assistant director of girls and women's lacrosse leagues and clinics. A Cape Cod native, Pelley previously spent two seasons as the assistant coach at Mount Ida College women's lacrosse program. In 2010 and 2011 the Mustangs reached the Great North Atlantic Conference semi-finals.
Pelley is a 2009 graduate from St. Michael's College in Colchester, Vermont receiving a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and Communications with a minor in Business Administration. Pelley played all four seasons of her college career with the St. Michael's women's lacrosse program and was voted team captain her senior year. In the summer of 2009, Pelley spent time in Melbourne, Australia teaching and coaching the basic skills of the game to under 13 players along with planning everyday practices and team building exercises.
XCEL LACROSSE TRAINING PROGRAM
TOM BAKER – XCEL Lacrosse Training Program
Tom Baker is the director of the XCEL Lacrosse Training Program. This is the 7th year XCEL has offered this program.
Tom is currently the assistant men's lacrosse coach and defensive coordinator at Assumption College in Worcester, MA. Prior to his tenure at Assumption Tom was the assistant coach at Saint John's Shrewsbury. He was also the head coach at Shrewsbury High School and Eden Prarie High School in MN.
He has been recognized by US Lacrosse on numerous ocasions as Man-of-the-Year, Coach-of-the-Year and Assistant Coach-of-the-Year.
Tom was an All-American in both football and lacrosse at the Community College of Baltimore and graduated from the University of Pittsburgh where he receved a full footbal scholarship.
Still active at the club level, Tom most recently played in the World Games in Manchester, England during the summer of 2010.
JOHN MIDDLETON – Lacrosse Skills Coach
Four year standout at Western New England College. Assistant Coach at Algonquin High School. Head coach Algonquin High School 2000-2002. Head coach 2003 & 2004 Bay State games Central Region Team, took the Silver Medal in 2004. Head coach Team Central, elite team of high school players, who compete in tournaments around the north east. Area Chairman for U.S. Lacrosse Central MA. 2001 Metro-West Coach of the Year. Coached in New Jersey for 7 years prior to relocation to MA.
NATE EVANS – Lacrosse Skills Coach
A 2006 graduate of LeMoyne College, Nate was a standout member of two NCAA DII National Championship Teams (2004 and 2006). During his career LeMoyne compiled a 62-2 record. Currently employed by Brine, Inc., Nate plays professionally for the Boston Cannons of Major League Lacrosse
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Coaches Bios
