Pingry's Webster named CN Boys Lacrosse Coach of the Year

Good things come to those who wait, and for Mike Webster and the Pingry School's boys lacrosse program, this season was years in the making.

Webster, who has coached at Pingry for 29 years, helped to culminate one of the best years in program history this season. The Big Blue finished with a 17-4 record, advanced to the Somerset County Tournament final for the second straight year, won their second NJSIAA Non-Public B title in a row and advanced to the first Tournament of Champions final in program history.

For his efforts, Webster is the Courier News Boys Lacrosse Coach of the Year.

"I really think I teach the game," Webster said. "I teach the X's and O's, team work, discipline, hard work; we really worked hard on the fundamentals this year. The team did the little things right and that’s what a teacher tries to do."

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Pingry lost a number of players to graduation last year, so at the start of this season Webster was unsure of what to expect. The Big Blue wound up going 8-0 before falling to Moorestown by one goal on April 27. After bouncing back with a win against St. Augustine, the team suffered a double overtime loss to Montgomery before rebounding in the county tournament.

The Big Blue ended up losing to top-seeded Bridgewater-Raritan for the second year in a row, but the experience the team gained from that one game would help them down the road. After winning the Non-Public B title with a 9-4 victory over Montclair Kimberley, Pingry dispatched Chatham in the Tournament of Champions quarterfinals, setting up a rematch against the defending champion Panthers in the semifinals.

Pingry pulled off a huge upset, beating a previously undefeated Bridgewater-Raritan team 8-7 to advance to the first  T of C  final in history.

READ: BRIDGEWATER-RARITAN'S GRILL NAMED CN PLAYER OF THE YEAR

"I think number one was we believed in ourselves, we went in with a great attitude to start the season and we wanted to repeat as state champions," Webster said. "We knew it was going to be tough, we lost a lot of players from last year and we had to revamp the defense, but I think we believed in ourselves and tried to keep getting better. Our motto was get better every day, and in all aspects of this team from beginning to end we worked hard in practice, made some changes, but I think we just tried to get better every day and we did."

In the T of C final Pingry fell short against Delbarton, but to cap a season with such an accomplishment meant a lot to Webster. He credits his two assistant coaches, who once led varsity programs of their own, Mark Sweeney who was head coach at Madison, and former Voorhees head coach Tim Cullen, along with his seniors.

"It’s the coach that tries to set the goals that are attainable through hard work, and a lot has to go right to attain those goals. The players really believed in it, and we had a great group of seniors and they worked really hard, and I think that helped us," Webster said. "I also have two wonderful assistant coaches, two quality guys that have helped me and it helps that I’ve been here for a long time so I have experience with the school, and the dedication to the program is strong, so that all goes together. It took a lot of pieces, and it all worked out.  It doesn’t happen every year but we got the pieces to fall together this year."

Staff Writer Lauren Knego: lknego@gannettnj.com; on Twitter: @laurenknego