LYNN — St. Mary’s search for a new boys lacrosse coach has come to an end, as the school has hired Salem’s Wayne Silva to take over the program beginning this spring. Silva will take over for former coach Josh Field, who was at the helm for five seasons from 2016-21.
The decision to turn in a cover letter and resume came as an easy one to Silva. Between his son Jack being on the team and his time spent getting to know the other kids, Silva knew he wanted to coach them.
“I know these kids are literally the boys you want your daughters to marry,” said Silva when talking about his new team. “They’re a great group of kids.”
Silva also has a deep understanding of the sport, as he refereed it for seven years. The only thing not on his resume, until now, was coaching it.
One important thing for Silva about becoming the head coach for St. Mary’s is the culture he wants to create there. Looking at the success of the other teams at St. Mary’s, he wants to prepare his boys to be looked at in the same light.
“We want to inspire a winning culture — the culture that is already there at St. Mary’s,” said Silva, who is a captain with the Salem Fire Department. “Hopefully the wins come on the scoreboard, but they come in life. St. Mary’s builds a foundation for these kids, and hopefully we build off that.”
Another way Silva wants to inspire these kids is going to be the higher standard they are held to on and off the field.
“You hold your head up no matter what, you play inspired all the time,” said Silva. “That’s what I look for as a coach. The referee, whether or not he throws the flag on us, will never pick up their flags during our games. We will pick up those flags and hand it to them. We will play the right way.”
Outside of winning championships, one of Silva’s biggest goals that he’s striving for is to inspire and hopefully motivate at least one kid to look forward to the future and play lacrosse in college.
“Maybe one of these kids is going to pick the stick up and say ‘this is what I want to do,'” said Silva. “I might inspire one kid to come back five or six years from now and say ‘I never thought I’d play college lacrosse,’ and have it open doors for them.”
Silva doesn’t just want to see his team succeed on the field; he wants to watch them grow overall. Knowing these kids as well as he does, it’ll be special for Silva to see their growth as both players and people.
“I’m most looking forward to watching these kids grow as athletes,” said Silva. “I already know they’re good kids. Watching them maintain that, and putting an opportunity in their eyes is what I’m looking forward to.”
St. Mary’s will begin its spring practices on Monday, with games set to begin as early as March 31.
