PEABODY — This has been a most interesting year for Jason Marshall of Peabody.
The Tanner alumnus started the winter sports season off by literally picking up the pieces of not one, but two, broken hockey programs and merging them into one. Then, when he was done with that, he took over the boys lacrosse program this spring.
The result has been a lot of learning on the fly, and a lot of reconnection with his love of lacrosse.
“In 2021, we had to drop (hockey) as a varsity program,” said Marshall who, at 26, is barely older than the kids he’s coaching. “We only had 13 skaters, and four or five of them were eighth graders. We couldn’t have them playing at the varsity level. It wasn’t an ideal situation.”
Meanwhile, the town of Saugus was having the same problem. The Sachems, winners of three state championships a decade ago, were in trouble as well.
The result was a merger, which Marshall says was kind of awkward at first.
“Here are two towns that are rivals,” he said. “But we were able to get together pretty quickly.”
This past season, Marshall said, “was a little up and down, especially with a lot of youth on the team.”
“It was a growing season, getting kids established on the varsity level,” he added. “If it was a regular team, with a lot of older kids, many of these kids wouldn’t have played.”
However, said Marshall, that proved to be a double-edged sword.
“A lot of them made a lot of progress,” he said. “Now that they’ve had a year, perhaps they can grow some more.”
Playing in the Northeastern Conference, this year’s Peabody/Saugus combine went 3-16. He said the kids on the team “were very coachable.”
“We tried to kind of assess the median of the team, which is kind of tough when the players end up with varying skill levels,” Marshall said. “You have to find drills and practice plans that help work on multiple skill levels.”
Of course, Marshall, who played for Peabody under Mark Leonard, was in the same boat. Outside of being an assistant for previous coach Christian Wright, he had no varsity hockey coaching experience.
“We were all in a similar situation,” he said. “Coaching was something I always wanted to do. It didn’t seem to be too much of a learning curve for me.”
Marshall is a little more familiar with the inner workings of lacrosse. He played at Peabody, and then for a year at Salem State. He was an assistant for both Peabody and Gloucester before taking over the Peabody boys program.
He finds it fun to coach the sport, and sees playing it as just as much fun. One of the reasons he likes it so much is that it’s an amalgamation of several other sports, most notably football and hockey.
“You don’t have to have played it all your life to be able to pick it up,” he said. “It’s a mix of three or four sports. I love it. I’ve always loved lacrosse. I grew up playing.”
“If kids put in the time and work, they can be successful, and even maybe play in college,” Marshall added.
He said a good portion of both the football and soccer kids are playing for him this spring, a level of athleticism that he said helps the team.
“The kids love the contact of lacrosse,” Marshall said. “It can be uncivilized, but it’s beautiful.”
So far, the Tanners are 4-6, with most of the games close. His go-to players are Johnny Lucas and Danny Barrett on defense, and Matt Bettencourt and Vinnie O’Hara on offense.
Marshall says he likes both sports, and that they’re a lot alike. But they’re also different.
“They’re unique,” he said. “Lacrosse is straight-forward and strategy-based, in terms of coaching. Hockey is fast-paced, and all you can do is prepare the best you can. It’s more unpredictable.”
