Sports

One Degree of Separation for Nagle and Sachem

New Stony Brook coach is son of former Sachem teacher.

At first glance, Jim Nagle is a Ward Melville alum, which means little to Sachem supporters, except that he probably beat Sachem at some point during his playing career.

In fact, he pretty much helped the Patriots beat everyone during the 1988 season when Ward Melville won a state title and finished 24-0.

But dig a little deeper and there’s actually a major Sachem connection with Nagle, who was named the new men’s lacrosse coach at Stony Brook University this week. His father Mike was a longtime English teacher at Sachem South – now known as Samoset Middle School.

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“Legendary,” said Sachem Superintendent James Nolan. “Great man.”

What’s more is that Mike Nagle taught Sachem North lacrosse coach Jay Mauro and Mauro coached Alex Harris, who will play at Stony Brook for Jim Nagle starting next season. Follow that? Simply put, the long stretches of Sachem alums and outskirts of the Sachem family are extended everywhere, yet again.

Find out what's happening in Sachemwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Sachem did not come up during Nagle’s press conference Tuesday at Stony Brook’s indoor sports complex, but keeping up with the school’s recent athletic revolution was a key topic.

“We’re moving forward,” he said. “That’s going to be the focus. We’re going to worry about the journey and what we’re doing on a day-to-day basis. If we get that in order, everything else will take care of itself.”

Harris, who did not attend the press conference, will graduate Saturday from Sachem North and should feel relieved that Nagle took the job after Rick Sowell stepped down to take the same position at the Naval Academy. Nagle cares about Long Island and its lacrosse culture.

“From what I’ve heard he's a great guy and a good coach,” Harris said. “I don't know much about him but I know he instills a great work ethic in kids which helps build a great program. I think they got the right guy for the job.”


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