WAYNESBURG, Pa. (June 8) – Waynesburg University recently announced the hiring of Thomas Neil Zacoi as its new head women's lacrosse coach.
Coach Zacoi comes to Waynesburg from Chartiers Valley High School, where, in 2009, he guided the Lady Colts to an 11-7 regular season record and the program's first appearance in the Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League (WPIAL) Division II playoffs.
Among his myriad of coaching, officiating and organizational experiences prior to arriving at Chartiers Valley, Zacoi was the goal keeper coach at Washington & Jefferson College in 2007. That same year, he was named the WPSLA Middle School Coach of the Year.
In 2005, he helped found and still coaches with the Intrepid Girls' Lacrosse Club. In 2007, he earned the prestigious U.S. Lacrosse Impact Award for his work in girls lacrosse in western Pennsylvania Zacoi has worked with a wide variety of high school and middle school programs in the southwestern Pennsylvania area.
Zacoi also brings a lengthy resume outside of the scholastic coaching ranks with him to the Yellow Jackets. He has authored three positional handbooks (The Warrior Handbook, The Warrior Attacker & Center and The Warrior Goal Keeper). He also penned the Girls' Lax-Coach Handbook and the Intrepid College Recruiting Handbook.
Zacoi received U.S. Lacrosse Level One and Two coaching certificates, is a founding member of the Western Pennsylvania High School Coaches Association and is a USL/PIAA Women's Umpire. Zacoi is also a regular contributor to the lacrosse website, theballstopshere.com, and is a four-year member of the U.S. Lacrosse Youth Council.
Outside of lacrosse, Zacoi has spent time as a professional musician in the 1960's and played bass guitar for groups like the The Vogues. He has also served as a training instructor in the United States Air Force.
“This position is a dream come true for me, and I felt like a kid on Christmas morning when [Associate Director of Athletics Stephanie] Benkowski called and told me the job was mine,” Zacoi said.
He'll look to improve on a young Yellow Jacket program that is heading into its third season in the spring of 2011.
