August 13, 2015
By Edward Kensik
Correspondent | The Gazette (Hawthorne Edition)
HAWTHORNE – The Hawthorne High School boys lacrosse team in its first year as a varsity squad was in a precarious position in the last few weeks of the 2015 season.
The Bears program was without a head coach as Jay Salzman resigned with games still remaining in the spring season.
With Salzman gone, Greg Carr, an assistant coach, took over the job as head coach that included winning their last game of the season against Newark East Side.
“I was excited for the opportunity that was put into my hands and I was ready and willing to take the position,” said Carr. “It felt good to have the trust put in me as an assistant to become the interim head coach.”
The victory over Newark East Side turned out to be half of the total victories for the Bears season, the other coming at home against rival Eastern Christian, who were also playing their first year as a boys lacrosse team.
It turned out Carr was basically trying out for a full-time gig. Hawthorne Athletic Director Art Mazzacca asked Carr after the lacrosse banquet on June 1 if he was interested in becoming the head coach full-time for next season.
“Coach Carr did an outstanding job taking over midway through the season last year,” said Mazzacca. “The team responded to him very well and the team made vast improvements the second half of the year.”
The athletic director said that Carr’s interview was basically the last couple of weeks of the 2015 regular season. The Hawthorne Board of Education approved the hire on June 15.
“I look forward to coach Carr continuing to develop our lacrosse program and I have all the faith that he will continue to build our second year varsity lacrosse program,” added Mazzacca.
