Lacrosse Coach Builds Culture

By Catrina Cruz

College Hill Writer

Lacrosse Coach Matthew Sciancalepore is dedicated to foster the strength of his team and the community as a whole

Photo Submitted by Cheryl Conway

Lacrosse Coach Matthew Sciancalepore has focused his first year at Sussex County Community College in Newton on building the team and local community. 

He took over from the previous coach, Steve Manitta, in September 2024 and has since worked to expand the team roster and lacrosse culture in Sussex County. 

Sciancalepore’s relationship with lacrosse began in high school as a player. He stepped away from the sport to work as a maintenance mechanic for some years but knew it was not what he enjoyed. In 2019, he returned to SCCC and was drawn back to lacrosse, which was recently established at the college. 

“When I was working, I figured this isn’t really what I love doing,” Sciancalepore said. “Might want to go back to school, see if I can play again. And it kind of all happened at once. I found what I was good at and now my job is something I love doing.”

As Sciancalepore became interested in coaching, he spoke with Manitta about future opportunities and began coaching local lacrosse clubs. Eventually, Sciancalepore was hired as Newton High School’s assistant lacrosse coach, where he has worked for the last four years. Upon Manitta’s retirement at SCCC, he reached out and applied.

“It was just kind of an easy transition from playing to coaching at high school, at the youth level, at the club level, to now coaching at the college,” said Sciancalepore. 

The current team consists of 20 players at varying skill levels, with some having played for 10 years and others picking up a lacrosse stick only last semester—something Sciancalepore says is difficult to account for when creating a practice plan. 

“It is a big range to cover,” Sciancalepore said. “That’s our truth right now, that’s what’s happening. I think the guys are good at taking a leadership role, they’re saying, ‘Let’s go hit the wall, let’s shoot a little bit, let’s stay positive.’ I keep telling them, reminding them that, you know, listen, I’m not looking at the scoreboard, I’m looking at how you guys are reacting. And you know, this is what it is. We are at a building phase, so you have to stay positive.”

For now, Sciancalepore’s focus is on a few key items: Developing as players and as a team, encouraging them to take initiative and leadership roles, and building a healthy culture for the lacrosse community as a whole. With a democratic coaching style, he emphasizes helping his players determine how to motivate themselves and manage the newfound freedom of college, which can be difficult.

“They’re 18 to 20 years old for the most part,” said Sciancalepore. “At 18 to 20, I didn’t know what the hell was going on because we lost the structure of high school and then we’re given all this freedom to go do things, and what do you mean go do things, why should I go? Because it’s much more comfortable to just sit and relax, enjoy the day. But finding out what your purpose is in life and how to make that part of your daily routine, that’s what I think those 10 years of being 20 or so until about 30 or so, is what it’s really all about. So I think to be democratic in a sense of let them be their own role models, in a way? Let them take action, let them figure it out.”

Sciancalepore’s strengths as a coach include being consistent, a hard worker with strong knowledge about building the team and each player’s skills. At the same time, he strives to be humble and know his limits. The difference between high school and college level lacrosse includes more than a few rules and when mistakes happen, he makes sure to follow up on reading over the details.

When it comes to building the team and its culture, he has more than a few tasks laid out for himself. Building connections is important—lacrosse tourneys and clinics are the first step for this, followed by chatting with fellow coaches and players after games to build stronger relationships. 

“Building the culture is not just playing lacrosse,” said Sciacalepore, “it’s so much more than that. It’s about doing the right thing, it’s about giving back to the community. Over at the park, they don’t charge us because we’re a public college, but that doesn’t mean that we’ll just be like, all right thanks for letting us use your field, we’re going to leave now. No, we’re going to go there and we’re going to volunteer and do something.

“Just make it known that we’re here to stay.”