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Another Blue-Chip Coach Joins Park City Lacrosse Staff

By admin, 02/02/14, 9:00PM MST

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Nick Gradinger, a former All Ivy-League player at powerhouse Cornell University and coach at some of the top high school programs in the country, joined Park City High School’s lacrosse staff today as assistant coach, focusing on defense and the transition game.

Gradinger joins former prep-school teammate Todd Faiella­–himself an All Ivy-League player (Brown) and NCAA National Champion (Virginia)­–who joined Park City’s lacrosse staff last fall as performance and technical director, plus offensive coordinator Ethan Fischer, a former high-school All American who played at Colgate University. Any one of these coaches would be coveted in their own right; collectively, head coach Andy Langendorf will lead the most experienced coaching unit in the state.  

 “We feel very fortunate to have a talent like Nick Gradinger joining our squad,” said Park City head coach Andy Langendorf. “Not only does he have a great playing resume with knowledge of the latest, top-level schemes, but he’s had great success coaching them. That creates a major differentiation.”

 He graduated from San Diego’s Torrey Pines High School in 2004, then spent a year at prep school Deerfield Academy in Massachusetts where he met Faiella. At Cornell, Gradinger quickly became a starting defenseman, and the Big Red made it to the 2007 NCAA final four his sophomore year.

 After an All-Ivy-League campaign his junior season, a back injury sidelined Gradinger his senior year for which he received a medical redshirt. He headed to Denver University for graduate school, joining Princeton legend Bill Tierney for the coach’s first season west of New Jersey. Gradinger was named captain, and Denver made the NCAA tournament.

Three years ago, Gradinger returned to San Diego, where he worked in marketing at Adrenaline Lacrosse, played professionally with LXM Lacrosse, and coached RC Starz, one of the most dominant club programs in the West. He also joined the coaching staff at Torrey Pines, which quickly reached the top echelons of the sport.

 “Nick Gradinger is an amazing defensive coordinator,” said Torrey Pines head coach Jono Zissi. “He coached with me the past three years. He’s the best in the business--a big reason we were among the top teams in the West all three seasons.”

 Gradinger’s arrival is not just a win for Park City: Just as players from around the state have benefitted from Faiella’s NRG Lacrosse elite training program, Utah’s lacrosse community can expect to see Gradinger passing along his knowledge, bringing awareness to lacrosse’s rise in the Rocky Mountain West, and opening a pipeline for more coaching talent to follow.

 This week, Park City Lacrosse Organization also named three new coaches to the freshman/sophomore team: Wes Stout, a Baltimore native and former head coach at Cincinnati’s Colerain High School, and Garth Franklin, who played at Colby College in Maine.

 Veteran coaches Jeff Brzoska, Steve McHenry and Mike Showers moved to the Junior Varsity squad last fall after a very successful spring season with Park City’s first-ever freshman/sophomore team. Longtime coach Ryan Walsh will continue as an “At-Large” coach, helping to teach individual skills and ensure the base varsity system is implemented at all levels.

 “I’m excited to coach in such a gorgeous area, start a new chapter in my professional life and coach lacrosse here,“ Gradinger said. “I approach everything with the loftiest of goals in mind; I wouldn’t coach any other way. We have a highly touted, energetic coaching staff; I’m really excited to reunite with an old teammate, and I have high expectations for Park City this spring.”