By: Brayden Peters
BROCKPORT, N.Y. - The Brockport Golden Eagles men's lacrosse team now have someone new taking the reigns of the squad. On July 2, Brockport hired Nick Fiorentino as the team's new head coach. He is joining the team with 13 years of coaching experience at the collegiate and pro level. He most recently was the head coach for Geneseo from 2019-2021.
"I'm hyper-focused on taking Brockport to the next level whatever that may be," Fiorentino said. "...and then ultimately from there continuing to grow and bring in some hardware here."
Before landing his first coaching gig, the Baldwinsville native played at one of the most pristine Division III lacrosse programs: the Salisbury Sea Gulls. He was recruited to play as a goalie for the team and got to be a starter for the team.
"Salisbury was a beast," Fiorentino said. "I thought I was going to come in and just make my mark and continue where I left off in high school and it was the exact opposite. There was over 100 guys at fall ball when I showed up as a freshman. It is one of the hardest places to play in the country and it was designed that way on purpose."
With Salisbury, Fiorentino got championship experience. The Sea Gulls won the Division III National Championship in both 2007 and 2008. In 2008, Salisbury's program inaugurated an award in Fiorentino's name called the Fiorentino "Ever Ready" Award, which was given to a player who has overcome adversity to make the most of his opportunities on the field.
In a fitting way, Fiorentino got his first coaching position with his alma mater as an assistant coach for a two-year assignment. He got to coach the players he once called teammates.
"It was a great adjustment," Fiorentino said. "After a few weeks of being at practice every day, every game, Coach (Jim Berkman) gave me a whistle to run that third cage and I absolutely fell in love with coaching. So, for me it was something I was absolutely preparing for before I made that transition and so I was super excited for that new experience. It definitely was different being on the sidelines."
After his time with Salisbury, Fiorentino got a job as the associate head coach at Ohio Wesleyan University from 2010 to 2013. He was named the offensive coordinator of the team. The team went 34-15 during his tenure.
Fiorentino then got a coaching position on his first SUNYAC team: the Cortland Red Dragons. From 2013 to 2016, he was the head assistant coach along with being the recruiting coordinator, academic advisor and coordinator of both the offense and defense. It was where he got the most involved in recruiting and he had a solid idea of what kind of players he wanted, especially when it comes to goalies.
"When you think about goaltenders, the first thing you think about is stopping the ball and that's super important," Fiorentino said. "But you can't play offense if you can't throw the ball. Your stick skills as a goalie are super important...A goaltender is the backbone of the defense, of the team in a way and you got to be a general out there on the field. With that comes the responsibility of having a short-term memory."
Fiorentino later became the recruiting coordinator for RIT in 2016 and was also an assistant coach. In 2019, the moment he was waiting for arrived. Geneseo hired him as their head coach.
From 2019 to 2021, he helped lead the Knights to three straight SUNYAC championship appearances and coached five All-Americans, 18 all-conference selections, and 2021 Scholar Athlete of the Year Kevin Cook.
"It was very humbling," Fiorentino said. "My whole thing is I'm going to be in the foxhole with you. You are going to see the time that I put in, the effort, the work and I'm going to encourage you to do the same. When you do that and when you jump two feet into the process that we have and our cultural values, the two biggest is your effort and attitude...good things are going to come...Those guys did a heck of a job and it takes a whole team and it takes a whole program. Hats off to those individuals that were able to get those awards at the end of the year."
While both at Cortland and Geneseo, Fiorentino got to coach against Brockport. It was a school that was a pain in the neck for him to face.
"Brockport has always been tough," Fiorentino. "There has never been an easy game against Brockport and that's not going to change. I mean, that's something that we're going to build off of these teams in the past and how the program has been shaped to work hard and to just be relentless. You always knew it was going to be 60 minutes and it was going to be a dog fight."
In 2021, Fiorentino made a major step in his career as he got a coaching job in the PLL. He was the assistant coach for the then Chrome Lacrosse Club, who are the Denver Outlaws currently. He got to coach the likes of current Buffalo Bandit Connor Farrell and Randy Staats.
"The program's a whole different beast," Fiorentino said. "The skill level, athleticism and the speed is like 'wow'. You're in a huddle and you're talking x's and o's and, you know, a little strategy, and, you know, all of a sudden someone speaks up and you're like, 'Wow, you're two years younger than me. You've won national championships, you've been on the USA world team'...It's so cool to collaborate with not just the best athletes, best lacrosse players in the world, but some of the best minds in lacrosse coaching and so it was an unreal experience."
Fiorentino is taking over a Brockport team that went 4-11 last season and missed the SUNYAC playoffs. Now, they'll be playing in the Empire 8 and have to face schools such as St. John Fisher, Nazareth and a familiar foe in Geneseo, whom Brockport all lost to. It won't be a cakewalk for Fiorentino and the Golden Eagles.
"Our goal from day one is going to be getting to know each other," Fiorentino said. "By the time the spring season comes around, I would love for all of us to have the utmost trust in the guy who is at the top of the roster and from the guy who is at the bottom of the roster. The best way to win a war is with a full army and we got to have everyone bought in and ready to bleed green and gold and ready to jump in front of it for their teammate."
Brockport's relentlessness as a team wasn't the only thing that brought Fiorentino to the school. Multiple different aspects about Brockport itself played a role in his decision to want to come to the school.
"The majors that are present here are absolutely incredible," Fiorentino said. "I was blown away as I started to dive into the university as a whole from their offerings academically...This is by far one of the top colleges I've been at in regards to that and the facilities are amazing. We have all the resources here to go from 'good' to 'great' and it's a matter of how we lay it out for our culture, for our guys and how we just approach each day."
Fiorentino will get a good look at the team he will be working with come fall ball. Those faithful to the Golden Eagles hope he is the answer to turning the men's lacrosse program around.
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