By Chris Goldberg
Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 10/30/15
Former Marple Newtown assistant Tom Speer has been named head boys’ lacrosse coach at Interboro.
Speer, a 20016 West chester East grad, served as an assistant at Marple Newtown from 2012-15. He replaces Justin McQuaid, who resigned two months ago (following an 11-6 season) due to his work schedule.
Interboro’s Kevin Oreskovich and Brett McLaughlin flank new coach Tom Speer
Speer, who teaches Tech Ed at Interboro High, gave this interview:
Why did you seek the position?
Speer: “I am a teacher in the building and I like the level of athletes at Interboro. We have a lot of two-sport and three-sport athletes and a lot of them are self-motivated and real coachable. They understand team play. Multisport athletes understand field spacing and things you can’t really coach.”
What are your short-term goals?
Speer: “I want to continue building off the gains Justin McQuaid has made. During his tenure he made the team into a much more competitive program and this year we have added a lot of teams from the Central League, such as Springfield and Haverford. We want to be able to compete with our neighbors. The guys have started stick skills and we’re further building the program by helping our youth program and putting on faceoff and goalie clinics.”
What are you long-term goals?
Speer: “I would like to be a competitive force and be competitive with Ridley. That may be asking a lot; I am not saying that I expect to beat them, but I want us to be competitive.”
What coaches have influenced you the most?
Speer: “The biggest influence comes from Mike Miller (head coach) at Marple Newtown. When he came in he established everything; fund raisers, charity work. I learned everything through him.”
What is your general coaching philosophy?
Speer: “I want them to focus on teamwork and I really want them to build determination and set a goal and achieve it. This carries through to college and a career; it does not stop at lacrosse. I want to see them setting goals and help them to build character and have them use it in the real world.”