A Coaching Spotlight on Watertown's
Jim Helie and Tom Shortt
Before 2009, Watertown had no lacrosse program. In 2008, a small group of local parents met to discuss forming a program of their own. Many of their kids had been playing lacrosse in other towns but the parents felt not having a lacrosse community was detrimental for their children. Jay Hughes, original Watertown board member, and Bob Johnson, Watertown president, were among the group of parents wanting to develop a program. They held a clinic where around 100 interested kids showed up. There, they met Jim Helie and Tom Shortt.
Helie and Shortt had both been accomplished athletes. Helie had played lacrosse at New England College for three years, a school that had “a very old, rich culture in lacrosse,” and was known for its lacrosse program. Afterward, he joined the
Brine Lacrosse Club and played for nine years where he said he was exposed to the “high level of the game.”
After playing professionally, Helie continued his lacrosse career for the Weston/Wayland youth program where he coached
from 1994 up until the inception of the Watertown youth program. “I knew the sport of lacrosse was perfect for Watertown. It’s a very loyal town. I just knew: throw a stick in their hands and they’d start playing” said Helie.
Helie’s coaching philosophy is what he calls “fundamental.” He said, “Learn to catch the ball with both hands, learn to catch the ball the right way. Because I try to teach the game the right way, sometimes it takes a little bit of time for kids to pick that up.”
While learning new skills can often take time for athletes to grasp, Helie believes that this way of coaching is beneficial later on. “[Training] tends to catch up by the third or fourth game of the season. We start to click because I try to teach the kids to play as a team rather than as an individual.”
Since the beginning of the Watertown program, Shortt has seen his athletes grow and succeed. “Six short years ago, people were shocked to see lacrosse being played and many not knowing what sport it was. Watertown is now turning out players who have gone on to play in college: again, something that had never occurred before.”
(left) Coach Jim Helie with his Watertown U13 team
by Emily Kochanek
14 The Scoop / Winter '15
The Scoop