Jon Reese Interview

For Long Island Laxbeat's first interview, we figured that we would get started with the NCAA single season goal scoring record holder, Jon Reese, who scored an astounding 82 goals in Yale's run to the Final Four in 1990. The record still stands and probably will for quite a while. The 1990 season also saw Jon named 1st team All Ivy (for the 3rd time), Ivy League Player of the Year and the Lt. Don C. McLaughlin Jr. Memorial Award, which goes to the outstanding midfielder in Division I.

Jon accomplished all of this after leading Yale to the football co-championship of the Ivy League in the fall of 1989 as a linebacker for the Eli. He was the football team captain and MVP, as well as the William Neely Mallory Award winner, which is given to Yale's top male athlete. Yale football coach, Carm Cozza wrote a full chapter about Jon in his memoirs. The chapter highlighted Jon playing against rival, Harvard just days after a brutal car accident left him with a split lip, broken jaw, missing four teeth and with a torn ligament in his arm.

Jon was inducted into the Long Island Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 2004 and will go into the US National Hall of Fame on Oct. 29th of this year. He will enter the Hall as Yale's all time leader in points (200) and goals (162). Yale head lacrosse coach, Andy Shay has been quoted as saying " Jon Reese is the greatest player in Yale lacrosse history." In 1995 Jon was named to the NCAA silver anniversary team. He is currently an assistant coach at Long Island powerhouse, West Islip.

We caught up to Jon and asked him a few questions. Check em out:

Jon, how were you influenced by your father, Walter Reese, being the long time coach at Copaigue High School? Do you think that influenced you to get into coaching yourself?

Jon: It definitely was a big advantage for me, because I was exposed to the team and I was always on the sideline or in the locker room. There weren't youth leagues back then, and most kids weren't around the game as much as I was. It probably did influence me as far as getting into coaching myself. It probably taught me a lot of what to do and a little of what not to do ( said with a laugh).

How old were you when you started playing organized lacrosse?

Jon: When I was in 7th grade, lacrosse started in 8th grade. My mother successfully petitioned to let the 7th graders play. It was great, because at that time, I was really chomping at the bit to get started. My high school coach was Rich Burns, who provided a great environment for our small tight group. It was really a lot of fun!

Who did you play with on the Empire team?

Jon: I was on the first Lacrosse Empire team in 1984 in my sophomore year. It was coached by Fran McCall. Dave Pietramala was on the team. We took the silver. The following year, my father coached the team. I remember playing with Dennis Goldstein, Quint Kessenich, Mike Cummings and my future roommate and best friend, Tony Guido. We won the gold and I just remember it being a great time. It was pretty special that my father coached the team.

You followed your brother, Jason to Yale. Can you tell us a little bit about your
experience there?

Jon: The first thing that I would like to say is that I feel incredibly lucky to have played with Jason in his senior year. I was also extremely fortunate to have played for two truly Hall of Fame coaches in Carm Cozza in football and Mike Waldvogel in lacrosse. Mike Waldvogel was a great player, one of the best defensemen ever. His personality meshed so well with the team. We won or shared the Ivy League title in '88, '89 and 1990. By the 1990 season we were really on the same page as Coach Waldvogel and our offensive coach, Jeff Hacker. We played a high risk/high reward style which was a lot of fun. They really let us play. The camaraderie on the team was tremendous. We loved practicing as well as playing in games. I think that by playing the two sports that I burned out in a very healthy way. I stopped playing pretty quickly after college and I think that a big part of that was because I couldn't replace that camaraderie that we had at Yale.

What do you remember about the goal scoring record?

Jon: We really did not think about it or talk about it much. I remember that when I got to 50 goals, someone said, "Hey Jon,that's a lot of goals." I don't think that we talked about it again until the Adelphi game that I broke the record in.

Can you tell us about your goal scoring philosophy?

Jon: I definitely played angry and I encourage my players today to play angry. I think that there is something physiological that allows your body to perform at a higher level when you play with anger. For me it was fun to run down the field, score a goal then knock someone down. I also think that you have to prepare mentally before you get the ball: is the goalie a righty or lefty? Where am I going to put it? How do I want my feet set when I shoot? I also prefer a tight pocket to get a shot off quickly because it gives the goalie less time to react. You do not have to shoot as hard or be so accurate when the goalie has less time to react to your shot.

What did the dedication of Reese Stadium mean to you?

Jon: It is amazing and humbling at the same time. I am very proud of the effort that Jason and I put in on the field at Yale. We are both thrilled to be able to contribute financially to future Yale lacrosse and soccer players and to give back to Yale. Yale University has meant so much to both Jason and me.

How about your feeling on being inducted into the National Lacrosse Hall of
Fame?

It was never a goal or something that I thought about while playing. You played your best for your team. Once again, it is amazing and humbling at the same time to be included with such a group of outstanding players and coaches.

What is the secret to the success at West Islip? The results have been staggering.

Jon: Well the first thing that I think is really impressive is the effort and intensity that Scott Craig and Bill Turri have brought to the field every day for 25 years. Coach Craig works with the attack, I work with the middies, Coach Turri works with the defense and Coach Peter Murray works with the goalies. Our offense has received alot of recognition, but I truly believe that the defense has been so important to our success. The job that they do is unparalleled on Long Island, in my opinion.

Jon founded the Make it Count Foundation. Can you tell us a bit about Make it
Count and how it came to be?

Jon: On Sept. 11, I lost my best friend, Timmy Coughlin and about 20 other friends. I decided that my life should not go on as it was. I decided to leave Wall St., spend more time with my family and to find ways that I could give back. I got the license plate "MAKE IT COUNT" and began encouraging kids and adults to live the philosophy of making each day count. We look to provide healthcare, housing and education. We emphasize scholarships for military veterans and high performing kids, as well as housing for military veterans. Check out the organization and the amazing group of people that help me make it work at http://www.makeitcountfoundation.org/

Jon and his lovely wife, Barbara, live in West Islip with their three children, Jonathan (Sr. at West Islip), Christopher (Soph. midfielder at WI) and Katelyn (12, lax star). They enjoy spending downtime in Aug. on the waters of the south shore of Long Island. The family is thrilled that Jonathan has recently committed to the admission process at Yale as a recruited lacrosse player.