An Interview with Jersey Thunder's Coaches – 30 Years of Dedication
An Interview with Jersey Thunder’s Founders
We conducted a conversational interview to get a better understanding of Jersey Thunder Lacrosse’s 30+ year history of developing athletes around the state. For more on this interview with Jersey Thunder, how the organization has evolved over the last three decades, and where JTL is going next, continue reading our transcribed text.
Here begins our full interview with Jersey Thunder Lacrosse, including a discussion between John Gallucci Sr. (Founder of Ath-Ed Lacrosse), Dave Gallucci (Head of Thunder Lacrosse), and John Gallucci Jr. (Consultant).
Interviewer:
“What made you want to start Jersey Thunder? What was the inspiration behind it?”
John Gallucci Sr.:
“In 1992 I was coaching at Montville, and I noticed kids from out-of-state had better stick skills. And they said they were involved in summer leagues. These did not exist in the New Jersey area. I realized there was a need for lacrosse outside of the spring season locally, and also a need to educate athletes. So I said, okay, how do I get kids to come? And how do I get parents to say, ‘All right, I'm going to take them down there on a Sunday night and it's going to be worth my while?' We knew we had to focus on education.
We wanted the kids to play lacrosse and we also offered free SAT and essay classes. NJ needed to catch up with Long Island and Maryland by competing (and studying) in the off-season. There was no opportunity to play lacrosse outside the spring HS season in 1992. We wanted to help athletes play year-round to accelerate their improvement and give them more options to compete at the collegiate level.
So, the first thing we did was we made the cost minimal. The second thing was I got an English teacher, a math teacher, and someone who knew a lot about reading college essays for acceptance into colleges and universities. And I hired those three. From there, we started building, teaching, and training. We’d also travel with our students.
And at one point we would take our athletes to Long Island for an All-Star Game, and we would go out there and lose 20 to 5. We figured, okay, you know, we would get there. We just need to get better. In 1997, my wife, Linda, ran a fall program. It was the first fall program ever run in New Jersey. And we started out we had six teams. The second year we had ten, the third year we had 20. The fourth year we had almost 40. So, I mean, the leagues grew leaps and bounds. Kids started getting better. And at some point, I was sitting around, and Dave said, you know, Let's go out and run a club team. Let's get the best kids from our leagues. We'll try them out.
Then we started the Thunder club team and began to get invited to scrimmage tournaments. We’d put equal attention on education, helping set players up with college coaches or giving sound advice for the SATs. And it just kind of took off from there.”
Interviewer:
“What’s a major moment in JTL history that makes you proud to look back on?”
Dave Gallucci:
“There are several, but the most rewarding days are when we get phone calls from Thunder alumni who graduate college and want to give back and help to coach in the program. We have won several tournaments, championships, and have been successful in helping players compete at the collegiate level. We’re proud of the huge Thunder alumni network, and we love following our former athletes as they become successful on and off the field.”
Interviewer:
“What nuggets of wisdom would you give to an aspiring player, perhaps one reading this?”
John Gallucci Jr.:
“Academics need to come first. Often, lacrosse can help you to get into a school that meets your academic requirements and specializes in what you’re passionate about majoring in. We can find you that balance. Work on being a great player but also understand the long game. Secondly, work on your skills every day. Lacrosse is s stick-and-ball game, which makes the skills required to master it extremely challenging. Repetition is the most important aspect of any lacrosse workout routine. "Rep" the fundamentals constantly.
Finally, don’t ever let anyone tell you that you can't do something. There is a saying that you learn a lot of life lessons playing a team sport. Lacrosse takes this to the extreme. The game constantly puts you in challenging situations where you need to think quickly and execute flawlessly at top speed. If you can be successful playing this game, you are capable of tackling any challenge put before you. Live into that and you will be successful.
I have a saying that if you take two perfectly evenly matched teams, and put the 20-year-old version of me coaching on one sideline versus the 50-year-old version of me on the other... the 50-year old version wins by double digit goals. There is no substitute for experience. You learn to understand what is needed to coach each player, individually, and not just "a team". It is amazing that parents join clubs that are run by kids just out of college. They are paying money so that these kids can "learn how to coach" on their dime! Why? Experience matters when choosing a club, and Thunder Lacrosse is the most experienced club in the area.”
Interviewer:
“What have you seen recently regarding the growing number of club teams?”
John Gallucci Jr.:
“We’re in a market where teams are converging and everybody’s consolidating. We’ve witnessed a lot of programs come and go in our area, and what happens to athletes that end up in these programs? They get sort of lost in the wash. They become a line on somebody’s spreadsheet at “corporate”. Having seen that dynamic play out over and over again, we kept asking ourselves, ‘How do we make sure we’re always looking out for students’ best interests?’ So, we put more emphasis on college placement and made sure our players get the most of our program.”
Dave Gallucci:
"Our kids play lacrosse, our cousins. It runs in our family. We know how important all of this is."
Interviewer:
“What message is Jersey Thunder trying to spread to new and potential lacrosse athletes?”
John Gallucci Jr.:
“We have refined our training methods over the last 30 years to be quite effective, and Thunder athletes have the advantage of more rapid development. We are proud to offer this at a significantly lower cost than other clubs that we compete with talent-wise. We want the sport to be affordable to everyone.”
Dave Gallucci
“We just want to give everyone the opportunity to play. We’re in areas where the game is growing. That’s our niche and where we’re very comfortable. We like taking kids from new, or not well-established programs and making them elite lacrosse players. I think that’s a testament to our coaching staff and the quality of the coaching in our program. Priority number one is to learn life lessons. That’s what the sport is all about and that’s what I think we’ve developed our program around. We let our athletes practice multiple times a week, at no extra charge, because we truly believe practice makes perfect. If you put in hard work, you’re going to be successful. And success cannot be bought, it has to be earned. That’s our message to the kids for lacrosse or any aspect of their lives.
John Gallucci Sr.:
“You know, one thing is we want them to be good citizens.
I recently got an email from a kid I coached who’s now the head of Neurology at Stanford University. And he wrote, ‘Coach, thank you for everything you’ve done. I wouldn’t be where I am if it wasn’t for all the life lessons you taught me. You taught me never to quit.’ Some kids say they don’t understand our work ethic until they get to college—then they’re grateful for their discipline. I think what we're all saying is, whether it's playing in the NCAA level or it's just adversity in life, that's what sports prepare you for. I mean, that's what it's all about. You go, go, and do your job. And no, you didn't get a promotion. What do you do? You know what? You get behind your desk. You work harder so you get the next one.”
Dave Gallucci:
“We even get grateful messages from parents. Parents today are amazing, driving multiple kids to different practices. I appreciate parents and just how much they do these days. I see it from all sides because I am a parent with kids who all play sports. We travel to Delaware, Maine, and Canada just to let our kids play. They’re driving across states for tournaments, all to support their kids. We see how they provide for their kids, like we do for our own children. When you coach a kid for so long, you develop relationships with these parents. You feel like you go through so much for their kid, we just want to help make it all worth it.”
Interviewer:
“What is it like to look back on 30 years of lacrosse success?”
Dave Gallucci:
“It’s hard for me to reflect because I’m an athlete, and I always have a ‘next play’ mentality. I’m always thinking ‘What’s the next big move for the company?’ I’m not quite ready to reflect.”
John Gallucci Jr.:
“The theme of the athlete’s mentality is important. One of the life lessons that you learn on the field is problem-solving. Every play, every opportunity you must make a move on the field presents a unique problem to figure out. It’s as much mentally challenging as it is physically demanding. And at Thunder we take the extra step. We teach our players to think two or three moves ahead. You must be putting yourself in a position for success constantly. And that means constantly moving and adapting to new problems… I’m really excited about the future of Thunder, but I'm also excited about what we don't yet know. Because as new problems and obstacles emerge, it's like, cool. How do we figure this out now? What are the next steps? How do we stay a step or two ahead of our competitors?”
John Gallucci Sr.:
“Something we offer that is rare in the world of college lacrosse recruitment is honesty. We’re comfortable analyzing a player’s performance and helping them find the right school for their skill level. We know what programs they could get into and which they’d not be able to handle. We're not going to give parents false hopes. We try not to send our student-athletes to programs out of their league, even when parents harp for it. We can help train you to reach that goal, but it isn’t going to happen overnight.”
John Gallucci Jr.:
“I agree with that. One concerning thing is that it’s kind of a Wild West out here. Some lacrosse organizations claim they can get their kids into any college, which usually leaves the kids disappointed when these commitments cannot be met. We see clubs actively selling their “brand”, as if to say “if you play for our brand, you will be a good player”. That has always been backwards to me. We believe that if we focus on developing the kids, we then get a great team. And then the brand equity just follows. Then we find the right spot for the players, placing them at the right school for their needs.”
Interviewer:
“Lastly, can you share a crazy game moment you’ll never forget?”
John Gallucci Jr.:
“I remember a situation where we were playing a high-school age game against one of the top teams in the country. We were up by a goal at halftime. My Dad (John Sr.) was the coach for Thunder. He was about to give a halftime speech but heard the other coach screaming at his kids and saying that they should be beating a team like us by 10. My Dad said to the boys, ‘I had a few things to say, but... just listen over there’. When the opposing coach finished, my Dad looked at his players and said, "Well, are you fired up yet?’—‘Yeah Coach.’—‘Then go take it to them.’ Thunder scored 3 goals immediately out of the halftime break on their way to an easy win.”
This interview was shortened for clarity.
Grow with Jersey Thunder Lacrosse
If you’re interested in improving your lacrosse skills with a solid education, JTL may be the right program for you. Contact Jersey Thunder Lacrosse for more information on joining practice sessions, playing on our club team, and any other questions you may have. We want to advance your lacrosse career—reach out to us and learn how we can help.