The Coaches
Meet your volunteer coaches!
Sean Sargent, President and co-founder
Sean is founder and President of Hoboken Lacrosse. He played his college lacrosse at Villanova University. Sean is a long time Hoboken resident, and is raising his two children here. His son Jude is an alumni of HLC and is currently playing Div 3 college lacrosse at the University of Scranton.
Mike Mariniello, Vice President
Michael grew up in Verona, NJ and has lived in Hoboken since 2003. He attended Boston College as an undergraduate and Teachers College, Columbia University for graduate school. Mike played varsity football, basketball and tennis in High School and currently plays rec league hockey with several other folks he coaches with for the Jersey City Capitals Youth Hockey Club. Mike has coached hockey with the Capitals for 8 years and is currently the club president as well as the Secretary of the New Jersey Youth Hockey League. He has 3 kids that all attend the Hoboken Public schools. Two of his kids are still in Hoboken Lacrosse club and his oldest just finished playing for the 7/8 team in the spring of 2021. Mike has coached the 3/4 Boys team since 2018 and loves teaching skills to kids that are new to the sport.
BOYS COACHES
Nick Pizzo, 3rd/4th Grade Boys Head Coach
Nick started playing Lacrosse in 2001 with the N. Brunswick youth lacrosse programs and the S. Brunswick middle school lacrosse team. In High School, Pizzo’s family had moved to Atlanta where he played Varsity Boys Lacrosse all four years, earning All-State Honorable Mention long-stick mid-fielder in 2008. In College, Pizzo first played club lacrosse at Georgia State University. He was then recruited to play NCAA DIII lacrosse at Oglethorpe University where he earned All-Conference long-stick mid-fielder in 2013. Following college graduation, Pizzo moved to Shanghai, China, where he played for Shanghai’s Men’s team; touring throughout SE Asia while competing in multiple tournaments. In 2014 and 2015, Pizzo coached Team China Men’s Lacrosse team in the nation's debut year to the World Lacrosse Championships. Pizzo’s coaching philosophy is not just about lacrosse, it’s about life: Grind it out & take it to the house."
Jimmy Vaughan, 5th/6th Grade Boys Head Coach
Jimmy grew up in Ridgewood, NJ. He now lives in Hoboken. Jimmy learned the sport of lacrosse from his dad who played in college. Jimmy has been playing lacrosse for over 20 years and has been coaching for 15 years. He played club lacrosse at the University of Scranton.
Pete Franco, 5th/6th Grade Boys Coach
William Thompson, 5th/6th Grade Boys Coach
Will started playing lacrosse at 6 years old on Long Island, NY. After his family moved to Vermont, he became a US Lacrosse High School All-American attackman and achieved All-State honors at South Burlington High School where he won two Division I Vermont State Championships. In college, Will was a four-year starter on the James Madison University Men's Lacrosse team and earned All-Tournament honors in the 2016 NCLL National Tournament. Will currently resides in Hoboken, NJ where he works as a personal trainer and speed performance coach. This is Will's first year coaching Hoboken Lacrosse.
Mike Duffy, 7th/8th Grade Boys Head Coach
Mike Duffy grew up in the lacrosse hotbed of Long Island and was a starting defenseman with perennial powerhouse Ward Melville H.S., where he earned one state championship and one runner-up. Recruited to Cornell University, he continued his lacrosse career there and upon graduation coached and played for the Boardman & Eccles lacrosse club in Manchester, England as part of the English Lacrosse Association. A Hoboken resident since 2010, he has recently picked up his stick to help the next generation appreciate the joy of the game.
Alexander Giacchi, 7th/8th Grade Boys Coach
Alex grew up in Morristown, NJ and began playing lacrosse in 5th grade for the town recreational league. Alex then went on to play lacrosse at Seton Hall Prep in West Orange where he played defensive midfield for 2 years on varsity. Alex graduated in 2015 and went on to play Division I club lacrosse at Loyola University MD where he played midfield and graduated in 2019. Alex has deep family roots to Hoboken as it is where both his parents grew up and a majority of his family still resides. He moved back into the area in fall 2019 following his graduation from Loyola and currently works at Capital One within their Food & Beverage commercial lending group as a Relationship Manager.
GIRLS COACHES
Mary Bonatakis, 3rd/4th Grade Girls Head Coach
Mary grew up in Freehold, NJ where she started playing lacrosse in 5th grade with CJLAX and continued to play at Freehold Township High School on the Varsity Team. While Seton Hall University did not have a lacrosse team Mary continues to play in Women’s leagues, play with friends and takes any chance she can to pick up her stick. Mary works as a Tax Accountant at Ernst and Young, moved to Hoboken in 2021 is super excited to take on her first season with the girls.
Erin Molloy, 5th/6th Grade Girls Head Coach
Kristin Troianello, 5th/6th Grade Girls Coach
Kristin grew up in West Windsor, NJ where she started playing lacrosse in 5th grade with Lighting Lacrosse. Kristin played as a low attacker all the way through high school. While in high school she would assist her high school coach during the summer coaching camps. Kristin went on to play for a short time at Roanoke College in Virginia. Kristin has lived in Hoboken for three years. This is Kristin’s first year coaching with Hoboken Lacrosse. Kristin works as a Junior Financial Analyst for White & Case LLP in NYC.
Sally Ryan, 7th/8th Grade Girls Coach
Sally grew up in Mountain Lakes, NJ where she started playing lacrosse in 2nd grade. She was the captain of her Mountain Lakes High School team and went on to play Division III field hockey and lacrosse at Middlebury College. Sally was a 4 year starter on her lacrosse team and dual sport Captain of her field hockey and lacrosse team her senior year. She earned First-Team All-American honors her senior year in lacrosse, in addition to being named First Team All-Conference in both field hockey and lacrosse. Sally moved to Hoboken in 2019 and is a physical therapist and Director at SportsCare Physical Therapy in Hoboken. Sally is excited to be returning to coaching the game and is looking forward to being a part of such a fun and passionate program.
