A coach can have a great influence on the development of a student athlete.

For Seneca Valley lacrosse players, current head coach Peet Poillon has more of an
influence on them than some may realize.
Seneca Valley can trace the success of its lacrosse program to Poillon, a current Major
League Lacrosse star midfielder for the Denver Outlaws, and his father, Neil.
In 2001, when Peet was in seventh grade, he and his father became fasciated with every
aspect of the sport of lacrosse after watching the collegiate championships for the few prior
years. They couldnt shake their attention from the game, even in the offseason.
Since Seneca Valley didnt have a team at any level at the time, Peet and his father
decided that they wanted to push as hard as they could to get a lacrosse team for the Raiders up
and running.
When a number of students showed interest in playing lacrosse for the school, the school
board did not have much of an argument against allowing a team.
Following the long process of enlisting enough students to sign a petition officially
saying they are interested and submitting it to the school board, they finally got official approval
and funding from the district.
The younger Poillon held up his end of the deal, playing all the way through high school
and becoming a three-year captain and four-year Most Valuable Player for the school. He earned
Western Pennsylvania Scholastic Lacrosse Association Player of the Year honors as a senior and
went on to become the all-time leading scorer in the WPSLA with 410 career points.
Even through all of the successes and achievements, Seneca Valley was still considered a
start-up program and Poillon didnt receive notable attention from any Division I colleges.
Its extremely hard to just make a Division I schools team, such as Duke or Virginia, as
just a walk-on out of high school, Poillon said.
And even if you do, you dont get that much playing experience other than practice. I
knew I would at least get a little bit of time with the road that I took.
To keep his career alive, Poillon attended Howard Community College in Columbia, Md.,
where he was named captain as a freshman and set yet another record with 84 points in his first
year at the collegiate level.
The following year, he was named captain again, scoring a total of 60 points and being
named a first team all-region, region offensive player of the year, and at this point, becoming a
two time NJCAA All American.
Next on his journey came a call from the head coach of the Ohio State Buckeyes asking
Peet to play for them the following year.
He did exactly that. In the 2007-08 season, his only year at Ohio State, he scored 32 goals
and had nine assists.
The following year, Poillon transferred to the University of Maryland - Baltimore County.
The main reasons was that he wanted a chance to play under legendary lacrosse coach, Don
Zimmerman. While with the Retrievers, he picked up 26 goals and 22 assists for a combined
total of 48 points in just 16 games played.
It made me a much more well rounded player and to trust my passing skills - when to
pass the ball off in order to pick up an assist as opposed to just taking a mediocre shot.
Poillons dream of playing professionally finally came true on May 28, 2009, when he
was drafted 20th overall in the third round to the Boston Cannons of the Major League Lacrosse.
Unhappy with his situation after not seeing any playing time with Boston, he asked for
his release and was granted it in July. He was thrown straight into the MLL player pool, from
where shortly after, the Chesapeake Bayhawks picked him up, apparently seeing something in
him that Boston overlooked.
I think the league was just so small at that time, with just six teams, almost every squad
couldve easily been considered an all-star team.
Sometimes you just have to wait your turn to crack the starting lineup and Boston has
such depth at midfield that I couldnt really foresee me getting to play any time soon. I just got

 ometimes you just have to wait your turn to crack the starting lineup and Boston has
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such depth at midfield that I couldnt really foresee me getting to play any time soon. I just got
lucky by being picked up by a struggling Bayhawks team at the midfield position, Poillon said.
Shortly thereafter, Poillons professional career took off. Chesapeakes predictions came
to light when, in the first and final two games Peet played in of the 2009 season he racked up
seven goals.
The following year, after playing just 12 games and being named the MLL Most
Improved Player, he found the back of the net 26 times and added 15 assists for a total of 41
points.
Poillon then returned to his former high school for a few exceptionally nostalgic
moments, becoming the head coach of the Raiders varsity lacrosse team. Surprisingly, a lot of
professional players pick up part-time coaching positions at local high schools or colleges.
The players at Seneca had a harder time than I would have originally thought since they
were taught one playing style for the past six or seven years, and then I came in and tried to teach
them a whole new brand, Poillon said.
The effort was always there but I can understand it being challenging for them to change
their game.
Towards the end of the season, once they were used to it when we started to be
successful. Overall, my first year of coaching was a great one compared to how I thought it
wouldve been.
On May 10, in time for the 2011 season, Poillon experienced his third relocation in as
many years via a trade between the Bayhawks of Chesapeake and the Denver Outlaws, where he
had 10 goals, two assists, and one two-point goal, combining for a total of 13 points, tied for
third in the league just four games into the season.
I think the fact that I am both a player and now a coach as well helps me see the game in
a whole new light. It taught me what exactly it takes to win a championship from a team
standpoint as opposed to individuality.