Our Staff

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Bryan Brazill-The Head Honcho

• Played his high school lacrosse at Ridgefield High School, CT.
• He played his college ball at Merrimack College.
• He led the Warriors in scoring his final three years.
• Among the top 10 points producers in the country ’04 & ’05 seasons.
• He was the captain of the Warriors for the ’05 season.
• He played overseas for the New South Wales state team in Australia.
• He has coached at camps and clinics throughout Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine and Pennsylvania.
• Coach Brazill was the offensive coach at his Alma Mata, Merrimack College, for the ’05-’07 seasons and again from ’11 to current day.
• He started Home Grown Lacrosse in December of ’05 running elite teams, camps and other outdoor programs.
• He opened the doors to the indoor facility on January 5th 2007.
• Coach Brazill was the Haverhill High School Boy’s Lacrosse Head Coach for four years ’08-’11.
• Coach Brazill was drafted by the Boston Cannons as midfielder in 2009.
• Coach Brazill was named the Merrimack Valley Conference Division II Lacrosse Coach of the Year for his 2009 season with Haverhill High, who ended with a 12-4 record (7-1 in conference).
• August 2012 Bryan was promoted to 1st Assistant Coach at Merrimack College and Offensive Head Coach.
• Coach Brazill is a MBYLL USL Level 1 trainer.

 

Peter Smyth-The Vice President

• Played his high school lacrosse in Reading, MA for Austin Prep
• He was a two-year captain
• He still holds the career points record at Austin Prep.
• He then went on to play College lacrosse at Nichols College
• He was a four-year starter
• Two-year captain
• He reached 100 collegiate goals in his senior year.
• Peter received his bachelors in Sports Management.
• Recipient of his masters degree in Business with a concentration in Sports Management.
• 2009-2010 Haverhill High School assistant coach
• 2011 to present – head coach of his alma mata Austin Prep
• Led Austin to a conference championship while sending 4 players off to play college lacrosse.

 

Rob Bellis – Manager and Coach

• Here for all things HGR
• Head Lacrosse Coach Austin Prep Middle School
• US Lacrosse Level 1 coach
• PYLL Youth lacrosse coach
• 3 year starter HS
• 3 yr player college club lacrosse
• All-round good guy

 

Elite Team Coaches

In Alphabetical Order

 

Geoff Beckett

• Defensive coordinator at Merrimack College for the ’09 – ’11 seasons.
• Prior to MC, Coach Beckett was the head coach of Pentucket High School.
• Currently Geoff is assisting Ryan Connolly at North Andover High School

Bryan Brazill

• Founded Home Grown Lacrosse in ’06 and is in his third season coaching at his Alma Mater, Merrimack College.
• Bryan is the Head Assistant and the Offensive Coordinator for the nationally ranked Warriors.
• Prior to Merrimack, Bryan was the Head Coach of Haverhill High School and the 2009 MVC coach of the year.
• Coach Brazill was among the top 5 points producers in the country his Junior and Senior year at Merrimack as well as a captain in the ’05 season.

Ryan Connolly

• This is his third season as the head coach of North Andover High School.  Prior to taking over the position, Ryan assisted his father, coaching legend, Steve Connolly.
•  Ryan was a stand out midfielder at Division I for the University of Massachusetts (U-Mass)

 

Brian Contona

• Played his college lacrosse at Merrimack College.
• He is currently the director of the Andover Youth Lacrosse program.
• Coach Contona is entering his 2nd year as an HGR coach.

Greg Melaugh

• 2013 All-American attackman at Merrimack College entering his 2nd year as an HGR coach.

 

Mike Morgan – Coach

• The 2013-14 season will mark Mike Morgan’s 7th year as head coach of the Merrimack men’s lacrosse team.
• Morgan’s first four seasons were as successful as any Division II men’s lacrosse coach ever, as he became the first head coach to win 50 games in four seasons when Merrimack defeated Le Moyne on May 6, 2011.
• In Morgan’s first four seasons, he has guided Merrimack to its first-ever NCAA Final Four appearance, a Northeast-10 Championship and three Northeast-10 Championship appearances.
• Morgan previously served as an assistant coach at Merrimack, working primarily with the defense.
• Prior to his arrival at Merrimack last season, Morgan served as the head lacrosse coach at St. Dominic High School for four seasons. He led the team to 38 wins in four years, the most in school history over a four-year stretch, and his teams were 24-1 against schools of comparable size. Additionally, his team GPA was ranked in the top two of the school’s athletic teams over all four years.
• In 2005, Morgan was selected to evaluate and coach the Long Island Empire State Lacrosse Team. He also guided St. Dominic to its first-ever Class AA Championship Game. He still holds the all-time record at St. Dominic, where he was both captain and Team MVP in 1994, 1995 and 1996. Morgan was a CHSAA All-League selection in 1995 and 1996.
• A 2000 graduate of Merrimack College, Morgan was named an All-American in 2000 when he earned First Team All-Northeast 10 and All-New England honors. That year, he was also named New England Player of the Year. He was a key member of the 2000 squad that captured Merrimack’s first Northeast-10 Championship and two ECAC Championships (1999, 2000).

Dan O’Brien – Coach

• 2000 Graduate of Norwich University, 4 year starter, Sr. Capt.
• Former Asst. Coach at Austin Prep HS 2006,2007, 2X CCL Champs
• Current Head Coach at Burlington High School since 2008
• MVC2 Coach of the Year 2008, 2011
• MVC2 Conference Champs 2011
• HGR Lacrosse since 2010
• This is his second season as the head coach of Burlington High School.
• Prior to that Coach O’Brien was the Head Coach at Dracut High and was 2 time MVC coach of the year in 2008 and 2011.

Matt O’Neil

• Currently in his second season as the Head Coach of Malden Catholic High School.
•  Coach O’Neil was the Assistant Coach under Rick Mazzei for the previous three seasons.
• Matt was a stand out attackman at Merrimack College from ’00 – ’03 and a captain in ’03.

Grant Whiteway – Co-Founder Raptors Lacrosse; Elite Team Director