Lax Lowdown: OLD GUARD Now in his 39th year, Ipswich's Foster remains true to his roots

Apr. 21—The voice is unmistakable as it bellows across the expanse of turf at Jack Welch Stadium and far beyond its boundaries. While it may lack in softness, it certainly conveys experience, wisdom, and above all else the continual art of teaching.

"Slide, slide! Find your man! Scoop it and let's go! Transition, transition! Don't rush the shot! Move your feet!"

Always teaching. Those may be the two words that best describe Glenn Foster, now in his 39th year as the Ipswich High boys lacrosse coach. A lifetime immersed in the game makes him a literal walking, talking — and yes, vocally expressive — encyclopedia of the sport, one who knows no other way than to disperse that knowledge whenever he sees fit.

If you think that might off-putting to high school athletes in the year 2022, then you don't know the boys who play lacrosse in Tigertown.

"I've had him since he was my sixth grade gym teacher, and Coach Foster is the least changed person I know. But what he does is always effective," said junior midfielder and the team's leading scorer, Henry Wright. "The fact that he doesn't change or let things fly with us makes us way better as a team. He doesn't put up with any BS. It's definitely nice having a traditional person as our coach."

"With coach, it's tough love conveyed silently," added fellow captain Dexter Cayer, a senior defenseman. "The encouragement we get comes through his orders."

Foster is not about to apologize for who he is. Whether his Tigers are rich in talent and/or depth or not, Foster remains a constant. He's had some spectacular squads — with a Division 2 state championship in 2003 and a Division 3 crown in 2017, plus more Cape Ann League titles than he has fingers. But there have also been lean years where the Tigers have scrapped and fought just to pick up a few wins.

In setbacks, said Foster, there is a major lesson to be imparted postgame. "Now that you've lost," said Foster, "the next question is: are you done, or are you going to fix it and come back better next game?"

A bit of a throwback

Often wearing an black T-shirt with a fierce tiger face splashed across the front of it, Foster is one of the North Shore's longest tenured head coaches — in The Salem News readership area, only Sue Guertin (Marblehead swimming), Steve Sawyer (Hamilton-Wenham track and field) and St. John's Prep's John Boyle (track and field) have been in some program for 40 or more years.

Having coached 605 lacrosse games and leading the Tigers to 308 victories and counting, his methods have clearly worked for the better part of five decades.

"I see myself as a bit of a throwback," said the goateed Foster, who will turn 67 years old on April 27. "No flair, no big production, none of that. We come out, we warm up and everyone is focused and quiet. That's what I grew up with. There's no music going, no yelling and screaming ... you just focus on the job you have to do."

He is most certainly a product of both the time and the town he grew up in. A 1973 Ipswich High graduate who played football, basketball and lacrosse, he learned from coaching legends such as Jack Welch, Walter Dembowski, Ken Spellman and the father of IHS lacrosse, Arthur Carey. Foster not only strived under the structure he received from these men, but absorbed their lessons on life and sport.

Foster's teams generally tend to make the most of what they've got in a particular season. That's important for a small Cape Ann League town that has just 17 varsity players this spring — seven seniors, a half-dozen juniors and four sophomores.

"None of us can see into the future," he said, "but you prepare for as much as you possibly can so that you have the basics down, you can deviate off of that based on your personnel. It's those small changes that can make a big difference.

"What's the basic fundamental game about? Catching and throwing," he continued. "Something Arthur always used to say was, 'If you can't catch and can't throw, you can't play the damn game.' I've seen some teams and coaches that have 15 different offenses, but their kids can't catch. We might have only a few plays, but everyone can run it and catch the ball."

Tough love

Foster got his first job coaching lacrosse in 1978 while still a student at Northeastern; one of his club lacrosse buddies was coaching the Brookline High jayvees and asked Foster if he'd like to help. After graduating he spent two years at Beverly High, coaching first with Doug Linehan and then with Rick Mazzei. After taking a few years off, he landed the varsity job at his alma mater in 1984, then got a teaching position and began as a varsity football assistant under Welch the following school year.

"Glenn has been doing this a long time and still has the same fire and passion for the game and coaching year after year," long-time Ipswich High athletic director Tom Gallagher said. "Glenn has seen it all: from (only) two divisions for the entire state to the current 4-division format, lacrosse continues to grow and Glenn continues to grow along with it."

When lacrosse was played by only a few North Shore schools for the first dozen or so years of his coaching tenure, Foster's boys played schools two and three times bigger than his such as Beverly, Peabody and St. John's Prep twice each season — and usually won more of those contests than they lost. The sport was inherently more physical then; much of that has been removed in recent years for player safety reasons.

While those might be bygone days, the same instructions he was barking out to his players then still resonate today.

"He'll be yelling out my name if I'm not in the spot he wants me in fast enough," senior defenseman Tyler White, the team's third captain, remarked. "And believe me, I hear it. It definitely makes me move faster on my slide when I hear it."

In a recent victory over Hamilton-Wenham, Foster was bellowing for Cayer to get to a certain spot on defense ... even though Ipswich led by two goals with 0.4 seconds left in regulation.

"It's tough love, and none of us mind it," Cayer said.

"I've had very forgiving coaches in the past, and those teams almost never improve," added Wright. "Glenn is just real, and that's what makes us better."

Persistent, rock solid, and consistent

Spend as much time coaching the same sport in the same town as Foster has, and the list of all-time players can be daunting. Chris Bromby, Dustin Zabelski, Marc Greenleaf, Jeff Vitale, Killian Morrissey, Duke Kriksceonaitis — the list is long and impressive. But ask the veteran head coach who the best he ever coached was, and the two names he mentions are Kevin Kissel , a lanky shooter in Foster's early years who "seemed to glide upfield and had a rocket of a shot", and goalie Shawn Rousseau, one of the best ever at make the save, then getting it up quickly to a teammate to start a fast break the other way.

It's not just the stars that remember him fondly, either. "When former players return to Ipswich High, seeing Coach Foster is always one of their first stops," Gallagher noted. "The positive impact he's had on his players over the years is palpable. He always has time for them."

There are certain things about modern sports, admits Foster, that "drive me nuts". Excessive celebrations (especially when a team is getting blown out), players who don't respect the sport, and individuals who focus on themselves more than their team are at the top of that list.

But to refer to him as a coaching dinosaur would be wildly inaccurate. While he retired from the Ipswich Middle School three years ago, the passion for coaching and teaching lacrosse still flows freely through him.

"I still think kids want the discipline," he said. "When they're here for two hours every afternoon, they're coming to a place that's structured and organized, and they're here to commit themselves to getting better as individuals and as a team."

"Coach is persistent, he's rock solid, and he's consistent," said Cayer. "It's why he always has a consistent team, no matter what he has to work with. He's committed to his blueprint."

Lax Lowdown, a column on boys lacrosse, appears each Thursday during the spring season. Contact Phil Stacey at pstacey@salemnews.com and follow him on Twitter @PhilStacey_SN.