Coach Michael Yascko is about to start his fifth season with the Edison High boys lacrosse team. As the head coach, he strives for consistent improvement among his players and draws on his own experiences as a former player to guide the team to success.

An Edison High alumnus who graduated in 2018, Yascko played lacrosse all four years of high school and continued to play at Union County College in Cranford until he graduated in 2021. Yascko’s connection to lacrosse grew throughout his time as a player, propelled by his athletic commitment alongside his education.

“It’s a sport that I’ve come to love,” said Yascko. “Growing up, you link yourself to one sport and just stay with it the rest of your life. Coming out of high school, football was a big thing, and it resonated a bit, but something said to me that there was an opportunity that would come my way, and that happened to be lacrosse for me. I didn’t watch it much in my younger years, but as I grew up through high school and college, I became attached to the sport. It’s the perfect fit for me.”

Yascko’s experiences on the field as a player influence his coaching style. As the JV and varsity coach, he has adopted a no-cut policy, believing that learning a sport is an experience all students should have the chance to try.

“All the kids who come on the team are more than welcome to try out. It’s a positive thing because you’re trying something completely new,” said Yascko. “A lot of kids are uncertain because it’s the first time doing it, but the better you get with it, the easier it gets, and it’s a skill you carry perpetually, so it’s definitely worthwhile.”

As a hybrid sport, lacrosse incorporates skills across basketball, hockey, and many other sports. Yascko firmly believes that students should give lacrosse a chance since skills from other sports apply to lacrosse and can be developed well under a high school training schedule.

“Every kid stays, because there are a lot of kids I have had in the past years, and they have no prior experience with lacrosse. But they go into depth and practice a lot, and a lot of kids tend to pick it up quickly because it’s a combination of aspects of many different sports. Students can pick this sport up a little better, which is why we don’t cut anyone,” said Yascko.

Playing well individually and as a team are core aspects of lacrosse. Yascko especially holds the boys lacrosse team’s leaders to high expectations.

“If you can’t be a good student in the classroom, that performance correlates to the field as well,” said Yascko. “Everyone has the potential; they just have to improve on it, so be a team player and a good sport.”

Yascko emphasizes the importance of genuine enjoyment and fulfillment in new activities, sparking ambition and genuine interest in improvement.

“Life is very short, and you don’t get too many chances to experience something new, so you have to take a chance on it, go all-out, and have fun,” said Yascko. “If you don’t have fun doing something, then there’s no point in doing it.”

As he starts his fifth year as the boys lacrosse coach, Yascko has made many relationships with his athletes and has seen the highs and lows of the team.

“In my first year, I had a good group of kids and a solid batch of senior leaders. In that year, we won the division championship, which was a good accomplishment, and we also won some big games, like beating Sayreville on their Senior Night,” he said. Yascko spends hours after school working with his players, so he naturally feels attached to the lacrosse team. Throughout the seasons he has coached at Edison, he recalls the victories of his first season coaching and the many games that followed in the following seasons.“There were also a couple of overtime games we won, but there are too many moments to count since seasons fly by and wins and losses become distant memories,” said Yascko.

Lacrosse has recently seen substantial growth at the youth and professional levels. At Edison High, this growth has increased the number of student-athletes pursuing lacrosse, amidst the difficulties of mainly having students who start training in high school.

“The main challenge that we face is not having a feeder program. The reason is that kids start young, so they are much more advanced by the time they reach high school. It is, however, getting better, with our team consistently improving from year to year, but it’s hard without having kids who started much younger than in high school,” said Yascko.

Yet, Yascko expresses his optimism about the team, having faith in his players despite the lack of a feeder program.

“However, they’ll definitely still get a lot better as more kids come out and keep enjoying it,” said Yascko. “Lacrosse is one of the sports that’s on the come-up, and it’s only a matter of time until improvement is reflected through more Edison wins.”