Marple Newtown out to relive success behind Hannum

NEWTOWN SQUARE >> Sixteen years ago, Tommy Hannum decided it was time to return home after nine successful seasons moving Marple Newtown into the realm of regional powers. He bolted for his alma mater, West Chester East.

When the pangs to coach again after three seasons away from the high school game surfaced last year, Hannum again followed his heart. And that same sense of longing led him back to Marple.

A mere 19 games into his second stint, Hannum has the Tigers winning playoff games again and tangling with the best lacrosse programs in the state.

Marple Newtown, the No. 21 seed, dethroned the reigning PIAA champion, Radnor, 9-8 Tuesday night. Hannum’s Tigers look to continue the momentum in the second round of the District One Tournament Thursday when they visit No. 5 seed Strath Haven at 7 p.m.

When Mike Miller stepped away last spring after three seasons in charge, Hannum seemed an ideal candidate, though one that required a little coaxing. He’d retired in 2012 after nine seasons at Downingtown West, the program’s first coach after the district split high schools, capping his Whippets tenure with three Ches-Mont titles, a 22-2 season and third place in District One.

He retreated to coaching his kids in youth ball, but when former players and members of the Marple community sounded him out on the opening, he was receptive. It helped that his wife, Kim, reminded him that of Hannum’s three storied coaching stops, Marple retained a special fondness.

“I always loved being at Marple Newtown,” Hannum said Wednesday. “It was a great place here in the ‘90s and we had so many great times. I retired from Downingtown West to coach my own kids in Radnor, and we just really realized how much of a part of our family it was.

“Everyone reaching out to me was a lure I couldn’t refuse.”

Meeting with the administration and new athletic director Chris Gicking sealed the connection.

“It’s just knowing that he was a legend around here and all the people he knows,” said All-Central attackman Tyler Kostack, whose father Joe played for Hannum in his first Tigers stint. “He’s a great guy. He’s team-first, and he’s got a great coaching staff.”

The effect was immediate, though a 4-0 start was aided by a weak schedule. When the Central League schedule kicked in, Marple incurred five straight losses, making last year’s 2-9 league mark seem a distinct possibility again.

But the Tigers (11-8) rallied. They’ve won three of four and seven of 11. They beat Ridley, then Penncrest by one goal in the regular-season finale, paving the way for vengeance on Radnor Tuesday. Behind four Alex Viola goals, Marple tipped the reigning champs, which had beaten the Tigers 11-7 just 14 days earlier and which knocked them out of the postseason last year.

“It was awesome,” defensive midfielder Gino DiCamillo said. “I remember playing in that game last year. It was just such a close game, and this year, just going in there and getting that revenge, that’s what we are. All of us put our hearts on that field last year for our seniors, and coming back as a senior and doing that, it was one of the best feelings I’ve had playing this game.”

The Tigers benefit from a deep talent pool in a lacrosse-crazed area. But Hannum has shaped those raw materials into a more coherent whole. He’s focused on granular aspects of the game and repetition of the basics until their execution becomes rote. He challenged his team with an arduous slate of offseason workouts and tournaments, something he’s long been known for.

The evidence that it’s working is that Marple is playing its best lacrosse in the playoffs, and the relentlessly positive Hannum hopes this squad’s peak could recapture a little of his old teams’ magic.

“We strive to keep that legacy going, and we wanted to bring that tradition back to Marple, that winning tradition,” DiCamillo said. “I think coach Hannum and his staff and (assistant coach Keith) Belson staying with us through it all, it’s really been helping us out and giving us great motivation.”

That makes the matchup with Strath Haven all the more kismet. Jef Hewlings, another revered elder statesman of the coaching community, piloted the No. 5 seed Panthers (15-4) to a share of their first Central League title and is hoping to add a PIAA berth. Will Huestis and Jeffrey Conner combined for 13 goals in Tuesday’s 19-9 shellacking of Rustin.

Haven got the better of Marple, 8-3, April 12, thanks to a Conner hat trick.

“Don’t look back at the regular season,” DiCamillo said. “Play our game how we did the last three games, starting with Ridley, then Penncrest and then Radnor, beating all of them. They’re just another team. Put the same motives into play and play our game, and we’ll win.”