WORDS: Sheri Roca
PICTURES: Whitney Patton
“What are those kids playing?” is a question that is still asked by both adults and kids when they drive by GT Bray Park during a weekday evening, as both boys and girls practice for the Manatee Wildcats Lacrosse program. Lacrosse is stated to be the oldest game played in North America, with its origins stemming from the Native Americans in the Northeast as early as the 17th century. Despite its widespread popularity in the Northeast and pockets throughout the United States, lacrosse is still new to many in Manatee County.
Dr. Charles Tomeo started the Manatee Wildcats Football and Cheer program in 1986 with just 40 boys and ten girls as cheerleaders. For the past 36 years, Manatee County residents have enjoyed the familiar sights and sounds of football and cheer in the fall. “We grew instantly as we received support throughout the community,” recalls Dr. Tomeo. “I actually sat with ‘The GT Bray’ as we planned the park named after him.” He continues. “My success, as was the Wildcats’ success, was due to the volunteers, both parents, and coaches, that supported the family concept that I developed!”
It was not until January of 2015 that the Manatee Wildcats found its perfect complement for the spring, as boys and girls lacrosse teams were organized and took the field for the first time.
Lacrosse was a perfect fit for the Manatee Wildcats program. It should be no wonder as its founder, Dr. Charles Tomeo, was a lacrosse player and attended Fairleigh Dickinson University in New Jersey on a full lacrosse scholarship. “There were many people that tried to get youth lacrosse going in our area, and their influence and foundation were definitely felt and appreciated,” claims Bowen Summer, President of the Wildcats.
The timing just seemed to be right in 2015, when Dr. Tomeo’s son, Nick Pagnotta, was finally able to get it going in West Bradenton. According to Dr. Tomeo, “My son believed in the concept, and when I decided to back away, he pushed ahead and made the Wildcats family even stronger with the installation of boys and girls lacrosse!” And it has certainly taken off. The Manatee Wildcats Lacrosse now enters its 8th season with over 175 players spread out among the boys and girls programs ranging in age from 5 to 14 years old.
Thankfully, the Manatee Wildcats quickly realized that youth football players and cheerleaders make pretty good lacrosse players. No one seemed to understand this fit better than the league president of the past eight years, Nick Pagnotta. As he is known, Coach Nick grabbed a handful of his Tiny Mite Football players and put lacrosse sticks in their hands.
As he and his other assistants watched YouTube videos trying to learn about lacrosse, his little football players were running up and down the field, scoring goals, and winning games. Parents stepped up and volunteered to coach a sport they never played and, for some, had never seen. There are currently over 40 volunteer coaches with the Manatee Wildcats, both learning and teaching the game simultaneously. “Our philosophy is to only have volunteers in our family. Those that want to make money on the backs of children need not apply to our organization,” states Dr. Tomeo.
The success of the marriage between a Pop Warner Football program and lacrosse became nationally recognized in just the second season of Manatee Wildcats lacrosse. Coach Nick took a leap of faith and entered his U9 boys’ team in the Summer Face-Off Lacrosse tournament, the largest in Florida. Despite it being the first tournament many of the Wildcats had ever seen, they took home the 2016 U9 Championship in dramatic fashion, to everyone’s surprise. From that point on, the formula for success was very clear: get football players to play lacrosse, lacrosse players to play football, and both sports would flourish.
Tragically, Coach Nick Pagnotta died last year, in October of 2021. “The depth of his loss is something that will always be felt; however, his legacy and his foundation have already proven to be enduring,” expressed Bowen Summers. Many of those same kids that won the first Manatee Wildcat tournament in 2016, including his oldest son, Nicholas, gathered their emotions and entered the same tournament held in December and went on to win again against a travel team from Baltimore, Maryland, in a last-second goal to take home the 14U A Division of the Orlando Open Lacrosse tournament.
“When Nick passed, we were fortunate enough to have Bowen Summers developing as one of our leaders,” shared Dr. Tomeo. “He has not lost a beat and has kept the family together and growing stronger.” He continued, “Bowen, as did Nick and I, have never believed in making a profit in our organization! We work on just charging the absolute minimum to keep our cost available to all children that want to be part of our family.” In fact, the Wildcats offer scholarships to those in need based on the donations they receive every year.
With the rise of the Manatee Wildcats Lacrosse program, these youth players still needed a place to play in high school. At the time of its inception, there were no public high schools that offered lacrosse as an official sport in Manatee County. The Manatee Wildcats community led the way to get lacrosse at Manatee High School. The Wildcat board took turns speaking with our community at the high school cafeteria in March of 2017 to begin fundraising efforts to start a boys and girls lacrosse program at Manatee High School. Manatee Wildcats board member Matt Faul would jump in to serve as its first Lacrosse Booster President, and the program is now in its 5th Season of boys and girls lacrosse.
The culmination for some of the early participants in the Manatee Wildcats lacrosse program has now led them to play in college at the highest level. Former Manatee Wildcats Lacrosse player (and cheerleader when she was younger), Molly Faul was just playing on ESPN as a midfielder for Furman University as they took on North Carolina University, the #2 ranked NCAA women’s team in the country.
More Manatee Wildcats players are sure to follow in the college ranks as former Manatee Wildcat Lacrosse and Football player Elijah Stobaugh has committed to play at the University of Maryland; currently, the #1 ranked men’s team in the country. Aside from reaching the college ranks, Manatee Wildcat Lacrosse players can now be found on current high school rosters, including Manatee, Lakewood Ranch, Saint Stephens, Cardinal Mooney, Bradenton Christian, IMG, Riverview, Northside Christian, and even Culver Academy in Indiana.
The future of lacrosse in Manatee County looks to be very bright.
