Young Park boys lacrosse coach rebuilding culture across district

Sometimes, Ian Curley hopes his Drew University professors aren't paying too much attention to what he's doing on his laptop during class. Lately, the senior finance major has been watching lacrosse video and making up practice plans.

He's fit his school schedule between 9 a.m. and about 2:30 p.m., and often shows up for his last class in lacrosse gear. Then Curley, 22, jumps into his car and zips over to Hanover Park High School.

The young coach is trying to rebuild the culture of the Park boys lacrosse team, a co-op between Hanover Park and Whippany Park. The first thing he did after being hired for the top job in late October was to institute team lifts and dinners, bringing all the players together regardless of their home school.

Park Regional head coach Ian Curley looks on before a game between Park Regional and Verona at Hanover Park high school, Apr 8, 2026, East Hanover, NJ, USA.

Curley estimated that about 25 of the 30 on the roster are from Hanover Park. The youth program, which includes pre-kindergarten through eighth grade boys and girls in Florham Park, East Hanover and Hanover Township, is closer to a 60-40 split.

"We're going in a completely new direction," said Curley, who grew up in Jacksonville, Florida, but played ice hockey and lacrosse at Lawrence Academy near Boston.

"I haven't called it a rebuild year, but it is. We want to have a .500 record. We want to win a county game, and a state game if we can. For a lot of teams around here in Morris County, that's a pretty low ceiling. But for where we are, it's a big step."

Park finished 8-8 last spring. The program won the Klank in 2021 and the Kimber in 2022, but hasn't finished over .500 since 2021 and has had double-digit wins just three times in 10 years. They have won three MCT prelims in the past decade – 2018, 2021 and 2022 – but no NJSIAA Tournament matches.

More: 2026 Morris/Sussex boys lacrosse team-by-team preview capsules

Though Park started 0-5 this spring, senior defender Caden Thomas insisted, "There's an entirely different vibe around the team." A former assistant at both Park and Morristown, Curley updated the co-op's style, making the offense more fast-paced with lots of off-ball movement. Practice is more focused on individual skill improvement, and everyone comes together as a team for game-style drills at the end of each session.

Curley, a former attacker, has few qualms about pulling on pads and jumping in as well. Though he said so far he's only filled in at goalie, since Park just has one on varsity.

"Our team wasn't really fired up before games or practice," said Hanover Park senior attack Chase Olszweski, the leading scorer as a sophomore and junior. "With a younger coach, he gets more into it. He understands one guy can impact the entire team and bring the energy up. He's that main energy source. Everyone surrounds him and it builds from there."

Park Regional senior Chase Olszweski (21) runs with the ball as Verona junior Ryan Demars (41) defends during a game at Hanover Park high school, Apr 8, 2026, East Hanover, NJ, USA.

Curley has been able to relate to the players on a different level, since he's no more than four years removed from what they're going through.

Trying to figure out college recruiting? Curley has been there and done that. Balancing two sports simultaneously? Curley did that in high school too. Juggling classes and practice proving a challenge? He's doing that right now, alongside his players.

Curley, who is scheduled to graduate from Drew in May, is even trying to figure out his career path. He earned a New Jersey substitute credential so he could coach, but his long-term plan was to work on Wall Street – not be in a classroom.

"He's still our coach, but he's more like us than any coach we've had," Thomas said. "It makes everyone want to play for him more. ... We want to win for him. It makes it a lot easier."

This article originally appeared on Morristown Daily Record: Young Park boys lacrosse coach rebuilding culture across district