News-Letter

Media Credit: Shiv Gandhi [Click to enlarge]

Many fans know Dave Pietramala, head coach of the men's lacrosse team, as the hulking figure in the dark suit shouting from the sidelines at Homewood Field. Many lacrosse aficionados know him as one of the gems of the Hopkins lacrosse program and arguably the best defenseman in the history of NCAA lacrosse, a three-time All-American who led the Jays to the 1987 National Championship. Many players know him as a man of unyielding intensity, who demands nothing short of excellence from himself and the same from his team. But only a select few know him as someone who has worn women's clothing.

Former assistant head coach Seth Tierney is one of those select few. Maybe.

"Maybe there was an all-you-can-drink special if you wore a skirt, and maybe Dave Pietramala wore a skirt," says Tierney, now the head coach at Hofstra University. "You never know."

Tierney and Pietramala were teammates and Hopkins students in another lifetime. Pietramala was part of the Class of `90, Tierney of the Class of '91. Back then, Tierney knew a different Pietramala.

"When we have lunch," Tierney says, "I'll remind him of the old Pietramala that I knew from school, the one with longer hair and a dungaree jacket, listening to the Grateful Dead."

So where is that Pietramala now?

"Now he's a short-haired, country-music guy," Tierney says. "He traded in his dungaree jacket for a Joseph Banks pinstripe suit. Those two don't live in the same body."

Anyone who knows today's hard-working, no-nonsense Pietramala can tell he's put his college days behind him. Way behind him. But youthful indiscretions aside, one thing is certainly true:

"He's an unbelievable lacrosse coach," Tierney says.

So what's he like? Most people know of his intensity, his drive to win. He pushes his players to their furthest possible extreme. But a few know his compassionate side.

"He really treats the guys on the team as though they were his own sons," says senior goalie Jesse Schwartzman, an honorable mention for All-American in 2005 and 2006.

"Coach may seem like an intimidating person to any outsider," junior midfielder George Castle says, "but really he is confident, caring, intense, and believing in every member on the team. He wants the best out of each person."

And he gets it. That's why Hopkins is ranked No. 2 in this year's Inside Lacrosse/Face-Off Yearbook men's lacrosse poll, and seven players were named Inside Lacrosse/Face-Off Yearbook preseason All-Americans. But results like these require hard work, work that Pietramala demands constantly out of all of his players. Luckily they find lighthearted ways to help make it through his practices.

"There is a joke on the team that Coach P. looks like Steven Segal," Castle says.

Perhaps looking like an action hero is appropriate for Pietramala. He's always ready to adapt, train and do whatever he needs to succeed. So Hopkins can expect to see plenty more of the intense, driven Pietramala shouting from the Blue Jay sideline, and plenty more Blue Jay victories. How about more of the Pietramala that will wear a skirt to get free drinks? Don't count on it. But to quote Tierney, you never know.

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