Maria T.

My name is Maria Toscano and I am 24 years old. I was a three sport athlete at Ramapo High School in Franklin Lakes, NJ (Class of 2010). Lacrosse was my passion from the very start, and I worked hard to get a scholarship to play at the collegiate level. I was recruited to about 10 Division I, II, & III schools, and ended up choosing Manhattan College (Division I). I played four years at Manhattan and loved every second of it.
Prior to college, I also played club lacrosse for Tri-State All-Stars. I ended up coaching for Tri-State during winter breaks and summers, starting when I graduated in 2010. I coached both the middle school and High School level. I held both Head coach as well as assistant coach positions. I also did private training for both the middle school and high school level. I played Center and attack at the high school and collegiate level, and I also privately trained girls in shooting technique, etc.
I am currently pursing my dream of getting my doctoral degree in Physical Therapy. I am at Hunter College in NYC, but I come home to my hometown of Wyckoff on weekends. My availability on weekends during the semester is usually flexible!

I was a 4-year Varsity player at Ramapo High School, (2007-2010). I was named captain for the 2010 season, and I earned All-county 1st team and 2nd team honors throughout my junior and senior year. I got an athletic scholarship to play at Manhattan College which is Division I and in the MAAC conference. I played all four of my years and also earned All-MAAC academic team from 2010-2014, meaning that I was able to maintain a 3.5 GPA or higher throughout my time at Manhattan.

I am a player and a coach that always focuses on the basics. Catching, throwing, ground balls, shooting, and defensive mechanics are all components of the game that if a player excels at, will make them a threat on the field. Studying the human body in my undergraduate career at Manhattan also has made me very aware of body mechanics, how the body moves the most efficiently, as well as how to properly achieve this. I am now a year and a half into my doctoral degree in Physical Therapy, and I feel that this gives me an advantage when coaching and teaching young as well as older players certain techniques. Coaching for the 5 years that I have, I have always focused on the basics. I feel that regardless of how young or old a player is that I am training, basics are so important to excel in the Woman's game of lacrosse. If a player can do all of the basics effortlessly, the rest of the game will come. I feel that my job when training a player, is to see what aspects of their game they may need assistance with, and addressing these issues. I played attack as well as center for both my high school and college career, so I have experience with teaching different shooting techniques, working on both speed, accuracy and placement. Stick work, as well as ground balls are always a big part of my training sessions. I am open to anything that the player may need to work on, and I will usually base the training session on what they specifically want to improve upon or whatever aspect of the game they may be struggling with. I am always open to any ideas or suggestions! I feel that my high energy and motivating teaching style helps girls of all ages improve their game in more ways than one!