A Hall of Fame Coach Discovers the Joy of Adaptive Lacrosse

INDIANAPOLIS — Tony Resch stood in the cage, his eyes fixed on the action before him.

A National Lacrosse Hall of Fame coach and a former All-American and gold medal-winning defenseman, Resch added adaptive goalie to a lifetime of lacrosse experiences as he fielded shots at an Able Athletics clinic Oct.12 in Indianapolis.

“I gave up a lot of goals,” Resch said as he laughed. “I loved it. I’ll put it on my resume.”

An assistant coach for the U.S. Men’s Sixes team, Resch made the trip to Indianapolis on Oct. 8 with his eyes set on preparing the host nation for international competition. But the USA Lacrosse Experience was as much about community engagement as it was teambuilding.

Resch and members of the U.S. Sixes team like Ryan Conrad and TJ Malone took part in the adaptive clinic, supporting young athletes with disabilities as they worked their way through drills designed to simulate shooting, dodging, passing and catching.

At the end of the clinic, the participants had the ultimate honor of scoring a goal on Conrad, Malone and Resch — a defeat that the clinicians would gladly accept.

“The energy and enthusiasm of both the kids playing and the clinician was just off the charts,” Resch said. “We didn't have to do anything but have fun with the kids because they had done such a tremendous job organizing the clinic and telling us about the program.”

Resch had nothing but praise for Able Athletics, which hosted the clinic in partnership with the wheelchair lacrosse team, the Indy Rip. Able Athletics provides opportunities for children with rare disorders or developmental differences specifically in Westchester County (N.Y.) and Connecticut. It was founded in 2020 thanks to the vision of brothers Rowan and Christian Dias, who wanted their sister, Elle, who has special needs, to have an opportunity to compete just as they did growing up.

“Our expectations for the clinic were rooted in the vision of providing a truly transformative experience — one that not only paralleled mainstream lacrosse but also created a sense of belonging for athletes and families,” said Vanessa Dias, co-founder and executive director of Able Athletics. “The depth of connection, the shared passion for the game and the genuine inclusivity exceeded even our highest expectations.”

As soon as Resch had heard about the clinic, he was motivated to take part in any way he could. Resch and his wife, Mary, have spent the last 30 years caring for their son, Brendan, who has autism. In that time, the Resch family, including Brendan’s brothers Pat and Conor, has had plenty of experience working with children who have developmental differences.

When Resch grabbed a stick and headed onto the field at Carroll Stadium, he thought of Brendan. He pictured the trips to the Special Olympics when Brendan was a child and the countless adventures to Dartmouth and Yale to see his brothers play college lacrosse.

“He would be freezing his buns off up there,” Resch said. “He just loved to watch them play.”

Resch also remembered the avenues that his son opened for him and his wife, Mary, who were introduced to so many classmates, teachers and counselors who helped their son along the way.

“He's been a blessing in our lives,” Resch said. “It has connected us to a lot of amazing people, teachers and classroom aides who really want to help. It takes you on maybe a journey you might not have anticipated, but we're proud of him and we love him.”

National team players from Colombia, Great Britain, Puerto Rico and the United States participated in the clinics, which included a mini demonstration of wheelchair lacrosse on the track. Conrad was among the players who jumped in a wheelchair to play with the kids.

“They’re all so excited to be playing, just picking up a groundball, shooting a goal,” Conrad said. “It was awesome, such a blast to be out and seeing all these kids.”

When Resch arrived at the clinic, he met Vanessa Dias, whose shared experience with her daughter, Elle, created a bond that made the morning even more powerful.

Resch spoke with Dias about his son, and he learned more about Elle before he headed to the field to share the sport of lacrosse with her.

“There’s an automatic and unspoken understanding when you connect with someone who has a loved one with support needs,” Dias said. “It goes beyond words — it’s a shared empathy and a deep appreciation for the small victories and the nuances of adaptation. You could see that in Tony’s eyes as he worked with our athletes. There was an unmistakable recognition of their efforts, no matter how small, and a genuine appreciation for every breakthrough.”

“It was amazing meeting the Dias family,” Resch said. “I was so grateful to see them, especially Rowan and Christian, whose brainchild this was, and of course, Elle.”

With each drill, each small accomplishment, Resch’s smile became even brighter.

He was there when Asher, a boy with special needs, stepped through the ladders, dodged through a series of cones and scored a goal. Resch lifted his hands high, tapped Asher on the head and celebrated with the new lacrosse player who had just scored on him. When Charlotte, another eager new participant, sprinted toward the cage but dropped the ball, he encouraged her to pick up the ground ball and finish the play.

“You got this! You got this!” Resch shouted as Charlotte ran back to the line to do it again.

Those memories were fresh in Resch’s mind even after he returned home to Philadelphia, where he serves as a guidance counselor and defensive coordinator at La Salle College High School.

Resch opened his computer the Monday following his weekend in Indianapolis, hoping to show some of his student-athletes about the fun he had at the clinic. He scrolled the Able Athletics website and saw the clinicians and directors. He read about the work that Able Athletics had done with local high school lacrosse programs — and it got him thinking about how he could get involved.

There’s no bigger winner in lacrosse than Resch. As a player, he won a world championship with the U.S. Men’s National Team and a pair of NLL titles with the Philadelphia Wings. As a coach he has led or served on the staff of teams that have won an astounding 18 championships in professional (NLL, MLL and PLL), high school and international lacrosse.

His next triumph — besides a World Lacrosse Sixes title in 2027 — could be to support the development of adaptive lacrosse in Philadelphia. It’s deeply personal to him.

“In the back of my mind, I'm trying to figure out how to reach out to see if there's something that I can do on the South Side,” Resch said after connecting with Able Athletics through USA Lacrosse, “to support or spread the word.”