Boys’ Lacrosse

Program Overview

Having first fielded a team more than a century ago, Poly boasts the oldest continuous high school lacrosse program in the country, according to US Lacrosse. The program is headed by  Lou Candel, a former All-America at Amherst, the coaching staff also features assistants with professional and elite collegiate backgrounds. Recent Poly graduates who have taken their game to the next level include 2019 captain Ben Balser ’19, a first-team All-Ivy Prep League midfielder who now plays for the U.S. Naval Academy and Liam Kinnane ‘20, a fellow first-team All-Ivy Prep League selection, who will be playing for Hartwick College.

Can’t make it to the field? Families and friends can stream Varsity Boys’ Lacrosse action via Locallive.tv and On-Demand video.

Boys’ Lacrosse Coaches

Louis Candel
Head Coach

Business Phone: (718) 836-9800 ext. 3780
Education: Amherst College, BA

The son of a celebrated lacrosse and basketball coach at Nassau Community College, Lou Candel starred in both sports while growing up on Long Island, eventually becoming a Division III All-America attackman in lacrosse and team captain in basketball at Amherst College. After graduation, his professional career took him to Wall Street, local arenas as a sports reporter for Newsday, and back to Long Island as owner of the Ultimate Gaga event venue. All the while, he retained his ties to lacrosse as a youth coach, before taking over the Poly boys’ program in 2017. Candel, who also coaches the boys’ JV basketball team, states that his main goal is “for this to be an experience for the kids to look back 20 years from now and remember the positive athletic experience they had and the friends they made. In 2023 and 2024, Lou Candel was named NYSAIS Boys’ Lacrosse Coach of the Year.

Away from Poly, he serves as lacrosse director at Camp Wayne for Boys in Pennsylvania and is a board member of the Joe Lapchick Character Award Foundation.

As an athlete, Lou Candel

• Was a Three-Year Starter and a 1988 Division III All-American
• Led Division III in Assists in 1987 and 1988 and was selected for the prestigious North vs. South All-Star Game played at Johns Hopkins.

Lacrosse Facilities

Our lacrosse teams practice and compete at the Steinberg Athletic Complex.