Aaliyah Royster
Staff Writer
If you are considering playing boys’ or girls’ lacrosse this spring season, you should get to know the new Alexandria City High School head coaches. Greg Derogatis has stepped up to coach the girls’ varsity, replacing Tiana Barlow, who resigned in January, and Robert Allen is the new boys’ coach.
Coach Derogatis, or “Coach D,” has been a member of the Titans family for several years. He teaches Economics and Personal Finance at ACHS and was the girls’ varsity assistant under Barlow for two seasons. He has been coaching lacrosse for about 20 years, including youth leagues and men’s club lacrosse. Coach D played lacrosse for 17 years as a defender and a midfielder for St. Paul’s School for Boys (which has won 25 Maryland state lacrosse championships), the University of Delaware, and six years of the club. He is part of a big lacrosse family as well, with his daughter playing for the Alexandria Lacrosse Club. Coach D coaches lacrosse at ACHS because his daughter is in the school system and plays the sport he loves. “I want to build a winning program here,” he said “I am looking forward to establishing a positive culture at ACHS with my fellow coaches.”
Coach Derogatis walking off the field after a victory at a Fall Brawl tournament in November.
Coach Robert Allen is also a member of the Titans family, working as a Special Education Teacher at the Minnie Howard Campus. He coached men’s lacrosse for six years at the Baltimore Collegiate School for Boys. Coach Allen started playing lacrosse in 10th grade at Jamaica College, a secondary school in Kingston, Jamaica and continued at Long Island University-CW Post campus. “I love teaching the game of lacrosse,” he said.
Coach Robert Allen
A challenging season is in the works as the program moves into the Patriot District. a new one for the teams. Coach Derogatis’ goal for the season is to stay positive and make sure everyone is having fun.
“Establishing a positive culture is important because it provides a foundation for our program,” Derogatis said. “I want to ensure our girls want to be here playing lacrosse because they are having fun, while at the same time learning to be better players on the field and better people off it.”
Coach Allen said he’s also looking forward to the challenges of the new district. “I am excited about the upcoming season because we are a strong team. Our team culture is progressive and we are dedicated to working hard.”
Girls’ tryouts for both the JV and Varsity teams will be held February 22-24 from 4 to 6 p.m. at the Minnie Howard field and the boys’ tryouts February 21-23 from 4 to 6 p.m. at the Francis C. Hammond Middle School field.
