By Stan "The Fan" Charles

(Towson Athletics)

After 13 years at the helm of the Towson Tigers men's lacrosse team, Tony Seaman resigned as head coach May 9, after a disappointing 3-10 season.

Athletic director Mike Waddell wasted no time in assembling an inclusive and impressive search committee, which included ex-Tigers coach Karl Runk; former Towson lacrosse players Greg LaCour and Tim Barger; a two-time member of the United States National Team, Norm Engelke; and local high school coaching legend Bobby Shriver of Boys' Latin.

After three weeks, the verdict came down. Shawn Nadelen, a seven-year assistant under Seaman, just 32 years old, will take over the Tigers' lacrosse program. Nadelen, who played four years at Johns Hopkins University, coached as an assistant for Bill Tierney at Princeton for three seasons before coming to Towson.

Dave Pietramala, who was then a Blue Jays assistant, originally recruited Nadelen to come to Hopkins, where Nadelen played for three head coaches in all at Homewood Field -- Tony Seaman; John Haus; and, during his senior season, Pietramala. The Hopkins head man said of the Tigers' choice of Nadelen: "They made a great choice in hiring not only a good coach, but an even better person."

Nadelen also heaped praise on the man he is succeeding: "Coach Seaman was one of the most influential men in my career. He taught me in so many ways to see the big picture and along with coach Runk, he has really set this program up, and I look upon him as a great teacher and resource".

The personable Nadelen introduced his wife, Mary, a certified athletic trainer and a member of Towson's kinesiology faculty, and his parents, who made the drive in from their home in Rochester, N.Y.

Lest anyone think he would get a big head from his new position, Nadelen told the story of how he was quickly dissuaded from any such notion on a phone call with his 85-year-old grandmother. When he gave her the good news on a Sunday phone call, Nadelen said she congratulated him and said, "Shawn, now that you are head coach, don't get a big head, or I'll have to come down there to wallop your head back to size."

The competitive Nadelen knows what is in front of him in terms of the challenges at Towson and surely nowhere on his to-do list is "get a big head."

Posted June 1, 2011