With the spring sports season underway, Cal High is welcoming a new coaching staff that is familiar with the school.
Tom Perry has returned to coach the women’s varsity lacrosse team, but this time he is joined by his daughter, Madison Perry, the team’s new assistant.
They’re not the only father- daughter in the program as Tom Savoy and his daughter, Abigail Savoy, are the JV head coach and assistant coaches, respectively.
“I’m excited to be back at Cal,” Tom Perry said. “I’m looking forward to bringing my aggressive style of play and enthusiasm to another group.”
The father and daughter duo are not strangers to Cal. Madison Perry is a former player at neighboring San Ramon Valley, while her dad is a former coach at Cal who was last here in 2020.
Madison Perry said before the season that she was eager to coach a high school team for the first time.
“I look forward to coaching a great team and just making sure everyone has an amazing experience this year,” Madison Perry said.
Added her father, “It’s great to see her growth from a player to a coach and how we complement each other on the sidelines,” Tom Perry said.
The team understands that Tom Perry will push them to be their best.
“He knows the culture of our team and what we value,” varsity captain Abbey Kunz said.
Watching her dad coach inspired Madison Perry to join him at Cal.
“I decided to coach at Cal because my dad had told me about the position opening up,” Madison Perry said. “It always seemed like he had such an amazing time coaching the team, so it made me really eager to want to coach a whole new team of Cal players this year.”
The varsity women’s lacrosse team is enjoying the season while playing for a youthful assistant coach.
Madison Perry has coached at the local team that many players play for, True Lacrosse.
“A lot of girls do know her from the local team,” Kunz said.
Being young and having connections to the players, Madison Perry is well known although her coaching career just started.
Kunz described Perry’s play style to be fast-paced and aggressive, complimenting the new rule changes.
The lacrosse games will be split from halves to quarters of play, leading to a more fast-paced game.
“I am most excited for halves changing into quarters since it will give us as coaches more time to fix minor mistakes and clean up our game,” Madison Perry said.
Tom Perry looks forward to bringing his aggressive style of play to another group of players.
“From my first impressions, this is a group of motivated and goal-oriented players who are fully committed to each other and the success of the program,” Tom Perry said. “A coach could not ask for anything more.”
The varsity team is not the only one boasting a father-daughter duo this season.
Tom and Abigail Savoy are midway through their first season coaching the women’s JV program.
“Winning is always a focus, but my main goal, in particular at the JV level, is to see overall improvement in skills,” Abigail Savoy said.
The Savoys are enjoying working with Cal’s staff and preparing players for varsity.
“I am familiar with the coaching staff and know that it will be a great team that works well together,” Abigail Savoy said before the season.
With the returning father daughter duos coaching women’s lacrosse, the varsity team is off to a strong start of the season with a 4-2 record, which is significantly better than the1-5 start with which the team opened the 2023 preseason.
