GLASSBORO—Former Rowan field hockey and lacrosse coach Mary Marino recently published her second book entitled, Freshman Season: How I Dodged and Tackled High School. The story follows a 14-year-old girl who loves field hockey and inevitably faces various challenges.
“There were many times when I wanted to give up, but one thing I learned in sports was the value of persistence and I was determined not to let my characters and their story die,” Marino stated about the writing process. She is currently in the process of writing a sequel.
Marino came to Rowan in the fall of 1987, after spending time as a coach at Eastern Regional High School. Along with coaching the Profs, she also taught classes in the health and physical education department. In 11 seasons as head field hockey coach, Marino compiled a 101-82-11 record and her teams advanced to the NCAA Division III Tournament three times. She also produced a won-lost record of 170-115 in 19 years as head lacrosse coach. The Profs made their first ever national tournament appearance in 1993 and had a total of five NCAA trips under Marino.
Upon retiring, Marino began to avidly pursue writing and authorship. While still teaching and coaching in 1993, she wrote and published a non-fiction book about lacrosse entitled, On Attack.
“Essentially it broke down parts of the attacking game and analyzed them – the creative process, use of space, breaking down the defense, shooting, etc. At the time there was very little written about the sport and it was growing so fast that I wanted to share what I had learned about the game with people coming into the sport for the first time.”
Copies of Freshman Season are currently available for order on Amazon.com.