Chaminade High School was a fitting place to take in a lacrosse game—or several of them if you were so inclined, as a fan of the sport on April 11. Fitting that this year the Ranger Lead the Way Fund was hosting their Lacrosse Day for Heroes here, where Jimmy Regan, Jr., the Army Ranger whose father founded the nonprofit, graduated from in 1998.
Fitting that the school’s newly built “Gold Star Stadium” bleachers, named for the 56 alumni of the all-boys private Catholic school who gave their lives in service of our country—including Regan—were filled with a few hundred spectators. And fitting that the Flyers various squads including freshman, JV and varsity all emerged with wins against respective Manhasset squads.
But Saturday was not about putting another notch in the Flyers’ win columns.
“This game is inconsequential,” said Manhasset varsity head coach Bill Cherry. “[It’s about] helping Lead the Way Fund and remembering Jimmy and helping [his father] Mr. [James[ Regan.”
For more photos on Chaminade’s battle with Manhasset, click here.
Jimmy Regan, Jr., a Duke University graduate and a national championship lacrosse player for the Blue Devils, forwent a lucrative Wall Street career to enlist in the armed services in 2004, becoming an Army Ranger in the 3rd Battalion and completing two tours in Afghanistan and one in Iraq before an IED took his life during his second Iraqi tour of duty. Today, his father, James Regan, Sr., heads the Lead the Way Foundation, a nonprofit which serves to support disabled U.S. Army Rangers and their families and survivors.
“Jimmy’s been gone eight years now, we miss him dearly, no doubt about it,” the elder Regan said before the start of the varsity contest, which Chaminade won 8-4 over the Indians. “(But) we’re doing great things (and) those Rangers are really appreciative.”
The nonprofit has recently completed their first home for a former Ranger in Arizona. Approximately 94 percent of every dollar collected goes toward programs for former Rangers and their families. Regan also tries to keep his son’s spirit alive in the lacrosse players from both Chaminade and in Manhasset, his hometown.
“I was fortunate enough to coach Jimmy and teach Jimmy in elementary and middle school and I just tell our players what a wonderful person he was,” said Cherry. “He had a choice, could have been a big time Wall Street guy, a lawyer and he decided to defend his country and it means something; it hits home with them. Mr. Regan came, he always comes over the day before the game, talks to the boys and they really get a sense of why they’re playing and who they’re playing for.”
At Chaminade, before the start of the season, the players on each team vote on who gets to wear the No. 19, the same number Jimmy wore as a member of the Flyers. This year, third-year starting midfielder Jack Tigh was chosen to wear the jersey for the varsity squad. In the 8-4 win against the Indians, the Duke-bound senior scored 3 goals and an assist.
“At the beginning of the game we talk about [Jimmy],” said Chaminade varsity coach Jack Moran. “[Coach Regan] talks to the kids and [Tigh] kind of pressed a little bit and we said, ‘Settle down, you’ll be fine’ and he took the game over in the second half.”
This is the fourth straight year that Chaminade has defeated Manhasset for Reg’s Rock. The Flyers also lead 5-3 overall since the annual matchup began in 2008.
“I try not to think of [Jimmy’s legacy] because you get a little nervous, you think you have to be someone special but it’s really an ‘off the field’ type thing,” Tigh said after being handed the trophy from Regan. “You try to emulate what Jimmy did and personally our team didn’t really know him but hearing all the stories, Coach Regan talk about him, Coach Moran talk about him, it’s just, we know he’s a special guy. Once I got the [number] 19 I knew I had to step up and I had to be a leader and drive my team in the right direction and we’re fortunate to come out of here with a win today.”
