COURTESY PHOTO
Bridget Dullea has come full circle since playing girls lacrosse for the Crusades.
By JUSTIN BARRASSO
PEABODY — Former Bishop Fenwick standout Bridget Dullea is returning home to coach the girls lacrosse program.
“It’s really exciting to come full circle and return as a coach at Bishop Fenwick,” said Dullea. “I look forward to sharing what I’ve learned.”
Dullea, a 2009 graduate of Fenwick, spent the past season as head coach of Winthrop High’s varsity girls lacrosse program after a stellar high school and collegiate career.
“(Fenwick) is where my lacrosse career started, and I want to pass on what I learned (as a player) at Fenwick and in college” said Dullea. “I want to continue to build the program and expand it into bigger and better things.”
The 25-year-old Dullea, who teaches physical education and wellness at Essex Technical High School in Danvers, replaces Karen Guillemette, the only other girls lacrosse coach in the history of the Crusaders’ program, which dates back to 2007. Guillemette was Dullea’s coach when she played lacrosse in high school.
“Karen is an excellent coach and she knows how to win,” said Dullea, who continued her athletic career at Salem State after high school, playing basketball and lacrosse. “Her expectations are high on and off the field, and she helped me get recruited and even get into college. I’d like to keep her rules and expectations, and expand on them.”
Fenwick athletic director Dave Woods noted that Dullea was his top choice out of a field of qualified applicants.
“Bridget is just a great, great person,” said Woods. “She’s an alum and knows what is expected of the student-athletes here at Bishop Fenwick. She was a model of all of those things here, and she’s an outstanding coach.
“This is an opportunity for her and it’s an opportunity for us to have a good, quality young coach that knows the game of lacrosse, can continue to build on what Karen started, and hopefully take the team to the next level.”
Dullea, whose brother, John, is the varsity basketball coach at St. John’s Prep, expressed gratitude to her parents, Jack and Linda Dullea, for their role in helping her develop a genuine love for the game.
“I can’t describe how thankful I am for the support from my parents,” said Dullea.
“They helped me get started with lacrosse and they never missed a game. They
were probably more excited when I got this job than I was. They love going to the games, they love going to my brother’s games, and the whole family loves to support each other.”
Dullea stressed that her expectations and goals will be lofty, as she plans on elevating an already talented program into an elite one.
“We want to keep our goals, expectations, and standards high,” said Dullea. “I
expect to maintain the high level that Karen has set for the team, and I’m really
excited to make this program even better for the girls.”