Hall of Fame
Mr. Michael A. Messere is arguably the greatest boys lacrosse coach in New York State. He is only one of two coaches in the entire state to crack the 600-win mark compiling a 625-36 career mark (.945) since 1976 as the varsity coach at West Genesee High School.
Over his 30-year tenure at West Genesee, Messere has led the Wildcats to 14 NYSPHSAA State championships, 22 Section III titles and 27 league championships. His teams have been ranked #1 in the state by the New York State Sportswriters Association eight times and have compiled 11 undefeated seasons. One of Messere’s most impressive feats came during the four-season span of 1981-1984 where West Genesee went 90-0, then followed that mark with a 42-1 stretch in 1985 and 1986. The tear his team went on over those six years helped them notch a national record 91-game winning streak. It also helped Messere to become a nationally known lacrosse figure earning a spot in Sports Illustrated’s “Faces in the Crowd” and being featured on ESPN’s Scholastic Sports America.
Several Hall of Fames have already recognized Messere including inductions into the Cortland “C” Club, Greater Syracuse Sports Hall of Fame and the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame. On a national level, the NFICA Section I awarded Messere Coach of the Year honors twice (1985, 1999) while USA Today named him as the New York State Coach of the Year in 1991. Section III has further recognized him as Coach of the Year five times and he’s garnered Central New York Coach of the Year numerous times.
A graduate of West Genesee High in 1962 and Cortland State in 1966 where he earned a BS in physical education and his permanent certification later on, Messere began a teaching career in 1966 in physical education at Syracuse City Schools. A year later he continued his career at West Genesee where he served as a physical education teacher in elementary, middle and senior high school as well as an interim athletic director up until 1999 when he retired.