It’s been a labor of love for Dean Curtis.
And he is being recognized for it.
Curtis, a longtime coach and president at Lower Bucks Lacrosse, is receiving the Men’s Game Honoree award from the Philadelphia Lacrosse Association as part of the Eastern Pennsylvania Chapter of the USA Lacrosse Hall of Fame 2023 induction.
Curtis has coached at every level from youth to high school. He established the boys program at Pennsbury in 2003, where he is currently in his second stint as the head coach. He was a past president of the former Eastern Pennsylvania Scholastic Lacrosse Association and while he was at EPSLA he helped create the EPSLA Showcase, which helped put the Philadelphia area on the lacrosse map.
He has been involved in growing lacrosse in Bucks County for over two decades.
The ceremony will be Sept. 9 at The United Sports Training Center in Downingtown.
“I was surprised when they told me about the award,” Curtis said. “I’ve never done any of it to be recognized. You kind of think in the back of your head that what you’re doing is making a difference. I don’t even know how they got my name. I guess someone nominated me and they go through a process.
I wasn’t expecting it but I’m extremely thankful to represent this area, especially because no one thinks of Bucks County when they think about lacrosse. I know Bruce Garcia (longtime Central Bucks East coach) won it in the past and being mentioned in the same breath as him means a lot to me.”
Curtis grew up in Liverpool, N.Y. He didn’t play lacrosse until his freshman year of high school.
“I wasn’t that great an athlete as a kid, honestly,” Curtis said. “A friend got a stick for his birthday the summer before high school, and we were tossing a ball around. I thought it was fun, so I tried out. I made the JV team as a freshman and the varsity as a sophomore, and that was that.
“I had a really good coach and he fostered a love for the game that I’ll never forget. He was only at my high school for one year but he’s a big reason that I coach. I realized that as a coach, you have that power, that opportunity to impact someone, especially a kid, and I wanted to do that.”
Curtis was a four-year starter at Ohio State University, where he ranks in the top 20 in all-time leading scorers. He graduated in 1994 with a degree in secondary mathematics education. He is currently the CEO of a software company Ingage.
It was at Ohio State that he met his wife, the former Traci Massiello, a former Neshaminy field hockey standout who continued her career at OSU.
After graduating, they married and settled in Lower Bucks County and currently live in Yardley. The couple has four children: Emelie, Sophia, John who plays for his father at Pennsbury, and Leila.
“When I first moved here I didn’t know anyone except for my wife’s family,” Curtis said. “I was reading the paper one day and saw an ad for lacrosse coaches so I responded to it. I ended up coaching with the high school team for Lower Bucks Lacrosse and that was my first foray into meeting the local lacrosse community.”
One of the players on that team was the son of former Neshaminy athletic director Ray Kelly.
“Ray approached me to help them start a program at Pennsbury, which is where his son went to school, and I ended up as the head coach.”
In 2006, he established Arrowhead Lacrosse with former Harry S Truman coach Jamie Huber and former Neshaminy coach Josh Hanlon.
“We all had a few kids who wanted to play more so we created a travel team so they could play in tournaments before all the club stuff happened,” he said. ‘We didn’t want to be elite, so we transitioned into camps and clinics and a summer high school league. Last year we did some middle school clinics for kids.”
From 2007-2009, Curtis served on the leadership board for the Eastern Pennsylvania Scholastic Lacrosse Association and teamed with Andy Hayes to create the EPSLA Showcase, which helped put Philadelphia area lacrosse players in the national spotlight.
“When I picked up that stick all those years ago, I never dreamed it would lead to all this,” Curtis said. “But here I am, and I’m very grateful.”
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