Fayetteville-Manlius High School is proud to announce Eric Wood as the varsity boys lacrosse team’s new head coach for the 2025 season. Wood takes over for Doug Madden, who guided the Hornets from 2018 to 2024, totaling around 71 wins in that span. Wood is just the fourth head coach within the program’s entire history.
Wood’s appointment marks a fresh chapter for Fayetteville-Manlius lacrosse. The school community and parents hold high expectations for the coming season under his guidance, certain that he will maintain the tradition of excellence both on and off the field. In the last season, Madden guided the team throughout a successful 2024 season, achieving an 11-5 record as well as securing the number one seed within the Class A tournament.
Wood has also served as the school’s varsity wrestling head coach, showing off his commitment to student athletics as well as leadership inside the school’s sports programs. Coach Wood brings a new perspective into the Fayetteville-Manlius lacrosse program, relying on his experience as a former player at Penn State University. His passion and knowledge for the game runs deep, as well as it’s not just his time as a collegiate athlete that shaped him.
His dad also coached, so coaching is in his blood, that influence was definitely an important factor when he decided to be the head coach. “I love the game, and growing up around it with my dad as a coach made me want to be part of it in a way,” Wood shared.
In his vision of the team, Coach Wood stresses setting and maintaining consistently high standards. Being athletes, he wants his players to follow the athletic code of conduct, representing their school and community as young men. He stated sternly that “Discipline and accountability are non-negotiable.” Wood states that communication also ranks high among his priorities. “Good communication makes everything else work,” he explained.
With relatively high expectations during the season, Coach Wood has his sights set on a sectional title, confident that intense hard work and healthy team dynamics will set the stage to success.