While working on an article for Wednesday's edition on how teams deal with tragedy in the midst of a season, I talked to Cornell coach Jeff Tambroni, who had a player die six years ago.
George Boiardi, a senior defenseman, was struck in the chest by a shot in a game against Binghamton on March 17 at the Big Red's Schoellkopf Field in Ithaca, N.Y. He collapsed and despite attempts to revive him, he was declared dead at a nearby hospital later that evening.
Tambroni said the memory of Boiardi's death is still fresh.
"I'm not sure you ever get over it," Tambroni said. "I know the old saying, that time heals all wounds. But when it comes to someone that you love and you're around these kids probably as much as your own kids, I'm not sure you ever really get over it. But I do know this: it's been six years since George's passing, and when it first happened, it was unfathomable. The entire team and everyone associated with our program was just in disbelief that something like this could happen to a young man with such a promising future. We had a lot of help through the Cornell lacrosse family, through Cornell University, and – to be honest with you – through the strength of Mr. and Mrs. Boiardi. Their strength and their faith and their love was probably our compass and our guiding light through that time."
After Boiardi's death, the team canceled its next game against North Carolina, but still traveled there for spring break. The players and coaches returned for Boiardi's funeral in Washington, D.C., and drove back to North Carolina for a few more days before returning to campus.
Tambroni called the decision to stay together over spring break in North Carolina the best decision the team made during that traumatic time.
"Guys broke down at times and were challenged by their own emotions in trying to figure out what was right. Could they laugh? Should they cry?" he said. "But down there, we played touch football, and we played a little bit of everything other than lacrosse. And when we came back, we had a long discussion and every emotion that you could imagine came out. We sat down in a circle as a team and just said, 'There would be no shame in ending the season right now and wrapping it up.' We had only played up until that point, four or five games. So there was plenty of season left to play. Certainly the way it happened at Cornell brought added incentive as to why we should stop playing. But to a man, I think everybody was on board and agreed to come back to play – with the caveat that we would not put any pressure on one another to win this for George. Rather, it was about honoring the man and the family in only the way we knew how and to remember the gifts that he left behind and to make sure they weren't going to pass with him."
The circumstances surrounding the men's and women's lacrosse teams at Virginia re-opened the wound for Tambroni.
"There are constant reminders, and unfortunately, this happens to be one of them," he said. "I can't imagine what they're thinking about, but I know there are constant reminders of what we went through and what we're still going through."