COACHES | Palilax

Meet Our Coaches

Coach Bucchino

Boys Varsity Head Coach

David Bucchino

As Boys Varsity Head Coach since 2021, Coach Bucchino leverages many years of experience as an educator, coach and high school and college lacrosse athlete, himself.

He began his career as an elementary school teacher in addition to running numerous youth lacrosse programs and club teams. He then began coaching at Cedar Grove High School in Cedar Grove, NJ where he built the first lacrosse program and was head varsity coach for 7 years. At Cedar Grove, his team won a conference championship and David was named NJ Kirst Coach of the Year for the 2017 and 2018 seasons.

Coach Bucchino started his lacrosse career as a goaltender playing for Bow High School in Bow, NH where he won two state championships, a two time all state goaltender, and a two time New Hampshire Player of the year selection. He was named a First Team All-American in 2009.

After moving through the ranks, David was recruited to play at Elmira College in Elmira, NY. During his first season at Elmira, he was named Rookie of the Year. David was an eight time Empire 8 goalie of the week selection, two time M.V.P. selection, and was the Leadership and Dedication recipient two years in a row. During his junior and senior season, David was ranked ninth in the country and was named First Team All-American and an Empire 8 All-Conference player. He finished his college lacrosse career with 578 saves, which makes him the current record holder at Elmira College.

In addition to coaching at Pali High, David is the lacrosse program director at Paul Revere Charter Middle School, which is a feeder program to the high school. Outside of lacrosse, David works as an educational consultant.

Girls Head Coach

Dexter O'Connell

paligirlslacrosse@gmail.com

Coach O'Connell played goalie on the first CIF-sanctioned Pali Lacrosse team in 2006 (!) and began coaching at Mt. Carmel High School in Chicago in 2011.

He switched over to the women's game as a referee in Charleston, SC, and officiated the South Carolina Girls' State Final in 2018. He coached the Chico State Women's Club for the 2019-2020 season before the pandemic brought him back to Los Angeles, where he started coaching at Pali High in 2021.

Outside of lacrosse, Coach Dexter is the Senior Manager of Youth Policy and Advocacy at Safe Place for Youth. He enjoys reading (mostly sci-fi and history), cooking, and spending time with his family and friends.

Assistant Coaches

Girls Assistant Coach

Helene Rotolo

Helene Rotolo is a Long Island native and graduate of SUNY New Paltz, where she was a founding member and captain of the newly formed Division III Women's Lacrosse team.

In the 2009 season, she was named Most Valuable Player as a defender and earned a place on the SUNYAC All Academic Team and 2010 Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) Academic Honor Roll.

She has lived in Los Angeles since 2015 and lives in South LA with her husband Ben and two dogs, Rilo and Tubs.

Helene was very excited to work with the Pali Lax Girls this year!

Girls Assistant Coach

Carly Voge

Coach Carly grew up in the Northeast and began playing lacrosse when she was 11 years old. She played competitively throughout high school and attended Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut to play D3 Lacrosse and Field Hockey. She played in the midfield and loved driving the net! Carly has been coaching High School Girls Lacrosse on and off for the last 11 years beginning in Richmond, Virginia, and has been with the Pali program for the last 5 years. She loves teaching the game and watching girls gain skills and confidence. Team sports were a formative part of her youth and Carly believes what girls can learn on the field and in teams is foundational to their growth and development as confident, strong, and caring, young women. It is a privilege to get to work with your daughters!