North head coach Laurendi now takes his place in history
NASHUA – He is not a coach who seeks the limelight by any means, but on Saturday, Nashua North High School football coach Dante Laurendi couldn’t avoid it.
He became part of Nashua history.
He joined legendary Buzz Harvey, Ken Parady, Bill Hardy, and Scott Knight as the Nashua High School, Nashua South, or North football coaches to have a championship after North’s 49-21 Division I title win over Goffstown.
But, his name is in the books as the first for Nashua North in football.
History.
“I’m so excited,” Laurendi said. “I’m so excited for the kids. I’m excited for the school, for those North teams that didn’t make it, I’m excited for Jason Robie, who is part of this and all those guys who were on that staff.”
That included Laurendi, who was the offensive coordinator and assistant under Robie for several years, including the Titan teams that lost to Salem in 2009 and then Pinkerton in 2010, each by a touchdown and an extra point. That was a good era for football in the city; Knight’s Panthers captured the 2008 Division I title and Bishop Guertin was enjoying its championship stretch under then coach Tony Johnson.
Laurendi follows in the footsteps of his father, Dom Laurendi, a longtime coach in New York City and who is in the Xaverian High School Hall of Fame in Brooklyn, N.Y. Dom Laurendi watched the game on a livestream in New York and spoke with his son afterward.
Laurendi was asked what he learned from watching his father coach.
“Just everything,” Laurendi said. “Dealing with the kids, seeing it beyond football. It was the greatest thing growing up around there.
“I grew up around all different culture and colors. And it didn’t matter. And the love of not only for him for the players, the players for each other, and to see beyond just football.
“The entire experience. To be a part of that, and to have those different experiences and be around it as a young kid, and to see it.”
Laurendi paid attention how his father went with the flow, which is what he has done as the Titans head coach.
“To see him evolve as a coach, and to maintain it, stay with it, and change,” he said. “That’s why he was able to do it so long and successfully.”
Does Laurendi want to do it long? He’s already done it successfully as the Titans head coach the last six seasons after stints at Manchester Memorial and Merrimack.
He laughed.
“Geez,” he said. “One day at a time. It depends on the day.”
Remember, Laurendi is also the North athletics coordinator, handling the day-to-day athletic administrative duties for the school under the auspicies of Nashua Athletic Director Lisa Gingras. So he’s seen it all, including how things were different this fall under the COVID cloud. And how to roll with it.
“We didn’t have a choice,” Laurendi said. “We talked to the kids about being composed, keeping their heads when things get tough and emotional.”
And, Laurendi said, his staff also came through for him.
“I have an unbelievable coaching staff that sees the big picture,” he said. “Being able to lean on them is unbelievable.”
After the game Saturday, Laurendi’s phone was certainly blowing up with well-wishes. Robie, who once in awhile would help Laurendi and his staff out the last couple of years, was North’s first head coach and Laurendi feels he laid the foundation for a close-knit football culture.
“I got a text from a couple of guys who played on those (North finalist teams),” he said. “You want to share that excitement with them. Obviously, it was the football family that was built and it’s great to be able to make those guys proud.”
And be part of history.