08/30/2026
Rest in peace, Jeff Pettit. 🥍💙
I love lacrosse, at an almost spiritual level — the history, its origins as an Indigenous sport, the connections it builds, the communities it creates. Jeff Pettit may have loved it more, and he certainly gave more to the game than most.
I didn’t grow up in Media, didn’t go to Penncrest, and Jeff never personally coached me or my kids — but I heard his name long before we moved to DELCO. So often in fact, that I felt like I knew him before we’d even met.
His name is synonymous with lacrosse, his reputation is sterling, and I’ve never once heard a negative word spoken about him.
We eventually connected through the Rose Tree Optimist Lacrosse that club he created, and which I was thrilled to volunteer for. It became my favorite place to be, and the friendships my kids and I made there are ones we’ll always treasure.
Jeff was accessible, gracious, funny, humble, and endlessly welcoming. He remembered my kids’ names after meeting them once, always answered emails and texts, and never dampened my energy around even the most far-reaching ideas.
About six weeks ago, my friend Lyle Thompson called, looking for practice space for his team, Futures. The team is all Haudenosaunee players from Onondaga, Tyendinaga, Akwesasne, and other territories, and they were coming to the area for a tournament. I knew exactly who to call. Jeff said yes before he even had a plan, and he, his son Evan, and his daughter Caitlin pulled together the space and players for an evening none of us will ever forget.
That day I learned the story behind the Optimist logo. I was so happy to learn that Jeff worked directly with an Indigenous artist to get it right. There’s a real difference between “Native inspired” and “Indigenous made”, this was the latter and I am so grateful to Jeff for that.
The lacrosse world lost one of its best. Moving forward I aspire to pour my own energy into the Optimist lacrosse community, into coaching wherever and whenever I can, and into growing this game, as generously as he did.
