Girls Lax Makes Jami Lower Proud In Final Season As Head Coach

You can’t tell the story of how lacrosse has produced some of the most talented athletes on the island in recent years without mentioning Jami Lower. Lower founded the youth lacrosse program in 2012 and took over as the girl's varsity head coach in 2019. The program, which finished its first season with Lower at the helm with a 10-11 record, has steadily grown into one Div. 4’s most consistent teams and one of the best sports programs at Nantucket High School.

But after racking up an 89-29 record over the course of six seasons (lost year in 2020 due to COVID), four state quarterfinal appearances and one state semifinal appearance, Lower’s coaching career came to an end last week following her team’s 20-3 defeat to top-seeded Cohasset High School in the MIAA Div. 4 state quarterfinal, as she announced before the season that 2025 would be her last.

"I think this program has a ton of potential," Lower said of the team moving forward. "I think the girls just need to keep the energy up and keep working hard because I know they can do it. You look at some of the people on the roster and I hate, like, it makes me sad to leave them behind, but there's never a good time to exit. You always want to wait for this class to graduate and that class to graduate. It's not something that I've taken lightly, and it's tough to kind of walk away. But I just hope they know that they have the potential and they're going to do great things.”

Lower coached the junior varsity team in 2017 and 2018 before assuming the lead role of the program in 2019. Over the course of her coaching tenure, she was able to coach her daughters Bailey and Mayson. Bailey, who graduated last June, is currently playing for Vanderbilt’s Div. 1 program and scored nine goals in 14 games (four starts). Mayson, who graduates this Friday from NHS, emerged as the leader of this spring’s team as an all-around, team-first player who scored her 100^th career goal this year, and was a team captain.

When asked, Jami Lower said it was a privilege to have the opportunity to coach her daughters and all of their teammates over the years.

"When you make the decision to raise your kids on an island, you want to make sure they have every opportunity that you can provide," Lower said. "And for me, that was athletics. I just wanted to make sure that I could do everything in my power to make sure that my girls had good, solid athletics.... and lacrosse was what I could give for them. That's a big reason like the time and the travel and yeah coaching your kid is tough. It's really tough, especially when they're competitive, but the memories I have with them, like the bus rides, the boat rides, watching the games, being on the field, learning and getting to know their friends, I'll cherish it forever. The memories are something that are just incredible. I feel super grateful.”

Sam Aloisi, the head coach of the boys lacrosse program, said Lower deserves to be recognized for all she has done for lacrosse on the island.

"Jami's contributions to girls lacrosse on Nantucket are immeasurable," Aloisi said. "From her work developing the youth programs and eventually taking over the varsity program, she has been the face of Nantucket girls lacrosse for many years. Her countless hours of tireless work and support for the young ladies of Nantucket is something the whole community should be appreciative of and thankful for. I’m sure the many girls she has helped develop into young women appreciate all she has done, and she will be missed by the whole Nantucket lacrosse community. Enjoy all of your free time next spring, Jami! You have earned it."

Lower said this team in particular made her quite proud as they managed to deal with the loss of several high-end players that were seniors on last year’s squad.

"When you go up against a team like Cohasset where 90 percent of their team plays, actually 100 percent of their team plays club year-round and you have a stacked number of Div. 1 commits, you kind of know the outcome, but if there was a team that I thought could do it (and win), it was this one," Lower said. "Just the way that they have grown and developed over the course of the season is something that I'm so proud of them for.”

Lower said the highlight of the season was her team’s victory over the Manchester Essex Hornets in the second round of the tournament, and her final victory as a head coach. She said losing to a powerhouse like Cohasset, which clinched its spot in the state title game Tuesday evening following a 19-11 win over Sandwich, is something you can’t be ashamed of. But being able to piece together a total team effort against a program of the Hornets caliber, which knocked the Whalers out of the tournament in the 2022 state semifinal and 2023 state quarterfinal, speaks to their abilities as a collective unit.

“When you see a program like Manchester Essex, who has beaten us before, and we were able to beat them and as a unit like that (in the Sweet 16), to me that just speaks to the team,” Lower said. “We had new personnel, we had new starters out there this year and once they were able to find their game, they grew, and they grew quickly. As the scorebook says, it's a very well-rounded group.”

Lower said she wouldn’t rule out some one-on-one instruction in the future, but feels her coaching days, for the most part, are behind her.

“I'm ready. I'm ready to go," Lower concluded. "I'm ready to move on. It's been great doing it, but I am ready to move on.”