“Like father, like son” is a common cliché thrown around in the sporting world. Athletes such as Luke Walton, professional basketball player and son of renowned basketball player Bill Walton, or even Joe Buck, one of the most recognizable sports broadcasters of the current collegiate generation and son of Jack Buck, himself a Hall of Fame broadcaster, can attest to this sentiment. Wahoos have experienced it firsthand when they cheered for Chris Long and his dad, Howie Long, as the father-son pair received Chris’s retired jersey in the middle of Scott Stadium last year before the Virginia Tech game. As recently as last weekend, Virginia fans at Scott Stadium were witness to NFL Hall of Famer Darrell Green raising the “Power of Orange” flag before his son, freshman wide receiver Jared Green, played for the Cavaliers against North Carolina.
One family that seems to be expanding the meaning of the phrase at Virginia is the Starsia clan. “Like uncle, like niece” may be taking it a bit far, but the comparison can be made between Dom Starsia, the head coach of the men’s lacrosse team, and Katie Starsia, a freshman defender on the Virginia women’s soccer team.
“I really chose the school on a lot of different things, especially soccer and [education],” Katie Starsia said. “But having my uncle here and having that safety and support definitely factored into the decision.”
Dom Starsia is entering his 16th season as the head coach of the men’s lacrosse program at Virginia. With a 170—58 record in his time at Virginia, Starsia has taken the Cavaliers to the national championship game five times, winning on three of the trips. Virginia maintains such a consistently strong program because of its top-notch recruiting — which is in no small part because of Starsia, who is known for his ability to recruit and educate young talent. Starsia, however, was careful not to exploit this talent in Katie Starsia’s situation.
“I tried not to overplay what a great school Virginia is or the quality of experience we’ve had here because I really didn’t want her to choose Virginia because I was here or [because I] had sort of coerced her into making that decision,” Dom Starsia said. “I wanted it very much to be her own decision for the right reasons.”
Katie Starsia made the decision early on, having already committed to Virginia by her junior year in high school. While Dom Starsia avoided pressuring Katie Starsia into coming to Virginia, his presence allowed her to become familiar with the school before her thoughts turned to higher education and athletics.
“Ever since he took the job we came down here frequently — we came here twice a year just to go see him,” Katie Starsia said. “So I got to the school,” adding with a laugh that she has “seen a lot of lacrosse.”
Moreover, she was able to use her uncle’s experience with collegiate athletics as a resource.
“I tried to give her hints in the recruiting in terms of the language of what the coaches were talking about and things like that,” Dom Starsia said.
Because both the women’s soccer and men’s lacrosse teams are successful, a friendly rivalry has developed — and not just between niece and uncle.
“It’s not me and my uncle, it’s my uncle and my coach,” Katie Starsia said. “It is so funny — they have a little inside rivalry.”
The two teams share adjacent practice fields, which has led to several interesting encounters.
“[Virginia women’s soccer coach] Steve [Swanson] has already told me he thoroughly enjoys screaming out, ‘Get your a** moving, Starsia!’” Dom Starsia said, sharing how he repaid the favor to the women’s soccer coach.
“The first time that we had fall lacrosse practice at the same time women’s soccer was out there, I walked over to the net that separates the two fields and yelled out, ‘Hey, you’re looking really good, Starsia!’ And when the girls all looked over I said, ‘Hey, I’m just talking to myself.’ So I think we can all have some fun with it.”
Dom Starsia makes it clear that the joking is all in good fun and is quick to share his respect of Swanson.
“Steve and I are pretty close,” Dom Starsia said. “That was the easy part of it — to know that she was going to be working with Steve and the people on his staff because they run a first-class operation over there.”
Katie Starsia’s collegiate career is still young. Only halfway though her first season, Katie has at least three years of soccer left at Virginia and likely many more years of watching her uncle coach lacrosse. While the number of championships the two teams accrue may be exciting to focus on for the next few years, Dom Starsia does not forget the sentiments an uncle should have for his niece.
“The most important [thing] is that Katie seems happy,” Dom Starsia said. “I want for her to be feeling like she made a really good decision at the end of the day.”
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