Staff

Varsity

Mike Cintineo – Varsity Head Coach

High School Playing Career (Attack):

Graduate of Honeoye Falls-Lima High School (Rochester, NY area)
Led team to NYS lacrosse semi-finals during his senior year (2005)
Led New York State in goals scored and points on the year with 90 goals and 143 points
Cintineo’s 90 goals ranked 9th all-time in New York State for most goals scored in one season at time of his graduation in 2005
In two years of high school varsity lacrosse, Coach Cintineo accumulated 225 points on 151 goals and 74 assists
Cintineo holds school records for most points in a season (143), goals in a season (90) and total career points (225)

College Playing Career (Attack):

Coach Cintineo started his career at Ithaca College, but eventually transferred and graduated from SUNY Geneseo
Was named Rookie of the Year in the Empire 8 Conference at Ithaca College
Was named 2nd team all-conference his freshman year (35 goals, 8 assists)
Scored 36 goals and 10 assists his sophomore year at IC
During his senior year at SUNY Geneseo, he set the school goal scoring mark for one season with 53 goals and a 3.5 goals per game average, which was 2nd highest in the country for NCAA Division III during the 2009 season
Was named to the SUNYAC All-Conference Team in 2009
Twice named USILA Player of the Week (4/23/06 and 3/28/09)
During his time playing for Ithaca College and SUNY Geneseo, both teams were consistently ranked inside the top 10 in the country at the NCAA Division III level
Coach Cintineo finished his college career with 164 points on 132 goals and 32 assists

Head Coaching Career:

In 2013, he led Duluth (GA) High School to a 9-8 record and two players were named to the All-Gwinnett County Lacrosse Team
In 2014 Coach Cintineo led Etowah (GA) High School to an 11-7 record
Six players were named to the Cherokee County All Conference Team
Four players were selected to play in the Georgia High School All-Star Game
Coach Cintineo was selected to coach in the Georgia High School All-Star Game
In 2015 Coach Cintineo led Etowah to a 14-7 record and a Final Four berth in the 6A state playoffs where they upset the #1 team in the state, Johns Creek, in the 1st Round
The team averaged over 12 goals a game and allowed only 6 goals a game
Six players were named to the Cherokee County All Conference Team
Coach Cintineo was named Coach of the Year in Cherokee County
Six players were selected to play in the Georgia High School All-Star Game
Coach Cintineo coached in the Georgia High School All-Star Game for the 2nd year in a row
In 2016 Coach Cintineo led Etowah to a 15-6 record and a Final Four berth in the 6A state playoffs for the 2nd consecutive year.
Boys’ lacrosse is the only boys sport in the history of Etowah High School to reach the Georgia State Final Four in consecutive seasons
Four players were named to the All-State team including Etowah’s first 1st team all-state player for the 6A classification
For the team’s efforts, Coach Cintineo was named Cherokee County Coach of the Year for the second season in a row as well as runner up for the Georgia HS Lacrosse Coach of the Year
Six players were named to the 1st team All Cherokee County, including the County Player of the Year
In 2017 Etowah placed 4 players on the All County Team
In 2018 Coach Cintineo led Etowah to a 14-6 record, securing the 2nd seed in area 4 for the state playoffs.
Three players earned all-state honors with one player being named an All American, Etowah Lacrosse’s first ever High School All American.
Four players were named 1st Team All Cherokee County, including the County Player of the Year
Coach Cintineo was named Cherokee County Coach of the Year for the third time in five years
For his efforts, Coach Cintineo was named State Runner Up for Coach of the Year in Georgia
Coach Cintineo was also the keynote speaker at the Georgia Lacrosse Official Association preseason meeting
In 2019 Coach Cintineo led Etowah to an 18-2 record, securing the 1st seed in Area 5 for the state playoffs. This is the first time in Etowah lacrosse history winning the area title.
The team led the state in goals scored (306) and goals allowed with only (84)
The team set program records of: wins (18), goals (306), goals against (78), winning streak (13 games), losses (2).
Three players earned all-state honors with one player being named an All-American for the 2nd straight season.
Eleven players earned Georgia 6-7A, Area 5 all area honors
Five players earned 1st team spots on the All-Cherokee County Team
Etowah had the County Player of the Year for the second year in a row
The team finished 4th in the state according to the AJC power rankings
Coach Cintineo was named Cherokee County Coach of the Year for the 4th time in six years at Etowah
In 2020 the team was 6-2 before COVID-19 canceled all spring sports.
Two players earned the honor to play in the GA State Senior All-Star Game
In 2021 the team finished with a record of 12-6, earning a playoff berth
The team made it to the round of 16 in the state playoffs
Four players earned All-State recognition
Five players were named to the GA State Senior All-Star Game
Carson Reeder finished his career as Etowah’s all-time leading scorer
Coach Cintineo earned his 100th win as a varsity head coach in the state of Georgia on 3/5/2021
Coach Cintineo will be entering his 9th year at Etowah in 2021-22 school year and has a career head coaching record of 107-51.
In 2022 the team made the state playoffs
Coach Cintineo earned his 100th win at Etowah High School
Four players earned all-county and all area accolades
Coach Cintineo will be entering his 10th year at Etowah in 2022-23 school year and has a career head coaching record of 115-62.

Tyler Dinges– Varsity Assistant Coach

Coach Tyler Dinges is in his 2nd season as a varsity assistant coach at Etowah. Prior to Etowah, he coached at Walton High School for four years. Coach Dinges led Walton to its 2nd title in school history in 2019. Speaking of history, Coach Dinges is one of the only people in state lacrosse history to win a state title as a player and as a coach at the same high school. Coach Dinges runs the Eagles defense. He lives in Woodstock with his wife Ashley and his daughter Amelia.

Rick Eltz - Varsity Assistant Coach

Coach Rick Eltz began his lacrosse coaching career in 2002 when his son (Seth Michael) and Aaron Jones founded the Etowah Lacrosse Club and team. He was an assistant coach for the club team until 2006 when the head coach Ken Byers left to start the Kennesaw State University program. That year Coach Eltz led them to the NGLL title with a 13-1 record and the following year, the Etowah varsity program was established. He resumed his assistant coach position in 2012 when Etowah added a JV team. Coach Eltz has been a certified lax referee since 2007 and umpires’ baseball (since 2001). Coach Eltz has also coached baseball, soccer, ice and roller hockey and football. He is also a Chiropractor (since 1983) and lives on Lake Allatoona with his wife Ellen.

Jr Varsity

Jim elder– JV Head Coach

Coach Elder has been with the Eagle Lacrosse program since 2019. Coach Elder helped develop All-State players through rigorous drills and instruction for the Varsity, Junior Varsity, and Junior Eagle programs. His primary focus is developing Face-Off athletes, Goalies, and Defensive strategies and tactics.

In addition to Lacrosse, Coach Elder has been the head coach for the 7th-grade boy’s basketball at Mill Creek Middle School since the 2019-2020 season. He is also the assistant for the 8th-grade team.

Coach Elder is a Lake Catholic High School graduate in the Cleveland, OH, area. Coach Elder enlisted in the Army as an Infantryman and served six years with one year in Iraq. After the Army, Coach Elder graduated from Kennesaw State University with a Bachelor of Science in Physical Education and Health and minored in coaching. In the spring of 2022, he graduated with his Masters in Kinesiology from the University of North Georgia. He is pursuing his Educational Doctorate Degree in Educational Leadership from the University of the Cumberlands. Coach Elder teaches Physical Education at Mill Creek Middle School.

Bajro Buzaljko- JV Assistant Coach

Bajro Buzaljko (By-row Buzz-Psycho) has been coaching and training athletes for over 15 years. Bajro works full time as an Active-Duty Marine, he is currently the Operations Chief for the state of Georgia recruiting. Bajro played lacrosse in high school prior to enlisting and deploying with the Marine Corps. He has been involved in coaching High School, Middle School, and Youth lacrosse across various teams in the Cobb and Cherokee County areas for the past 12 years and is currently coaching the JV assistant coach for Etowah High School. He is a speed, strength, and agility coach for lacrosse with Fury Performance in Woodstock, GA. Bajro brings an infectious high intensity & energetic attitude to the team with a high demand for discipline, pushing athletes to an elite level and mindset. He is married to his wife Jordan, and they have 3 daughters