Coaching Staff
Building Well Rounded Players On the Field and Beyond
“We are beyond grateful for the Aces program. In addition to the outstanding lacrosse training and advancement provided, the coaches are committed to developing well-rounded team players - building a foundation of skills for the girls to leverage both on the field and beyond.”
2029 Parent, Penfield
Coaches Tailor Feedback to Each Athlete
“Aces Elite has been an amazing program that has helped my daughter excel at the sport. In addition the caring role that coach Brent offers each athlete based on his knowledge of who they are is priceless! We could not be happier to be a part of this amazing program!”
2026 Parent, Victor
Coaching Staff
Founder & Director
Head Coach 2026
Coach Brent started Aces in January 2017 to provide an opportunity for young lacrosse players to accelerate their skill development and passion for the game.
Brent graduated from Penfield High School in 1993, winning two Sectional titles (‘92 and ‘93) while serving as team captain. He went on to play 4 years of Varsity Lacrosse at Nazareth College, and lead the Golden Flyers to National Championships in 1996 and 1997 as team captain.
After college, Brent played for 3 years in the National Lacrosse League for the Rochester Knighthawks and Columbus Landsharks. After that, he played 5 seasons of Major League Lacrosse with the Boston Cannons and Rochester Rattlers.
Brent began coaching girls lacrosse first as a youth coach in Pittsford, and then as a varsity assistant, helping the Varsity Team win their first Sectional Titles in school history. Now, his efforts are devoted to directing and coaching the Aces Program to help grow the game as well as develop the next generation of girls lacrosse players in the Upstate New York area. He has two daughters Peyton (2026) and Sydney (2029) who play in the Aces Program.
Director and Head Coach 2029
Heidi Rasmussen lives in Penfield, NY with her husband, Bill and her two daughters, Jordan (2029) and Taylor (2033). Heidi has been a member of the local lacrosse community since her high school playing days at Penfield High School ('97) and later as a Division I player at Penn State University ('01) where she earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Kinesiology.
Heidi is currently a physical education teacher in the Pittsford school district, where she was the varsity lacrosse coach for 13 years. In her time as the head coach at Pittsford, her teams won two sectional championships, made 2 appearances in the state semifinals as well as one trip to the state finals.
In recognition of her contributions to the sport, Heidi was inducted into the Rochester Chapter of the US Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 2016. The following year Heidi earned her US Lacrosse Level 1 Coaching Certification and currently serves as an instructor for US Lacrosse.
She is currently very involved with youth lacrosse instruction and runs camps and clinics throughout the year that are intended to help young players advance their skills, fundamentals, understanding, and love of the game of lacrosse.
General Manager and Coach 2025
Pat Capozzi lives in Penfield, NY with his wife, Erica and his two daughters, Jenna (‘25) and Elise (‘27). A native of Geneva, NY, Pat was a standout athlete in football and lacrosse at Geneva High School serving as team captain in both sports in 1993 & 1994.
Pat continued onto Alfred University as a starting midfielder and face-off specialist for the nationally ranked Saxons, and was voted team captain in 1998. He earned his Bachelors Degree in Business at Alfred and a MBA from the University of Massachusetts.
Pat has worked for several years in healthcare and is currently a Region Director with Premier Inc. (Charlotte, NC). Pat has been involved with Penfield Youth Lacrosse for the past 6 years and has spent numerous years teaching at both camps and clinics throughout Massachusetts and New York upon completing his playing career.
Coach 2025
Fran Peltier lives in Canandaigua, NY with his girlfriend Jill and their 4 kids, Cali, Aubri (2025), Dante & Briggs. Fran grew up in Canandaigua and played lacrosse at Canandaigua Academy where he was an all-league selection and later went on to play a combined 4 years collegiately at Finger Lakes Community College and Keuka College.
Fran holds a Level 2 Coaching Certification through US Lacrosse and has been actively coaching within different levels of the Canandaigua Girls Lacrosse program for the past 6 years. Additionally, he has been coaching within the Aces program for since 2018.
Since 2000, Fran has worked in the construction industry for Kelly Contracting, Inc. where he is currently employed as Director of Operations and Estimating.
Coach and College Recruiting Coordinator
Mackenzie is 2025 Coach and leads our college recruiting efforts with an emphasis on optimizing the overall recruiting experience, player/coach connection, and student-athletes communication. Before joining Aces, Mackenzie was an assistant coach at Butler University for two years, also having served as the assistant coach at the University of Indianapolis.
A Penfield, New York native, Mackenzie moved to Indianapolis from Mercyhurst University where she played lacrosse for two years after transferring from Saint Bonaventure.
As a senior, Mackenzie was a captain of the Lakers and garnered All-PSAC and IWLCA All-South Second Team recognition. In two seasons at Mercyhurst she started all 38 games, tallying 84 career goals and 19 assists from her midfield position. She graduated from Mercyhurst in May of 2015 as a Dean’s List Scholar with a Bachelor’s degree in Exercise Science.
In her time living in Indianapolis, Mackenzie coached with Indy United Lacrosse Club at the high school and middle school levels. She also worked with Lady Roc Lacrosse Club during the summers while home from college.
Coach
Coach
Ali is an alum of James Madison University, where she earned her Bachelor's Degree in Mathematics and her Masters Degree in Secondary Education. While playing for the lacrosse team at JMU, Ali earned a spot on the IWLCA All-American South Region team, and earned 1st team All-CAA honors in 2014 and 2015. In her senior season, Ali earned CAA Scholar Athlete of the Year and CAA tournament MVP as well. She served as a captain in both her Junior and Senior seasons and served as a graduate assistant coach at JMU while earning her Masters Degree.
After completing her Masters at JMU, Ali moved to Washington D.C. where she served as the head lacrosse coach at the Maret School and coached for the Stars Lacrosse Club in Alexandria, VA. Ali currently works as an 8th Grade Math Teacher at Dake Junior High in West Irondequoit and will be an assistant coach for the Varsity Lacrosse team in the spring. She is a captain of the Israel Women's lacrosse team playing in two World Cups (2013 and 2017) and one European Championship (2019) where she earned the silver medal and a spot on the All European Team.
Ali is a Pittsford Native who recently moved back to Pittsford with her husband and dog Renzo from Washington, D.C.
Head Coach 2027
Coach - High School Levels - Recruiting Assistant
Niki Frunzi has been coaching girls’ lacrosse at the high school and collegiate levels since 2009. Niki is currently the Head Varsity Girls Coach at Victor Central Schools where she joined in 2014. Niki has led the team to State Finals in 2015, Semi-finals in 2016 and winning the State Championship in 2022.
Prior to Victor, Niki coached at East Rochester in 2014 as well as worked with St. John Fisher during the 2013 and 2014 seasons.
Niki was also an assistant coach at The College at Brockport 2010-2013 as she finished her Masters in Athletic Administration. At the collegiate level, Niki assisted with the defensive end. Additionally, obtaining her ISSA Personal Training Certification helped her assist more on Strength and Conditioning and the recruiting process.
While Niki was student teaching at Victor Central Schools in 2009, she was also the head JV Lacrosse Coach at Wayne Central Schools.
Niki earned her Bachelors of Science in Physical Education from SUNY Brockport where she played lacrosse for three seasons between 2006-2008. Before Brockport she attended Corning Community College and played two years of basketball while earning her Associates Degree in Liberal Arts and Science.
Niki is a 2004 graduate from Corning West High School where she played her first 6 years of Varsity lacrosse upon being introduced to the sport.
In Niki’s words: Passionate about preparation and getting these girls ready for the next level. A great deal of my coaching includes strategies to motivate, develop and fine tune skills and movement-meeting them where they are currently at. Mindfulness, being present and embracing their time on the field with their lacrosse peers/family keeps the love for the game growing. Incorporating strength and conditioning and team building activities into routine for these girls are additional pieces to the puzzle when helping to develop a well rounded, solid athlete.
Head Coach 2028
Coach Craig Whipple works with the 2028 Aces Team. Prior to joining the staff at Fisher, he was an Assistant Coach at Hobart College, where he worked with the Division I Statesmen's program since 2014. There, Coach Whipple assisted in the offense, designing and implementing plays both at practice and during live contests. Over his three-year tenure there, Coach Whipple helped coach the Statesmen to 26 victories, including a Northeast Conference title in 2016.
Before working at the collegiate level, Coach Whipple was the head coach for the Irondequoit High School boys' team. During his time there, he helped turn a .500 program into national power that would win four Section V titles and appear in four New York State Championship Final Fours and the 2012 state championship appearance where his team was rank 12th in the nation. He was named the All-Greater Rochester Coach of the Year in both 2007 and 2012 as well as Class B coach of the year 2010, 2011 and 2012.
Coach Whipple also brings plenty of playing experience. The Rochester native played at Irondequoit High School where he won 4 Section V titles and was the 1995 Section V tournament MVP. After a year attending Canterbury Prep, Coach Whipple played four years at the Rochester Institute of Technology (1996-2000), where he was 3 time all Super Six Conference, ECAC MVP and was All-American. After college, he took his talents to the National Lacrosse League (NLL) where he played three years of box lacrosse with the Rochester Knighthawks. Along with playing box he also founded and was GM of the Rochester J-hawks Jr B Box lacrosse club.
Coach Whipple and his wife Amy have two daughters, Lucy (2028) and Charlotte (2030), who both play for the Aces.
Coach
Coach 2029
Madeline graduated from Victor in 2015. She then went to Castleton University in Vermont where she played lacrosse and ski raced.
After two years at Castleton Madeline moved back to NY to pursue her teaching career in New York State. Madeline will be certified in K-12 Physical Education December 2020. Since Madeline returned back to New York, she has been coaching and in addition to Aces, Madeline is the JV Girl’s Lacrosse Coach and Assistant Alpine Ski Coach at Victor High School. Madeline also coach the u16 and u19 Eastern Alpine Ski Team for Hunt Hollow Race Team.
Madeline also completed an internship with Next Level Strength and Conditioning, focusing on strength, speed, creating a positive athletic environment and injury prevention. This Internship also focused on maximizing training benefits during the other 22 hours of the day through nutrition, hydration and sleep.
Head Coach 2030
Coach Shawna is a Nazareth College alum and was a four-year starting midfielder on Nazareth's Women’s Lacrosse Team. Shawna helped lead her team to NCAA tournament bids in 2002 and 2004. She was team captain, and was awarded the Empire 8 Conference player of the year in 2003. In 2016, Shawna was inducted to the Nazareth College Sports Hall of Fame. She also served as Nazareth College Women’s Lacrosse assistant coach in 2005 during which time the team earned another NCAA tournament bid.
Shawna graduated from Horseheads High School in 2000 where she played four years of varsity lacrosse, served as team captain, and led the team to a Section IV title her senior year.
Coach Shawna lives in Webster, New York with her husband Bryan, daughter Shae (2030) and son Grady (6). She graduated from Nazareth with a master’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology and is currently working as a Speech-Language Therapist providing service to children throughout the Rochester area.
Shawna currently coaches youth lacrosse in Webster, serves on the Webster Women’s Lacrosse Club Board of Directors, and has her Level 2 US Lacrosse Coach certification.
Head Coach 2030
Rachel Hillhouse grew up in Victor NY and has spent the past 15 years in Asheville, North Carolina where she started the first all-girls lacrosse organization in Western North Carolina.
Rachel has traveled all over the Southeast coaching girls of all ages from youth to High School in tournaments, clinics, season play and outreach events. Rachel's advocacy and training efforts helped grow and develop the game of lacrosse in WNC to establish the first two public school women's lacrosse programs in the community.
Growing the game has always been a passion for Rachel and she began working with US Lacrosse as a Level 1 and Level 2 Coaches Development Trainer in 2015. In 2018, Coach Rachel began working as a clinician with the Sankofa Clinic series and also served on the US Lacrosse WNC Chapter Board from 2018-2020.
Rachel currently coaches with Victor Youth Girls Lacrosse and Aces. She lives in Victor with her daughter, Sophie and their dog Osito.
Goalie Program Director
Ellie is a graduate of Notre Dame, where she was a four-year starting goalie for the Women's Lacrosse Team. While at Notre Dame, Ellie studied Sociology and Peace Studies, then went on to earn her Masters in School Counseling from SUNY Brockport, and is a counselor in the Rochester City School District.
Ellie is a Brighton native, graduating from Brighton High School where she played both soccer and lacrosse. In addition to Aces, Ellie is Assistant Coach for the Brighton Varsity Girls Lacrosse team, and serves as the program's Goalie Coach. Ellie is also the Girls Director of F50 Lacrosse, a program designed by goalies for goalies.
In her spare time, Ellie enjoys making handmade jewelry for her business Figgy Pudding Art. Ellie currently lives in Penfield with her Fiancé, Kyle, and their three dogs and a cat.
Goalie Coach
Coach
Attacker, University of Pittsburgh Panthers
Strength & Conditioning; College Recruiting Coordinator
Joe's passion lies in helping as many people as possible reach their full potential to become high performers in every aspect of sport and life.
Joe brings his strength and conditioning and sports performance expertise to our club, partnering with our coaches on team-specific conditioning programs. Also, while many players already benefit from strength and conditioning offerings within their schools, this is not a consistent reality across all districts. Joe works with our Aces players looking to build functional strength into their regime, beyond what is currently available to them.
Joe also co-leads our college recruiting efforts with a specific focus on player brand, working with our student-athletes as they begin their freshman year through the point of committed athlete. This includes interviewing players, profile and social media guidance, advising on communication with college coaches, and identifying the best prospecting experiences tailored to each players' collegiate goals.
Joe Aratari has been a part of the local athletic community since his high school playing days at Irondequoit ('10) and college degree at both Plattsburgh State ('14, played collegiately for 4 years) and Brockport State ('16). Joe has a bachelor's degree in Kinesiology, Criminal Justice and a minor in psychology.
Joe is currently a certified strength and conditioning/sport performance coach and manager of Next Level Strength & Conditioning in Fairport, NY. At Next Level, Joe and his staff work with athletes from MS to professional athletes of various sports and have helped numerous athletes transition between middle school to high school and high school to college athletics. Joe is also the director of sport performance for the Brighton Bruins athletic department as well as the strength coach for 8 Nazareth College programs, including women's lacrosse.
Prior to joining Brighton's staff, Joe spent 6 years at Penfield High School as their head strength coach, from 2015-2021. Joe helped both the boys and women’s lacrosse program to sectional titles in 2018, a year in which the girls made a trip to the state finals. Joe is currently the NYS director of high school strength and conditioning.
Coach
Program Staff
Stacie is Aces Travel and Events Coordinator. Stacie leads all tournament travel planning and club-wide team bonding events. She works closely with our outstanding Parent Reps who dedicate their time to team buidling events, photography, and videogrpahy at each level.
Stacie is Assistant Principal at Fairport's Brooks Hill Elementary School, and is married to Cory, a teacher at Fairport High School. Stacie and Cory have daughter Ellie (Aces, 2026), and son Liam (2029).
Duffy MCKenna is a life-long resident of West Irondequoit. He served as Team Manager to the Irondequoit High School Varsity Lacrosse Team from 1996 to 2014 and was named Monroe County Varsity Lacrosse Division 2 ”Man of the Year” in 2014.
Duffy was an assistant coach on the 2012 and 2013 U.S lacrosse teams that won the North American Brogden Cup 2 years consecutively. Duffy has also assisted with the Irondequoit Youth Lacrosse for several years.
He was an assistant coach Hobart College 2015 through 2017. From 2018 to present, he serves as Special Assistant to the St. John Fisher Varsity Lacrosse Team. Duffy has a brother and sister, 4 nieces, and a nephew.
Operations Coordinator
Scott is the Aces Operations Coordinator, responsible for club-wide facility procurement, registration, scheduling and administration. He lives in Penfield, NY with his wife, Kristen and three children. His two daughters, Nina (‘28) and Isla (‘30) are participants in the Aces program. A native of Penfield, NY, Scott participated in Football and Baseball at Penfield High School.
Scott earned his BS in Sport Management at Ithaca College and received his MS in Athletic Administration from SUNY Brockport. He coached college football at the University of Rochester for two years, before shifting his career into higher education administration. He currently works at RIT as the Senior Associate Athletic Director and serves on the NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Division III National Committee.
Communications Coordinator
Jackie Cougevan is Aces Communications Coordinator, responsible for all creative, website, social media and club-wide communications.
Jackie is a native of Fairport, where she played lacrosse through high school. She went on to study at Cornell University and stayed involved with the sport by creating a club lacrosse team there.
Later, at the University of Rochester, Jackie earned dual master’s degrees in School Counseling and Community Counseling. She worked as a school counselor before starting her family with husband, Pat Cougevan. Together they share five children - Paddy, Molly (Aces ‘30), Danny, Allison and James.
Jackie has experience coaching at the JV and Youth levels. She has always had a love for the game and is excited to work alongside the passionate individuals involved with the Aces program and larger lacrosse community!