‘A legacy of love': Longtime Lawrence volleyball coach Tony Hajjar remembered as inspiration to many

Boston Globe

08-07-2025

'Tony taught us how to play volleyball,' said Edgar Valdez, who played for Hajjar at Lawrence and now coaches at Chelmsford. 'The main thing he taught us was how to love volleyball. He brought the joy. He made volleyball a permanent part of our lives.'
We have heavy hearts in Methuen, The Valley, and beyond today with the passing of long time Lawrence coach and referee Tony Hajjar. Make no mistake about it the volleyball world in the MVC and Massachusetts lost a Titan today.
— Rangers Volleyball (@RangersVBall)
In 2018, Valdez and current Lawrence coach Hector Sanchez were in their first years at the helm, and they met in the North sectional championship. It was a special moment for each, who said they would not have been coaches if not for Hajjar.
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'What I saw, the way that he was with all his athletes . . . That inspired me to be a coach,' Sanchez said. 'I wanted to be not even half of a person and a coach that he was. That's what I wanted to be. I knew I had big shoes to fill when I took over. Seeing him be happy I took over, it was a dream.'
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Two disciples of longtime Lawrence coach Tony Hajjar, Hector Sanchez (left) and Edgar Valdez (right) faced off in the 2019 North sectional with their mentor looking on.
Courtesy
Hajjar is from Côte D'Ivoire, and started working at George's Bakery in Lawrence when he moved as a kid.
Around when he took over the high school program, he started the Nor'east Volleyball Club, now called the EliteZ Club and run by his son, TJ.
'He's self-made,' said Dan Young, Andover's girls' volleyball coach, who coached with Hajjar at the club and during the 2005 championship season. 'Tony is an American success story in a lot of ways, but it has all to do with who Tony was as a person. Good fortune continued to find Tony and his family and it's a direct relationship with how he treated people.'
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Tony Hajjar impacted hundreds of Lawrence volleyball players during his 18 years as head coach.
Courtesy Dan Young
Young found over the past few days just how many people had a similar relationship with Hajjar.
'I can't say enough about his entire family,' Young said. 'When you get in with Tony, you get in with Tony 100 percent. It's immediate fatherly love. It's unconditional. He's there for you night and day.'
Hajjar was known for keeping kids out of trouble, giving them something to do after school, and becoming a long-term part of their lives.
'He just gave us hope for a better life, not just what we saw in the city,' Sanchez said. 'That trust that he put into us to become better men. He wanted to create a family of volleyball players and students. A legacy of love. We can do better. He wanted us to be better.
'That's what he teaches us in the game and in life. Kids who come from a low income city, there's more for us.'
Tony Hajjar was knock for making the game fun during his two-plus decades coaching volleyball at Lawrence High.
Courtesy Dan Young
AJ Traub can be reached at