- 2017 Highlights
Personal Statement
Since I was very little my life revolved around the sport of football. I played football for a number of years on numerous teams like the HFL Eagles and Hamilton Revolution. When I was growing up the only two sports i played were basketball and football. I had never even heard the word “lacrosse” until it was my brothers sophomore year In high school and he started playing. At a young age & with me not being in high school i knew little to nothing about lacrosse except that It took athleticism, it was physical, and fast paced. The the only programs for kids my age were in Robbinsville so I never really looked into it. I knew It was definitely a sport that peaked my interest from the first time I watched it be played. My brother and I have always been four years apart in age, so with him being in high school, I would go to his lacrosse games because they interested me and I knew I wanted to play when the opportunity presented itself. I ended up buying my first stick before I even played the sport just so I could practice with my brother, It helped me better prepare for when I arrived at high school so I knew somewhat what to expect and had a few bearings. My brother played Defense and I ,at the time, was practicing being a midfielder. Within two years, it was my turn to enter Hamilton High West as a freshman, i didn't know what to expect from a new school, new environment, and new people I just knew i was ready to play football and lacrosse when the seasons approached.
Fall came and went and before you know it it was spring time and time for my very first time being on an organized lacrosse team. I knew how the coach was going to be from watching my brother play seasons prior and he wasn't exactly what most would call a coach. He never played the sport of lacrosse so he only knew what he could dig up on the internet or find on tv. As an incoming freshman I was put on JV but unlike the majority of the JV players cradling, catching, and throwing wasn’t a problem for me because of all the practice I had with my brother. I started on JV mainly at defensive midfield, i was just getting used to the game, but i already knew it was for me. From what I can remember we didn’t do that bad my freshman year, but the JV records/stats were never recorded so I cant give exact details. As the season progressed I started to think to myself, maybe i wanted to pursue a career in lacrosse rather than football. However i was only a freshman with three more years still to go so my mind wasn't made up. Skipping ahead to after my freshman year going into my sophomore year of lacrosse we still remained with the same coaching staff who was given little to no respect by my fellow teammates. Since he didn't know much about lacrosse, most people thought that they didn't have to abide by his rules and with him being extremely passive noting was ever done about the situation. But I ,as a sophomore, i was just extremely excited to have earned a spot on the varsity team. Although I wasn’t starting on varsity I earned a significant amount of playing time at mainly defensive midfield. Although I usually partake in a more defensive role I can also shoot and be part of an offensive set, but I focus mainly on defense because that's what my school lacks the most. Along with me playing short stick defensive midfield I also alternated between defensive pole. My past teams have lacked speed and agility mainly and I alternated to try to make up for what we were missing because I was one of the quicker, more agile players on the team. I can wrap up my sophomore year by saying it went exactly like the year prior. Absolutely nothing changed our coaching staff continued to receive no respect, the team did whatever they pleased, and we barely managed to win 2-3 games.
This year, my junior year, a lot has changed for the better. After my sophomore season a senior created a petition to get the coach we had to resign and after 100+ signatures he stepped down. We were on the hunt for a new coach, which took several months, but soon enough we had to look no further. We got a new coach named Coach Roc Azzarello who played lacrosse at CW Post and Colgate so he was very experienced in the sport.My junior year i started off playing the same position as years prior a defensive midfielder but later in the season my coach moved me to defense once again for speed reasons. After he moved me to defense our team showed more improvement and let in a lot less goals. In all the years of lacrosse programs at Hamilton West we’ve never made it past the first round of MCTs (Mercer County Tournament) but this year we beat Ewing 8-4 to go on to round two of the tournament. After advancing to the second round we faced Hopewell, where we were defeated 19-1 but we did the best we could do with what we had. After being eliminated from MCTs we had one regular season game against Edison, which we won 10-11 in overtime to end our regular season with a record of 9-7. Which is the best record in my school lacrosse history. Also we ended up making it into the state tournament where we faced Rumson Fair-Haven who were ranked 2nd in our division. We lost 20-1 in a very big upset, however it was the first time Hamilton West ever made it to state. With all of that being said, I believe that i am physically and mentally fit to play lacrosse at the college level. I am an extremely hard working student and multi sport athlete who believes I can be an asset to any team willing to give me a chance.
