- 2016 Highlights
Personal Statement
My collegiate goals are to enroll in a university and get a Masters degree in Sports Management. I would love the opportunity to play lacrosse at the collegiate level, and I believe I would contribute in many ways to my college team.
One of my greatest strengths is my willingness to sacrifice for my team. I never miss a practice or meeting and I'm first to volunteer for extra duties. For example, this past season, two of our goalies were injured and our only healthy goalie was unavailable because of penalties. Our coach asked the players who was willing to step in between the pipes, and I quickly volunteered. I had always enjoyed playing goalie in pick-up games and during some practices, and the opportunity to be the next man up let me show my skills. If it weren't for taking advantage of that opportunity, I would not have been able to demonstrate on the field, in a real game, my natural abilities as a goalkeeper. I continued playing goalie for the rest of the season.
One of my greatest strengths is my composure under stressful situations, whether it be in school or on the field. I keep my head and help to keep my defensive teammates focused on working together and winning the game.
I also have a strong game IQ, the result of playing almost every position on the field. For several years, I played as defense, and some LSM, and I excelled at takeaways, ground balls and blocked shots. Defense was truly my passion. However, as I got older, others outgrew me physically and I was unable to be as effective. At that point, I switched to attack, having always played in attack roles for indoor and box lacrosse teams. I was doing well at attack, until the opportunity presented itself to become goalie. My experience playing different positions has made me a better player and especially a better goalie.
Another of my strengths is perseverance. When I first started playing lacrosse, several teammates would tell me I was "no good" or "terrible" at lacrosse. However, I never took what they said to heart or let it stop me from playing. If anything, it motivated me. That isn't to say that there weren't teammates who respected me as a teammate and supported me. I developed a close friendship with several of these players. Through my hard work and perseverance, I have been accepted and appreciated by all of my teammates. In this past year, I received the team award for stepping up and going above and beyond my position. I still spend almost everyday with my close lacrosse friends shooting for fun, doing 1v1's and just having our sticks in our hands. Through this we all became a lot better at the game than if we had let what others say to us dictate our emotions.
From an athletic standpoint, I am not the biggest or the fastest player out there, even though I am quick between the pipes. For these reasons I have spent a lot of time in the weight room. I was first introduced to weight lifting as a freshman when we lifted for lacrosse in the fall. To be expected, I was not strong at all and was behind all the other kids in my grade when it came to how much weight I could put on the bar. Over the last three years, I have been lifting non-stop year round. Now, I am one of the strongest lacrosse players, and out lift some of the players I wasn't able to as a freshman.
A huge contributor to my success was our strength and conditioning coach, Brian Coleman. I remember before he ever saw me in the weight room, he came to talk to my friends and me because he would see us waiting to use the field after football practice every night during the late summer and fall. He told us he was impressed by our dedication to the sport and could see us "doing big things" some day. To this day I lift every day during third period with him in our strength and conditioning class.
Academically, I have not been as successful in some classes as in others. Math especially has hurt my GPA. I enjoy and do well at English and Literature, History and Social Studies, Science, and Art. My GPA is sufficient for collegiate sports, and I am looking forward to working harder and having access to resources in college when I need help with classes. As of now my grades are going up and I know I can keep them in that direction.
I look forward to speaking with you about opportunities you might have on your team for someone like me!
