I started playing lacrosse in fourth grade and I believe there have been a few factors that have helped me develop into the player I am today. First, I watch college lacrosse every weekend during the spring, and I watch men's lacrosse when women's is not televised. I feel as though this has tremendously improved my lacrosse IQ and has allowed me to develop high-level decision-making and field vision. I also spend an enormous portion of time working on my stick, and I believe my stickwork is one of my strongest attributes as a player. Four years ago, one of my teammates and I spent countless hours creating stick trick videos for our Instagram account, and although we no longer use the account, I continue to spend an enormous amount of time working on stick tricks, wall ball, and shooting. Stickwork and shooting are my two absolute favorite aspects of the game to work on, and I can never get bored with them! Having my stick in my hand has essentially become second nature for me, and this allows me to be confident and collected with the ball under pressure, as well as more creative on the field. In fact, since eighth grade, my high school team (Durham Academy) has designated me as our ball handler to hold the ball on low attack during the last minutes of the game if we are winning by a small margin. My eighth grade high school season was a huge confidence booster for me, and by freshmen year I had 43 goals and 38 assists, leading the team in assists, as well as being the only freshman selected all-conference and one of two freshmen selected as NCISAA All-State.
When I am not in the backyard shooting, doing wall ball, or hanging out with friends, I like to spend time learning about the stock market and economy. My grandfather has been an investor for almost his entire career, and this summer he has been teaching me about personal finance and investment, as well as introducing me to the economy. I have also worked a summer job since the beginning of June, and I have invested every penny of my earnings into the stock market! I truly enjoy learning in general, and I love to challenge myself, so as a junior I am taking AP Calculus, AP Environmental Science, AP US History, and AP Spanish.