~Cass Myler, Class of 2025

Hard work always pays off

Charlie Adler’s old, rickety net in his spacious backyard has seen a plethora of shots in its lifetime. Charlie got it in first grade, when he would rip 30-40 mile per hour shots on a shiny new net. Throughout the years, Charlie has progressed, but his size has always held him back. But he knows that his work will one day pay off. Charlie will also saunter up to above his garage, where the real work gets put in. He can shoot day or night, rain or shine, snow or hail, on his hockey net with the discolored targets in the corners. 

He also recently got a weight rack, which has helped him gain about five pounds in eighth grade, a luxury going into that spring. He also has a wall, where he puts in many, many hours of wall ball, which has helped him receive two helmets from his club. Charlie also puts in the work at school, spending so much time on school, he barely has time to play lacrosse. Even though Charlie sometimes likes school, it is so laborious, and many times he just wants to quit, so he has more time to play lacrosse. 

As Charlie has gotten older, he has gotten worse at lacrosse; lacking the same confidence he had when he was younger, which is a shame. Charlie was one of the best players up to 5th grade, then the competition got better, and he seemingly got worse after 5th grade. He has worked on his craft, dodging, shooting, and feeding more than he ever had in 8th grade, learning new focus points, and changing some of his former misconceptions. He wanted to set himself up so he could be the player he needed to be in high school, to start on a team full of Division One commits, where he intended to play. And on that fateful night of September 1, 2028, he got a call from the college of his dreams.

“Go, Charlie, go!” The coach yelled as he sprinted up the field with the ball.

This was his kindergarten year, and even though lacrosse started in first grade, he was lucky enough to play with the 1st graders. He was surprisingly good, given that he had never played organized lacrosse before, only above the garage, where he still plays today. Charlie would run up and down the field, going as fast as his little legs would take him. Charlie actually played in two lacrosse programs, one for his town and a learn-to-play program a few miles away from his house. Charlie was only able to play in one game, the one game his town offered at his age. He scored, and that was where he wanted to start an illustrious lacrosse career. He can still vividly remember that goal. 

“I ran up the field from defense, and because we had no positions, I could really go wherever I wanted to. A kid who got the ground ball on defense then lobbed it up to a streaking kid on offense, who then threw a tactical bounce pass to me, and I rolled the ball beneath the shooter tutor.”

First and second grade were more of the same for Charlie, with him doing well in practice and playing more and more games. He learned how to dodge and properly shoot as well. He also got a bounceback and a net, which he would practice his skills on. Third grade was a real turning point for Charlie; it was the start of real games, and he started playing club lacrosse for Laxachusetts. Charlie would score a few goals a game, and his town team won many games that year, but he also had some hardships. 

Many teams would target Charlie because of his abilities, and he would have to learn how to deal with that anger. Charlie’s fourth grade year was canceled due to COVID, but he still found a way to practice despite the conditions. His dad and a few other families would bring their kids up to the fields and have bandit practices. Many of the kids he was playing with were three and even four years older than him, and he learned how to play long-stick midfielder and short-stick as well. Charlie was in the best form of his life because of all of the sprints he was doing and because of the competition he was playing against. He made the yellow team for his club, the second-best team he could be on. He never played a game for that team, because the two games they had were when he was on vacation. Now, Charlie’s game declines a lot in a short period of time.

It’s the start of 5th grade, and Charlie is playing fall ball with the older grades, and he is getting checked a lot more. He put his floaties back on, and started playing less aggressively, shying away from opportunities. He was playing well in town but playing horrifically in club. This turn of events was mostly from his school year, because he was in a cohort without many of his best friends. In Charlie’s 6th grade season, he started on his town team, but he still couldn’t crack an AA roster. He played very well in town, scoring three goals per game! However, he still couldn’t play as well in club. Charlie also started playing for Fenn, his school. He improved a lot in practice and had so much fun playing—the most fun he had in years.

In seventh grade, Charlie had a change of ideas: he now knows that he is better than he seems, playing an entirely new position for his school. At the beginning of the school season, the coaches told Charlie that he was too small and would not get much playing time. This just motivated Charlie to work harder in practice, which allowed him to start in their most important game of the season. Charlie was also a leader on his club team, logging lots of minutes. He was a starting midfielder, and his team got third in one or two tournaments, still not cracking a championship game. 

“Sully, box, box, box!!” Charlie screams. He just ran on the field and is wide open. Charlie is now in the spring of his 8th grade year and is playing well for club. His team is very good this year, and they are winning a lot of games. Charlie is also in and out of a starting spot at his school, which has been a big confidence booster for him. He had four goals in the first five games, in hopes of scoring ten or more goals. They had a very tough schedule at the end of the season, but they prevailed and scored the ten goals he wanted. His team ended up going 8-3, and Charlie is very excited to return for his next season. Charlie had an amazing club season, scoring many goals and getting his confidence back, something he had been lacking. His team won one tournament, got second at another one, and got third at the last two. Charlie’s confidence was at an all-time high entering his first freshman year. 

  Charlie started his freshman year by getting checked by many big kids, sophomores, juniors, and seniors in high school that had committed to power five schools for lacrosse. Charlie was gaining confidence through this and was having a blast playing with kids that were a lot older and better than him. Charlie found more time to practice at home too. He always knew that he would have to run as fast as he could to beat the bigger kids on dodges. Charlie finally found a spot on the yellow team! His summer season was the most successful season he had in years. His team won NLF, which is the club lacrosse national championship. Charlie applied to Maverik Showtime and Best In Class showcases and got accepted! Charlie also applied to many schools, and he got into a few of them. He ended up choosing Holderness School in New Hampshire; he will be able to play very high-level lacrosse there and is able to ski at a high level too!

  Charlie started his year at Holderness by mountain biking and getting used to boarding school. He changed clubs and started playing for Clovers 2029 Army. A lot of his Holderness teammates play for Clovers, so they are learning how to play together. This year is very important for Charlie because college coaches will start coming to his games. He played really well, and he ended up getting a few looks from college coaches. His Clovers team also did really well, with all of the chemistry they had built up over the school and club seasons, taking home second place at NLF, and first place at the Great 8 Invitational. This was another groundbreaking season for Charlie. All Charlie wanted to think about was the next season, but that would have to take a backseat after he separated his shoulder while playing wiffle ball. 

  Charlie’s sophomore year was off to a terrible start. He was not able to mountain bike all fall due to his shoulder, and he was not able to play lacrosse. When his friends were getting looked at by college coaches, he was on the sidelines cheering. After that stint of adversity, he got back to working harder than he ever had before. He was able to get work in at the gym, along with playing on the field. He developed his game through box lacrosse, something that he started at Holderness. Box had made Charlie tougher and better at understanding offense and defense. 

“Ping!” 

That is the sound of the noise as Charlie puts another shot in the top corner. He is playing outstandingly this spring, helping Holderness to another Lakes Region Championship. He scored fifteen goals, along with 25 assists, due to Holderness’s crazy offensive scheme. This scheme took a dodger and turned him into a crease feeder, which is how Charlie racked up assists. He scored most of his goals off of the dodger feeding him from the dodge; the crease was where Charlie dominated. Charlie also averaged five ground balls per game, showing his hustle to coaches looking at him. Charlie also played well at the Best In Class showcase, which had every division one coach in attendance, which definitely helped his path through the recruiting process. Charlie, Zach, and Horris helped Clovers to a second place at the Tristar Invitational and a first place at the Great 8, just like the year before. It was in his last tournament that he had his moment.

  Charlie knew that many coaches would be at his game, but that was normal for him now. It would be his last chance to prove himself. Clovers had fought all the way to the finals, knocking off teams like Igloo, Team 91, and Leading Edge, to name a few. It was in the finals that Charlie had the biggest goal of his career. It was the end of regulation, tied 4-4; goals were hard to come by because of the goalies that were in net. Horris and Zach each had two goals, which came in clutch for Clovers. In overtime, Thomas won the face-off, a crucial part of Clovers’s plan. Charlie subbed in and got the ball; he dodged with a full head of steam, like an arrow being launched at the bullseye. Charlie beats his man and shoots. The shot he took has been practiced by every lacrosse player countless times. Charlie has taken this shot thousands of times; he can vividly remember himself shooting this shot on the net in his backyard. However, Charlie missed the shot when it counted. He fired the shot off of the post, and the Madlax gained control of the ball. Charlie sprints off the field to get the long pole on the field, and right as this is happening, Clovers get the ball back. By the time Charlie is back on the field, there is only one spot open: the crease. He remembers his nightmares when he dropped the ball from this same spot in eighth grade. Charlie’s coach calls a timeout.

  The play that is drawn up is exactly the same as the Holderness offense; the midfielder dodges down the alley and looks for the cutter on the crease. Charlie is on the crease. They break the huddle and set up the play, and everything is perfect. They swing the ball around once, and Horris dodges hard down the alley. Madlax slides early, which leaves Charlie wide open. He catches the ball, cradles it, and sticks a shot into the bottom corner. Game over. National champions. Sticks, helmets, and gloves go flying into the air as Clovers celebrate their triumph—something that Charlie has wanted so badly for so long. He did what he thought was impossible, and he did it out of confidence. 

  After the chaos that ensued after the national championships, Charlie was able to put his stick down for a few weeks and went to Great Harbor for half of August. He surfed from dawn to dusk, getting stung by many jellyfish. Charlie also went fishing after dark and to town with some of his best friends. After those three weeks, he was back on the grind. He needed to get in shape for the fall ball. Charlie was also eagerly awaiting September 1st, the first day that the coaches could talk to rising juniors about committing to their schools. This was about to be the biggest day of Charlie’s life. He felt like he had been awaiting calls for hours, but they never came. That was until the University of Maryland called, and wanted him to be in their 2029 recruiting class. After that, he went and shot a few bags of balls.

Charlie’s hard work paid off. He conquered the impossible.