Seventh Grade Lacrosse Player Will Compete For National Title

With summer break on its way, most seventh graders are readying themselves for long days at the pool or beach, or getting set to chase down the ice cream truck as it cruises down the street with that catchy tune blaring from its speakers.

For Montville seventh grader Brendan Monteleone, his summer agenda is a little bit more hectic, as this standout lacrosse star has earned himself a spot at the 2011 ADIDAS National All Star Lacrosse Academy and National Lacrosse Classic, a tournament that brings the top middle school lacrosse players in the country to Germantown, Maryland from July 1-4, where they will play for a chance to win a National lacrosse title.

Monteleone, a student at in Montville, earned his spot as a 2011 Middle School National All-Star after he impressed a judging panel consisting of high school and club team lacrosse coaches at a May 27 tryout in Towaco.

The 12-year-old will represent the EAST Region team, made up of kids from New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania, in his quest to become one of the 2011 USA Lacrosse Champions.

With such an impressive accomplishment to hang his hat on at such a young age, many kids would be overwhelmed with the achievement. But Monteleone’s disposition is reminiscent of seasoned veteran accustomed to receiving praise and accolades.

“I was going to try my hardest and hope for the best,” Brendan said referring to his tryout, “but I knew that I was playing against older kids and if I didn’t make it, it would be alright because I could always try again next year. I always just try my hardest and do the best that I can.”

As many may imagine, not anyone can just step on the field and achieve what this 12-year-old has. It’s taken him lots of hard work, and even before this significant accomplishment, Brendan’s commitment both on and off the field was confirmed by his coaches as he was bumped up to play in Montville’s eighth grade lacrosse league.

The Montville attacker responded to the challenge this season as he succeeded playing in an older age bracket, and his father is confident that his experience in 2011 helped him during his tryout in May.

“He had a really good season this year, playing with the eighth grade,” Brendan’s father, Vince explained, “and I think that definitely helped him, because it was kind of like playing against an older brother all of the time. He has fight in him and that showed up.”

Even with the success from playing in an older league fueling him, both Brendan and his father were cautious heading into the tryouts. After all, these are some of the best lacrosse players in the country giving all they have to achieve a monumental accomplishment.

But with over 300 kids vying for a spot during the two-and-a-half-hour tryouts in Towaco, Monteleone didn’t disappoint on his way to earning an invitation to the National All Star Lacrosse Academy and National Lacrosse Classic.

“We really didn’t have huge expectations [heading into the tryout],” Vince said. “We found out a couple of days later [that he made the team] and we were elated.”

As an extra bonus for making the national team Monteleone, who has aspirations to play lacrosse in college, will have the advantage of receiving three days of expert coaching from Division-I college coaches, including three position specific practice sessions a day, along with one academic session where kids will be explained expectations for college athletes.

“He’s going to be able to not only get the experience of seeing and being coached by these division one coaches, but he’s also going to be in a level of competition as well,” Vince said. “It’s a really good measure of yourself, to see if you’re not quite there, this is how much better you need to be, compared to these kids in your age group.”

The kids will finish up their experience on July 4, with teams made up from 12 different regions going head-to-head for a chance at taking home a national title.

And if you ask this 12-year-old lax star what he’s looking forward to most, he won’t shock you with his answer as that seasoned veteran mentality shines through once again.

“I’m looking forward to learning a lot of new techniques and different ways to play the game,” he said. “I also want to bring back a championship to New Jersey.”