Wissahickon Grad Playing Lacrosse at Florida's Rollins College

When Nick Scannapieco went looking for his college home, he was hoping to find the perfect combination of academics and lacrosse. Rollins College fulfilled his needs and added beautiful weather to the package.

Scannapieco, a Lower Gwynedd native who graduated from , is now a sophomore at Rollins College in Winter Park, FL, a suburb of Orlando.

Scannapieco is one of the top defensemen on the Rollins lacrosse team, which plays on the Division II level. He is making the most of his opportunity at a place that was not originally on his list of college choices.

“I got a letter from the coach going into my senior year,” said Scannapieco. "I looked at the letter and kind of dismissed it.  Later in my senior year, my friend brought it up to me and told me it was a really nice school down south where I can live in Florida and play lacrosse.”

Florida is not known as being a lacrosse hotbed. However, part of the appeal of Rollins for Scannapieco was the number of players from strong lacrosse states that decided to migrate to the Florida school.

“They are pulling in a lot of northeasterners,” Scannapieco said. “Most of the team has players from lacrosse hotbeds like Maryland, New York, Long Island, Massachusetts and Connecticut. We have the team, and there is so much to do, and we get time in the Florida sun.”

Scannapieco is helping the Tars go through a rebuilding season as they continue to pull in talent from the northeast. He has started in nine of ten games this season and is fifth on the team in ground balls with 25. Scannapieco is also providing leadership for the Tars as they look to improve in the final month of the season.

Scannapieco gained valuable experience during his freshman season. He started all 12 games for the Tars last spring and was named to the Deep South Conference All-Conference squad.

“I really never spent much time on the bench,” said Scannapieco. “Talking to my friends at other schools who are begging for playing time, not having to struggle for time on the field was really nice.”

Scannapieco began playing lacrosse in fifth grade and got his first taste of the sport with the Wissahickon Lacrosse Club (Wisslax). He was already playing soccer, and he liked to take an aggressive approach, so lacrosse proved to be an even better fit for Scannapieco.

“I always had an aggression that I put out there on the field,” Scannapieco said.  “When I started to play lacrosse, it was more of a physical sport. I could go out there and put hits on people, and fight for ground balls. As soon as I started at Wisslax, it turned into my favorite sport.”

Rollins is 2-8 on the season, but players such as Scannapieco provide hope for the future. Scannapieco sees similarities between Rollins and his days with the Wissahickon Trojans.  He was a First Team All-League selection his senior season and helped the Trojans improved during his four years in high school.

“It’s kind of the same situation,” said Scannapieco. “We were in a building phase from my freshman year.  Being a part of that building was something that I enjoyed.”

Scannapieco also spent time playing for the Rebel Elite Lacrosse Club, which is made up of elite players from across the Philadelphia area. Scannapieco believes it is essential for high school players to sharpen their skills for club teams if they have ambitions of playing in college.

“There’s no real way in lacrosse to go play in college after not playing for one of those teams,” Scannapieco said. “I learned a lot playing for Rebel playing at a much higher level than I was playing in high school.”

Scannapieco still has two more seasons remaining in the Sunshine State, and he believes the best is yet to come for both himself and the Tars.

“We have a lot of great recruits coming in and transfer students coming in,” said Scannapieco. “What we have right now is a really solid system that we are building on. We’re attracting a lot of top-quality talent that’s seeing what kind of atmosphere that’s being built.”