Athletes of the Week: Lacrosse Captains

Four hulking masses of muscle, with reflexes tuned to perfection, incredible speed and agility on the field combined with immense knowledge in their sport, the boys’ varsity lacrosse captains are leading this year’s team to victory. Senior captains Forrest Corcoran, Chris Keating, Matt Ryan and Nick Weigel, selected by their teammates last spring, are working hard on and off the field to make the team as strong as possible. So far this year, they have led their team to an 8-4 record.Weigel began playing lacrosse for his town in third grade. While at Exeter, he has spent all four years on the varsity roster. He also played throughout the summer for various club teams. "Playing at Exeter has been incredible," Weigel said. "It has opened up so many doors and exposed me to a level of play I never knew existed. As a prep, it gave me a chance to meet a lot of older guys, many of whom I am still friends with today. As my role on the team has grown, so has my commitment to the team."Weigel’s dedication to the team has been essential to its success. After building his skills as a midfielder for years, he switched positions, putting the team above himself. "Nick has been of tremendous value to us this year, because he changed positions," coach Eric Bergofsky said. "Here was a three-year midfielder, pretty much a lifelong midfielder, and because of the needs of the team he switched positions and switched to attack. His switching has been instrumental in helping to turn our offense around. He has a skillset with which he could play both, and he was willing to do whatever it took to help the team, as opposed to worrying about himself. It has been a good thing for both him and the team."A true team player, Weigel’s favorite part about being captain is having the opportunity to expose the new kids on the team to the traditions and attitude that were passed down to him by his past captains. "Exeter teams have a distinct identity, and I’ve always felt my number-one job as a captain is to make sure those positive characteristics remain with the team well into the future. Beyond that, beating Deerfield is my top priority.""Nick brings a tremendous amount of speed to the game," Bergofsky added. "His ability to handle the ball under pressure, to protect the ball, to hold onto it in tough situations and to be able to dodge even against very good defenders has given us flexibility at the attack position that otherwise we wouldn’t have.""Nick is a great leader on the field," lower Michael Lackey said. "He takes responsibility in the offense and he is one of the key players that helps run the offense."Many varsity lacrosse players love their captains. Will Edwards said, "They are all great guys. Matt is very, very competitive, but it makes him great on the field. He’s a vocal leader in the huddle before the game. Chris is a little more quiet, but still very focused. He has great insight into the game of lacrosse, but I think it’s safe to say that we all miss his mustache."Lower Shayne Holland agreed. "They’re all big-time players; they all play a lot. They are the people who are going to give talks in the locker room when we’re down," he said. "Especially Matt and Forrest—they are the vocal captains, and Chris and Nick are more leaders by example. But all of them definitely do the job."As his teammates and coaches attest, captain Chris Keating is an exceptional athlete and leader. "Chris is the perfect guy to be in a leadership role, because of his willingness to work with new and younger guys and how much they look up to him and respect him because of his willingness to do that," Bergofsky said. "On the field, if he’s not the best close defender in all of New England, he’s got to be in the conversation, in the top three. He sets the bar at the highest level.""I have been playing lacrosse since I was eight," Keating said. "I began playing in the youth leagues in Nashua, N.H., and I remained in these leagues, and then at Bishop Guertin High School until I came to Exeter. Exeter’s lacrosse team is very system-oriented and that is what I learned when I came here. If everyone did their job, then the team would work as a unit. I learned that this was the way lacrosse is supposed to be played.""What makes the captains so successful is that each of them is so competitive with everything they do, not just on the lacrosse field," senior Patrick Lackey said. "This drive gives them the will to win."Lower Michael Lackey described the role of each captain on the team. "Chris and Matt lead the defense, along with the other seniors. Matt leads the midfield, not only in defense but also in offense. He is able to strip the ball from a player and go down and make a big offensive play; that’s why he is leading our team in points. Forrest is also a big offensive threat and produces a lot of points for the midfield. Nick Weigel is a big producer in attack."Captain Matt Ryan has been playing lacrosse since third grade, following in his family’s tradition, and it has certainly paid off. "What makes him so incredibly valuable and so important to the team is that he not only is our best defender against other team’s midfielders, but he also happens to be our leading scorer on the team," Bergofsky said. "When we transition the ball down to the other end, he has a very unique ability to be able to either spot the open man and make the pass or to score himself. I’ve been doing this for 36 years, and I have never had a long pole be my leading scorer. Never. It’s never even been close."The fourth captain, Corcoran, has long been a strong addition to the team. Last year, Corcoran was in the top five on the team for goals, and top 10 for both points and assists."Forrest brings an incredible amount of passion and enthusiasm for the sport," Bergofsky said. "He’s the kind of guy who’s the first on the field and the last off the field. He’s been that way since he was a ninth grader. He has the additional pleasure of having his younger brother as a brand-new prep on the team, and his brother is showing the same kind of traits that Forrest did. Nobody works harder at his game, at improving, than Forrest does.""They all treat members of the team with caring and compassion, as a player as well as a member of the school community," coach Bill Glennon said. "They are leaders that care about them as players but first and foremost as people. Chris, Matt, Nick and Forrest have been terrific."As for this year, Weigel said, "It appears our team has begun to hit its stride. With a lot of new additions and players in new positions, the beginning of the season was an adjustment period. We have a lot of work left to do, but I think we are as dangerous as ever and can beat anyone in New England with the right focus and execution.""The team, thanks to the leadership of these four guys, has responded beautifully, learned from their mistakes, continued to work hard and get better, and now we have won seven games in a row," Bergofsky said."The team looks good this year," Patrick Lackey said. "Every game on the rest of our schedule is winnable with this group of players and this set of captains."With many important upcoming games, it is up to the captains to help the team succeed, and they have proved themselves to be up to the job. The rest of this season is likely to be full of victories, but next year the captains will be sorely missed."They’re all going on to play college ball and should all have great careers in college," Bergofsky said. "These four guys will be impossible to replace."