Male Athlete of the Year: Trevor Cosgrove

Number four scoops up the puck from the board behind his own team’s net and flies up the ice. He makes an outlet pass when his skates cross the blue line, keeping his speed up. His skates spit up clumps of ice as the defenseman weaves through his opponents, and calls out for the puck. His teammate, from the opposite side of the rink, flips a pass to him. Number four receives the pass and slaps the puck down the ice. It soars past a diving defender and over the goalie’s glove. The puck hits the back of the net and falls to the ice before the glass boards rattle with excitement. Senior Trevor Cosgrove throws his hands up in the air and is swarmed by his teammates. He has scored yet another goal.

It is rare to find an Exonian that plays three varsity sports for one year, but it is almost unheard of to be on three varsity teams for all four years. Cosgrove has served as a member of the varsity soccer, varsity hockey, and varsity baseball team since his prep year. The combination of his hard work and athletic talent was the reason for his many achievements on the pitch, rink and diamond.

Cosgrove traces his success in his main sport, hockey, when he learned how to skate at the age of three. Cosgrove fondly remembers his time “pushing crates on the ice, alongside the Shapiros,” Cosgrove said. At six years old, Cosgrove started to play in hockey games, and since then has fallen in love with the sport. A few years later he picked up soccer and baseball.

Born and raised in Exeter, Cosgrove spent the majority of his life living in Ewald Hall before moving into a house at the age of 10. Although Cosgrove excelled at each of his individual sports, he experienced difficulty with balancing his time between them.

“Around seventh and eighth grade, there was an overlap between all of my sports and I had to stop playing soccer because I didn’t have time to go while playing travel hockey and AAU baseball,” Cosgrove said. During these years, Cosgrove played on travel teams for both hockey and baseball. When Cosgrove started his freshman year at Exeter High School, he picked up soccer again. When he realized how difficult it was to balance his time between three sports, Cosgrove dedicated his summers to hockey training.

“Growing up with Trev has been awesome and it's going to be weird without him on campus next year. As younger kids growing up, we would always go to the rink and skate together and we developed a strong friendship on and off the ice.”

However, Cosgrove stressed the importance of playing multiple sports in high school and credited his athletic success to this versatility. “It’s very important for high school kids to play multiple sports. I know many people who quit their other sports to really focus on getting better on that one sport, but I think being able to compete in a sport that isn’t your best really helps you improve on the one you want to play in college,” Cosgrove explained.

On the ice, he has broken several records, establishing himself as one of the most accomplished players in the history of Exeter. Last year, Cosgrove was nominated for the All New England First Team as a defensemen. He leaves Exeter as the all-time leading scorer for defensemen, playing 114 games total, the most games of any Exeter defenseman ever.

Aside from an injury his prep year, Cosgrove played in the majority of his games at Exeter. In his career, he scored 28 goals and had 62 assists, for 90 points total, also the highest total of any Exeter defenseman ever. This year he was the third highest scoring defenseman in New England.

Coach Dana Barbin expanded on Cosgrove’s accomplishments and developments as a player. “He was on the varsity team his freshman year and he played, but he didn’t play a ton. His growth as a player has obviously been outstanding,” Barbin said. Coach Barbin also touched on Cosgrove’s growth as a leader. “He’s a great leader, and a hell of a captain too! He led his team this year to a record of 27-4-1, third best in Exeter history.”

Although his main focus is ice hockey, Cosgrove also exceeded in soccer. He was one of only two preps to make it on to the team in 2012. Although he did not get much playing time during his first season, he became more confident with the ball with more experience.

From his lower year onwards, Cosgrove was a starter on the team. In his third season as an upper, Cosgrove had the second most combined goals and assists. His coach, and father, Dean of Residential Life AJ Cosgrove commented on his son’s soccer ability. “I was impressed, and frankly even a little surprised, by the improvement in the technical side of Trevor’s game. I knew the combination of his size, speed and competitive nature would be problematic for teams, but he ended up being a very good passer and had the ability to find seams in the defense to make things happen,” AJ Cosgrove said.

Even after achieving so much in a secondary sport, Cosgrove has remained humble. He credits the success of the soccer team over the last four years to the phenomenal players that he played with.

Cosgrove’s impact on the teams he played for were not all about scoring, but often felt through his leadership. He captained the soccer and hockey team in his final year, leading both teams to an impressive season. Many teammates praised Cosgrove for his continuous support even when he was not captain.

Prep Jonah Johnson said that as a captain, Cosgrove created an atmosphere which helped him transition into sports at Exeter. “As one of the few underclassmen on the team I had no idea what to expect in terms of team dynamic on and off the field, so I was really nervous. Trevor, specifically, created a welcoming and relaxed environment which is quite the opposite of what I had expected,” he said.

Having experienced being the youngest player on the team, Cosgrove was always there to lend a hand. “Everyday when we’d come to practice the nerves that I had when I first came onto the team were gone because I knew I was there to have a good time,” Johnson said.

Cosgrove’s involvement with the soccer, hockey and baseball teams has led to some of his closest friendships. Upper Greg Shapiro reflected on time he spent growing up with Cosgrove. “Growing up with Trev has been awesome and it's going to be weird without him on campus next year. As younger kids growing up, we would always go to the rink and skate together and we developed a strong friendship on and off the ice,” Shapiro said.

Shapiro also had fond memories of his time with Cosgrove on the Exeter hockey team. “He was obviously a huge part of our team and a great leader. There were a couple times I got to play with him as defensive partners, and it was pretty cool knowing that we were just two guys who grew up playing together on the PEA rink and then we were able to do it for real,” Shapiro explained.

After four years of wearing the Exeter jersey, this season will be his last. Cosgrove plans to take a gap year to further pursue his passion for hockey. He will play one year in the British Columbia hockey league., swfter which he will study at Colgate and play for the school’s division one hockey team.