“I’ve lived, breathed and slept lacrosse my whole life. That’s been my biggest thing.
I started playing lacrosse back in eighth grade at Pershing [Middle School], during COVID, and my mom was just tired of seeing me sit around, so she took me out one day and forced me to go [play]. It’s one of the things I thank her for today. It’s the greatest decision I’ve ever made.
I have always played [at Bellaire]. I was a backup goalie and not very good my freshman and sophomore year but I put in a lot of work, and by my junior year, I was able to be our starting varsity goalie. It was really a story of progression, going from nothing, working my way up there.
As a freshman, I was on JV and then sophomore year I was the backup, so we had a senior goalie who was above me and I [would] play the second half of the game. My junior year, I ended up getting the starting spot. This year, it was just me on varsity, and I’ve been starting every game.
Lacrosse is what’s done everything for me. I always just wanted to compete. I always knew I could be better than anyone who had the position before me, so I just really wanted to keep trying to strive to be better each game until I got to the top. We used to have these two players, Marvin [Johnson] and Garvin [Johnson]. When I was a sophomore, I would have them come out and train me almost every day religiously. I just kept working every single day.
I remember I used to go out there trembling. As a goalie, you’re standing in the cage and these guys are ripping 100-mile-per-hour balls at you, and it definitely makes you nervous. I just couldn’t get over the fact of getting scored on; it just beat me up. I’m definitely a lot more laid back now and relaxed; I just try to do my own thing.
I’ll never forget these four years. The amount I’ve changed as a person, I wouldn’t even recognize myself anymore as a freshman, and I would never take for granted what time I’ve had here. Bellaire is an amazing school, and it’s really given me the opportunities I need to push myself to do what I want to do in the future and go to a great college, and it’s just been amazing.”