By Rick Woelfel
Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 10/13/11
Kyle McCabe will remember the 5th annual Nick Colleluori Classic for a very long time.
McCabe was pleased to take part in the Classic, which raised funds for HEADstrong Foundation and its efforts to fight blood cancer. It was held Saturday and Sunday at Ridley High and drew well over 5,000 people.
But McCabe will also remember the occasion as the day he played his first collegiate lacrosse game.
McCabe was wearing an Albright uniform when the new Division III Lions took to the turf at Phil Marion Field against Stockton in the first lacrosse game in the history of the school. He and his teammates acquitted themselves well in an 8-6 loss and the freshman midfielder was left with a wide range of impressions.
“It was a lot more fast-paced than everyone’s used to,” he said. “We’re all young here. Most of us are freshmen.
“We’re younger than everyone, we’re not as into the game as everyone is, so it’s hard to get used to it, We’re starting to though; it was good for our first game as a team.”
McCabe played his high-school lacrosse at Pennridge, where he also played football. He had the opportunity to play both sports at Lycoming, but the opportunity to help build a program from the ground up was something he couldn’t resist.
“That was the most appealing thing to me,” he said. “It was a first-year program and I knew it would be fun. I wanted to come here for the start of something new.”
Even before the Classic, the young Lions were coming together as a unit.
“Before we even started practice we were hanging out, being together and throwing around with each other, McCabe said. “So it wasn’t that hard to get acquainted with each other once we started practicing because we knew each other already.”
At the Classic, McCabe got his first taste of the collegiate game at full speed.
“The defense is more about body position and pushing people where we want them to go,” he said, “and where we want the slide to come from. We want to determine where they’re going to go with the ball.
“At the high-school level kids normally just use their dominant hand. At this level people switch hands, so it’s harder to get them to go where you want them to go.”
McCabe particularly enjoyed being a part of the Colleluori Classic. “I really enjoyed it,” he said. “It helps raise money for a good cause. I like helping people and doing stuff for them.”
Leave a Reply