By Chris Goldberg
Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 2/5/12
Yorktown (N.Y.) junior midfielder and FO Danny Manning has committed to play Division I lacrosse at St. Joseph’s University.
Danny Manning log:
High school: Yorktown High School (Yorktown Height, N.Y.)
Graduation year: 2013
Position: Midfield & Face Offs
College choice: St. Joseph’s
Club affiliation(s): No Limit Ballers, Team Superstar
Major lacrosse honors: School; Spring 2011, one of only 5 sophomores to make Varsity. Rose to #2 Face-Off man (behind DI bound senior). NYS Class B semifinals (lost to Garden City). Spring 2010, as Freshman on JV, only JV player promoted to Varsity for late season & playoffs.
Camps & Showcases: Winter 2012; Alex Smith Face-Off Camp (& 2011). Fall 2011; Jake Reed Nike Blue Chip (& spring 2010), Siena Prospects Camp. Summer 2011; Top 205 (Towson), Loyola Greyhounds (All Star), Peak 200 (Springfield, All Star).
Club Teams: 2011; No Limit Ballers, Maverick Big Time Shootout, Syracuse Shoot Out, Yale Bulldog Bash, Rutgers Tournament (fall), Fall Classic (Shoreham, L.I.). 2010; Team Superstar (fall) & No Limit Ballers.
What will you major in/study? Undecided
Why did you choose St. Joe’s? “Beyond the fact that I wanted to play DI lax, there were many factors. Perhaps one of the main reasons was the new coaching staff at St Joseph’s. (Head) Coach Taylor Wray shows a real sincere passion to bring St. Joseph’s lacrosse to a new competitive level. He really feels that I could be a big part of their plans.
“Along with assistants Mike and Dan Keating, Coach Wray made me feel really, really comfortable and their lacrosse background is impressive: All were players at Duke and assistants at Lehigh and Coach Wray plays professionally.”
“The school seems to be 100 percent behind their commitment to a new lacrosse attitude. They are upgrading their recruiting efforts and have locker room and field renovation plans. Additionally, they play in the Colonial Athletic Association – all great lax schools.
“The campus, although technically in Philadelphia, has a historic, suburban feel. It is not overwhelmingly large (5,400 undergrads) and there is a certain air of friendliness in the well-manicured grounds and stone buildings. The academics, I have found that St. Joseph’s has an excellent academic reputation – particularly its Business school which is really important for future job placement. The student-athlete academic interaction program is good too.”
Outlook for your high school team? “We lost in the NYS Class B semifinal by 2 goals last spring. Out entire Attack is back (All DI commits, Conor Gately, Frank Fusco, Nick Mariano plus some depth with younger players like Connor Veracruysse). The same with our Defense, three solid DI’s (Trevor Koelsch, Eric Cooley, Austin Fusco) plus deeper talent (Gzim Laqji). We have a great group of midfielders ready to step up to fill in for last year’s DI grads. So, all-in-all, we expect a great season.”
Additional comments: “Playing in Yorktown really provides a great Lacrosse environment. Through middle school, the Yorktown Athletic Club travel teams had excellent players and coaches and always placed us in tournaments that had highly skilled competition. (Parents/coaches like Mark Vercruysse, Phil Mariano, Vinnie D’Andraia and Tom Interlicchio.)”
The high school has a great program. The coaching staff is very knowledgeable and gives us great direction, with coaches (Dave) Marr, (Sean) Carney, (Adam) Lodewick,(Rob) Doerr and (Dave) Graham.
All the varsity upperclassmen are really great players and I’ve played with fellow 2013 classmates all my life, like Nick Mariano, Brian Prestreau, Trevor Koelsch, Brian Harris, Zach Reilly and DJ Peters just to name a few. We’ve been beating each other up for years.
Thank you to my parents who were so supportive every step of the way.”
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