By Chris Goldberg
Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 2/20/12
Grant Ament had the fresh young look and the skills Maverik Lacrosse was seeking.
So when the Haverford School freshman was asked to play the role of a young lacrosse player to mirror Peet Poillon in the recently-released Maverik commercial “The Future is Here,” he jumped at the chance.
Ament was one of several Philly lacrosse players (see full story) that appeared or helped produce the new Maverik commercial that is playing to great reviews. The commercial was first shown at Friday’s Division I game between Towson and host Johns Hopkins and was officially released this morning.
Ament was recruited by Maverik sales rep and athlete John Christmas, who now works in California but coached Ament with the Duke’s Lacrosse Club.
In the commercial, Ament was part of four scenes set in very different stages. His part, filmed at Shipley School’s new turf fields, began with Chesapeake Bayhawk and current Seneca Valley High (PA) coach Peet Poillon ripping shots on the goal as he works out alone. Poillon stops and looks back to the other goal where he sees a near mirror image of himself at a younger state, the smallish Ament, preparing also to work out on his own.
“The thing that Johnny said is that he needed someone to have the (lacrosse) skills to be able to do the commercials, but also have the younger look because the theme was about passing on (the sport) to the younger generation,” Ament said.
Ament gave these answers to Phillylacrosse.com:
Question: How did you get so lucky as to be involved with this project?
Ament: “I was asked by one of my coaches, Johnny Christmas, who is a Maverik athlete.”
Question: What was it like hanging out with guys like Peet Poillon, Drew Adams, Jovan Miller, and the production crew?
Ament:“It was overwhelming. Jovan was probably the funniest guy I have ever met. It was cool meeting Drew. He was fun to talk to because he is the greatest goalie to ever play for Penn State and I am a huge Penn State fan. Peet was amazing to watch shoot. He gave me a few new pointers, which are nice to get from guys who are smaller like me. Jay Jalbert was the director of the commercial. He gave me some compliments on my shooting which were very meaningful considering he is one of the best midfielders to ever play lacrosse.”
Question: What was your reaction to the commercial once you saw the final product?
Ament: “I had not seen the final commercial so it was fun to see how all of the different parts transitioned into each other. All of the scenes were very realistic which was great to see.”
Question: What was your role in the commercial and how do you feel you look?
Ament: “My role was to be a kid going to the field to shoot around and practice. Peet was at the other end of the field shooting. The storyline was for him to look up and see a younger kid doing the same thing he was doing. It’s really weird to see yourself on TV. I liked how they changed my walking to be in slow motion because it gave the commercial a lot more dramatic effect.”
Question: Any chance you may pursue acting as a career?
Ament: “It’s funny you ask that. I am currently taking a Theater class as an elective at Haverford. It’s a entertaining class, but I don’t see acting in my future.”
Question: Anything else you wish to say?
Ament: “I’d like to thank Johnny Christmas for giving me this opportunity; also, Peet, Drew and Jovan for being so nice and making the day even more fun. It was a thrill to get to shoot with professional players who I watch on TV. It was a unique experience watching Peet and Drew play on the Team USA when they played University of Denver recently knowing that I was throwing around with those guys just a few months ago. I also get a kick out of following Jovan’s ‘Jovination’ tweets. He’s hilarious.”
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