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Actor and Adam Sandler pal Peter Dante covers a lifetime of lacrosse and laughter
acrosse has followed Peter Dante from Connecticut to California. From first picking up a stick at recess in elementary
school to coaching Team STX on the LXM Pro Tour, Dante has dedicated a lifetime to the sport he loves.
Dante played for John Danowski at Hofstra and continued playing club ball at San Diego State when he moved west in 1992 to embark on an acting career that has included roles in several Happy Madison films with his friend, Adam Sandler. Among them: “The Waterboy,” “Little Nicky,” “Big Daddy” and the role of Dante in “Grandma’s Boy.”
“Grown Ups 2,” in which Dante plays a police officer partnered with Shaquille O’Neal, debuts in July.
When did you start playing lacrosse? I played one year of Little League baseball, and my team was the worst. Every day at recess that year, I played lacrosse with an old, nasty stick, but I loved it. I’m one of six kids, and my middle sister, Michelle, was dating a guy who was a great lacrosse player. He always had a stick, and we’d throw the ball around. He taught me how to catch and cradle lefty, but throw righty. So I really started playing at 11 years old. I fell in love with the game — every aspect.
Dante played lacrosse for Hofstra and San Diego State before embarking on his acting career.
22 LACROSSE MAGAZINE March 2013 >>
What did you like about it then? When I began playing, I started facing
off, because I wanted to get the ball right away. The whole thing — you and another guy get down, someone puts a ball between you, blows the whistle, and it’s war — enthralled me.
Tell us about your college career. I was pressed hard to play big-time football, especially after spending a post- graduate year at Fork Union (Va.) Military Academy. I was supposed to play football at Hofstra, and I quit during camp in August because I was told I wasn’t going to be the starting safety when I probably should have been. To play lacrosse, I was so glad. I’m so grateful that I had a guy like John Danowski, who said he was glad the football coach, Mickey Kwiatkowski, recruited me. He was like, “I’m potentially giving you a scholarship. You can play fall lacrosse, which will help you get on the field as a freshman in some capacity.” I listened to the guy.
So you played at Hofstra? I was a midfielder, and I played for three years before injuring my ankle and redshirting. My roommates were Mike LaCrosse and Mike Laudenslager, who were All-Americans. We had good teams. We were always right on the verge of making the playoffs. After I redshirted, if I stayed one more year with Mike Ricigliano’s class. They went to the playoffs and won a game. It was a really fun place to play. With John Danowski and Richie Donovan, who was an unbelievable defensive coordinator and motivator — a lot of fun. Great times. Great camaraderie. Seth Tierney let me come back for two games last year, to be in the huddles, go in the locker room with them, do meals, pre-game and practices and to speak to the kids.
I moved out west in 1992, and I played a little bit of club ball at SDSU. Lacrosse — from then to now — and its growth from then to now, it’s the most insane thing I’ve ever seen in my life. It’s like a wild forest fire. Lacrosse has always been my passion. I believe the game should have been growing for years at the rate it’s growing now. It’s great to be a part of that.
What drew you to LXM Pro Tour? I’m so thankful for the bonds that I’ve formed with guys like Scott and Craig Hochstadt, Xander and Max Ritz, Kyle Harrison and his cousin Maxx Davis,
A Publication of US Lacrosse
COURTESY OF PETER DANTE
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