Don’t Tread on Me A
How All-American JJ Ntshaykolo rose from the unlikeliest of lacrosse roots
By Joel Censer
s a high school freshman, Thacher (Calif.) School defenseman Jean-Jacques Ntshaykolo felt physically
overmatched. Part of it was adjusting to varsity lacrosse. Only 145 pounds, “JJ” was tasked with covering older and bigger kids at practice — including a 6-foot-2, 220-pound bruiser.
More significantly, Thacher, an elite co-ed boarding school with a dude ranch feel, requires its freshmen to complete an intensive horse program. Only allowed to practice lacrosse two days a week, Ntshaykolo instead spent every morning and afternoon learning to maintain and ride Sunny, a gelding far more explosive and dangerous than any Condor League attackman.
“When you have to deal with something that you can’t push around and that’s bigger, stronger, faster than you, it teaches you a lot,” Ntshaykolo said. “If I messed up or did something wrong, I could get seriously injured or killed.” A self-described city kid, Ntshaykolo learned the finer details of horsemanship and how to muck, brush, feed and ride. By year’s end, he could even pick up silver dollars from the ground while hanging halfway off the saddle. Ntshaykolo (pronounced
SHAY-ee-koh-loh) also has matured as a lacrosse player, combining athleticism with white-hot intensity to become Thacher lacrosse’s own defensive workhorse. In many ways, Ntshaykolo’s balanced high school experience — learning how to corral both attackmen and horses
At Thacher (Calif.) School, a one-time ranch with a prestigious horse program, Ntshaykolo learned to snatch silver dollars off the ground while hanging off his saddle.
A Publication of US Lacrosse
— embodies Thacher’s mission. But in 2013, the question remains: Can the Brown recruit lead a small boarding school with a makeshift roster deep into the California state playoffs? Ntshaykolo’s evolution into Division I talent didn’t follow the usual script. Neither of his parents had ever seen or heard about lacrosse. His father is a native of Congo who lived in the Ivory Coast, Belgium and China before settling in California.
Raised in San Francisco, JJ grew up a few blocks from Ocean Beach in Outer Richmond. Like many of the city’s premier middle school lacrosse players, he discovered the sport at the prestigious Town School for Boys. Unlike many of his peers, he was not a stick-and-ball natural.
“I was actually horrible until eighth grade,” Ntshaykolo said. “I used to wear those rec specs and was so small. But it was a lot of fun, and I had a great time.” After a coach handed him a long pole during a practice drill, however, he immediately felt at home harassing attackmen and gobbling up loose balls. “He just loved defense,” said Remy Ntshaykolo, JJ’s father. “It became his calling.”
Despite JJ being admitted to a New England boarding school with a nationally renowned lacrosse program, the Ntshaykolos opted for him to attend Thacher.
Located in the arid foothills of the
Ojai Valley about 90 miles northwest from downtown Los Angeles, the ranch- turned-school houses 240 students. While Thacher has lacrosse history — it played in the first high school game in California in 1967 — it is better known for academics and its emphasis on the rugged outdoors. Thacher does not recruit for sports or admit postgraduates. Still, JJ carved out a niche on Thacher’s athletic fields.
He played
soccer and starred at tight end and defensive end for the Toads’ eight- man football team. He also became a dominant lacrosse force — wreaking
March 2013 >> LACROSSE MAGAZINE 53
© NTSHAYKOLO FAMILY
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108