[YOUR EDGE] players Shorty Strength
How Team USA, Chesapeake Bayhawks short-stick middie Matt Abbott puts the brakes on downhill dodgers
>> WHAT I DO
LIVE, WORK IN ‘CUSE
I live in Syracuse, N.Y. It’s where I grew up and where I was raised. I’m an investment advisor for Armory Capital Management. I went to SU for fi nance and accounting and got my master’s in fi nance from there as well, so I’m putting the degree to good use. I volunteered [coaching] at Colgate part-time in the spring. My brother is an assistant there, so I go out two to three nights per week. It’s about 35 miles away, but it takes an hour to get there because it’s all county roads. Half the season is in winter, so you’re driving through the snow.
I played a lot of other sports growing up, hockey being one of them. STAY DIVERSE
Now, kids are lacrosse-focused. It’s lacrosse 24/7, which is fi ne, but also don’t limit yourself. Other sports, like hockey, can teach the same skills that you’ll use on a lacrosse fi eld. My versatility is my best strength as a lacrosse player. Being able to play effectively on both ends of the fi eld defi nes who I am as a player today.
I like the
BE THE HUMAN CLEAR
nickname. At
Syracuse, my sophomore year is when it started, when I started fi lling that transition/versatile role. I don’t know when [ESPN analyst Quint Kessenich] fi rst said it, but it kind of stuck. I could think of worse nicknames.
If you’re a youth player, play closer to the goal. If you’re in high school and college, get out farther, because guys have longer ranges on their shot.
Get out and play your guy. If he gets a big head start on me and I’m standing still, I’m a duck sitting in the water. Get on his hands.
My Lacrosse
Family I was pretty much born with a lacrosse stick. Both my father, Tom, and grandfather, Larry, played at Syracuse. My older brother, Mike, actually had a lacrosse stick waiting for him in his crib at home when he was born. My dad has been a college lacrosse offi cial for more than 30 years, so ever since I can remember I would go to games with him and be a ball boy or play catch at the tailgates. He doesn’t ref my games, but I think he would be biased against me anyway.
>> MY WORLDVIEW
The style of game in international play is different. In MLL, you have the shot clock and more transition built in there. International is a lot more settled because of the lack of shot clock and lack of counts anywhere on the fi eld. Possession is key. You still want to spark transition but in the MLL if you have a turnover, you know you’re getting it back a minute later. Whereas [in international], if you turn it over, you might not see the ball for 4-5 minutes at a time. That’s different.
— compiled by Corey McLaughlin 56 LACROSSE MAGAZINE September 2014>> A Publication of US Lacrosse
My Growth Spurt
I wasn’t as tall as a kid. I grew late. My freshman year of high school, I was
5-foot-7, 130 pounds (now 6-foot-1, 175 pounds). I was a little guy. I played soccer up until my sophomore year, and more hockey when I was young. Growing up, it was golf, hockey, soccer, baseball — anything to stay outside and active.
Maintain contact. Stay hip-to-hip. The further down the alley we go, the more I want to trail. The last thing I want to do is jump in front of him or overplay him, and allow a roll back toward the middle where he has the best chance to score.
©SCOTT MCCALL;
©SHUTTERSTOCK
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