“He’s been egoless. I remember talking to him about Team USA and I said, ‘You’ll have an opportunity to make it as an offensive player. But if you don’t, you’re going to have an opportunity to make it as a defensive player.’ His exact answer was, ‘Coach, I don’t care what I have to do. Whatever it takes to make the team and help the team, I’m happy to do that.’”
“WHEN HE
GETS INTO THAT MODE THAT HE JUST WANTS TO BEAT YOU UP, HIS DEFENSE IS
So what does Harrison need to do to make Team USA — and erase memories of a missed gold medal in 2010, when he didn’t make the cut after playing for the silver medalist U.S. team in 2006?
PHENOMENAL.” — Peter Baum on Kyle Harrison, his LXM Pro Tour and Ohio Machine teammate
“He has to fi ll a role,” said Pietramala, Team USA’s defensive coordinator. “Having a player with versatility, a player like him who knows the way we want to play defense because he’s played it here, knows the concepts and knows me, that makes the transition
a bit easier and provides him with maybe a little bit of an advantage there.” Harrison’s versatility on both sides of the ball stands out especially with limited personnel in FIL play.
“With a 23-man roster, you lose one or two middies to injury and oh, boy,” Pietramala said.
But Harrison is much more than an insurance policy — he’s a threat in transition with a lethal shot and a scary split-dodge. “Once he pushes transition, coming down in a 4-on-4, nobody’s going to stay in front of him,” Baum said. Harrison will get to test his skills against more stout defenses as he transitions back to the MLL after a fi ve- year hiatus.
An agreement earlier this year between Adrenaline, which operates the LXM Pro Tour, and MLL has allowed players to compete in both entities. Harrison, who is based in California, was a co-founder of LXM in 2009, the last year he played in MLL.
“I was hopeful that, at some point, there would be some sort of relationship fi gured out because I enjoyed my time in the MLL and I missed it,” Harrison said. Nine years after going No. 1 overall in the MLL draft, Harrison again was the top pick, this time by the Ohio Machine in February’s special waiver wire draft. But Harrison said he is a
different player than he was last time he was in MLL. “I understand how to play
better, if that makes sense,” Harrison said. “From angles while playing defense to
PRO TEAMS: Machine/LXM Pro COLLEGE: Johns Hopkins ‘05 HIGH SCHOOL: Friends (Md.) HEIGHT/WEIGHT: 6-1, 200 AGE: 31 TWITTER: @KyleHarrison18 DAY JOB: Lacrosse entrepreneur
18 KYLE HARRISON
“While some people may look at that whole [2006] experience as a failure, I do not,” Harrison said. “Losing to Canada obviously wasn’t ideal but being able to learn from those guys, and wear a jersey with USA on the front was a pretty unique and special opportunity.”
Kyle Harrison, trying to earn his way back onto the U.S. team as a defensive midfielder, is accustomed to playing multiple roles — including that of a lacrosse ambassador.
A Publication of US Lacrosse
28 JEFF REYNOLDS
PRO TEAM: Bayhawks COLLEGE: Maryland ‘09 HIGH SCHOOL: Calvert Hall (Md.) HEIGHT/WEIGHT: 6-0, 200 AGE: 28 TWITTER: @J_Reynolds21 DAY JOB: Financial advisor, Financial Council, Inc.
“This is one of the greatest achievements a lacrosse player can obtain, and I am honored to be a part of it,” Reynolds said. “However, when you look at the bigger picture and think about all the people you represent when you put on that jersey, it is truly humbling and there really is no greater feeling.”
June 2014 >> LACROSSE MAGAZINE 45
dodging angles, to understanding slide schemes to understanding where I should go with the ball before it happens, things like that.”
Pietramala said Harrison’s return to MLL should help him in June, when Team USA will gather again for training camp before matching up against the MLL All- Stars. “He’s shown his commitment to doing whatever it takes and now here he is going back to the MLL, to play at the highest level, to train and be ready going into the last leg of Team USA’s training segment,” Pietramala said. Despite the uncertainty surrounding his fate with Team USA, Harrison said he was not focused on doing any one thing to separate from the pack. “The second you start thinking, ‘I have to do this to stand out’, is when you’re going to be in trouble,” Harrison said. “You just have to go out, listen to what the coaches would like to see and make sure you understand the schemes and then execute the game plan.
“Whatever happens, happens after that.” LM
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