This is a printer-friendly version of an article from Zip06.com.
07/27/2022 12:22 PMIf you watched Jack Linder play lacrosse as a junior, you wouldn’t have thought that this was his first year competing in the sport. However, Jack picked it up quickly and became a varsity starter for the Branford-East Haven (Bfd-EH) boys’ lacrosse team during his debut season, earning a captain’s role for his senior campaign.
Jack had experience playing both baseball and hockey. He played baseball until his sophomore year and has been a member of Branford’s ice hockey team since he was a freshman. When he decided to move on from baseball, Jack was still looking to play a spring sport. Jack decided that lacrosse made the most sense based on his past athletic endeavors.
“I didn’t even know it was for me. I was just playing for fun,” says Jack. “I had hand-eye coordination already. I played a lot of hockey, and lacrosse is like the same. You’re just on your feet. I had the hand-eye coordination from baseball, too, and I think it helped a lot.”
It didn’t take long for Jack to learn the sport of lacrosse. After three games, he started to get the hang of it. Jack says that his teammates, including senior captain Cam Paleski, always challenged him at practice and motivated him to improve. The effort that Jack put in during those practice sessions soon started translating to games.
“It was a lot of fun. There were a lot of really good players like Cam. Going against him helped a lot. The varsity defensemen helped a lot,” Jack says. “Every practice was fun. I didn’t have a lot of expectations for myself coming in. I did better than I thought I would.”
A few weeks into the season, Jack earned a full-time starting varsity role with the Hornets. Once he learned that he was getting promoted, Jack realized how quickly he was improving in his new sport.
“I was ecstatic, I was really excited,” says Jack. “I barely started in hockey. To start in lacrosse was just huge. Especially as a first-year only playing for three, four weeks, it was just big.”
Jack served as a starting midfielder for Bfd-EH during his first season with the team. He enjoyed how much space he was allowed to operate in while playing the midfield position. Rather than just handle one side of the field, Jack was now allowed to move around and fill numerous different roles, giving him an opportunity that he cherished.
“I like it, because you can play offense and defense. You can go wherever,” Jack says. “On defense, you can only stand on the defensive half. On attack, you stay on offense. But middies can go everywhere and anywhere.”
Jack wasn’t the most confident player when he started his varsity career. He was working on his stick skills and learning how to feel more comfortable while competing. However, Jack continued to get better as he gained more experience and then started to play more aggressively. Now, whenever he steps on the field, Jack shows no fear and is willing to dive for any ball when necessary.
“In the beginning of the year, I didn’t have much confidence.
I couldn’t really use my opposite hand. Throughout the season, I got better with it and I got more confident, so I started shooting a little bit,” says Jack. “In the beginning of the year, I was scared to shoot. I’d pass more. But then I got more confident.”
As he looks back on his junior season, one game that stands out for Jack was when Bfd-EH faced Fairfield Prep in the first round of the Class L State Tournament.
The Hornets took a 21-5 loss against Prep in a matchup where Jack saw how tough the competition was. Jack says that game taught him a lot and showed him what it takes to succeed at the highest level.
Jack is hoping to take the lessons that learned from the Fairfield Prep game into his senior season. Jack’s goal is to help Bfd-EH make deeper run in the playoffs and ultimately contend for a state championship. As the Hornets purse those goals, Jack will be leading the team as a senior captain alongside Sean Bosworth, Matt McNulty, Alex Milne, and Jake Elpi next year. After playing the sport for just one season, Jack felt honored when his colleagues nominated him to take on a captain’s role.
“That was huge. I’ve only played for one year, and the boys trusted me enough to name me a captain,” Jack says. “My teammates have expectations for me, and I don’t want to let them down.”
While Jack may have been new to the team, Head Coach Jim May says that he brought an old-school mentality to the Hornets. Coach May describes Jack as a hard worker who demonstrated that he has great potential heading into his senior season.
“Jack’s character is of an old soul. He has an old school work ethic. He never gets tired and loves his teammates,” says Jack. “Any and all coaches would love to have 10 Jack’s on the field. I’m looking forward to watching him get after it again.”
Jack didn’t have many any expectations for his first season in lacrosse. He wasn’t expecting to become a varsity starter or be named a captain. However, now that he’s made a solid debut, Jack fellow excited to continue growing as a lacrosse player while competing alongside his Hornets’ teammates.
“I love playing for Branford. I lived here my whole life,” Jack says. “I like representing Branford. I love repping red.”