Will Maselli has been drawn to the sport of lacrosse for a good portion of his life. Whenever he has that stick in his hand, he always puts forth his best effort in any given situation, and that has taken him to grand heights throughout his high school tenure.

The Old Saybrook senior captain and long stick midfielder and defender has been on a lacrosse field for 10 years, and much to the influence of his family and encouraging him to get involved in athletics, he’s never looked back since.

“I tried other sports before; they always kept pushing me to stay involved and be athletic,” says Will. “I tried t-ball and baseball, and I did not really enjoy that. My parents asked me if I wanted to try lacrosse, and I played one season which I really enjoyed. I just kept playing from there.”

This spring on the turf, Will has helped his team jump out to a strong 10-1 record. He explains that the squad acts as a collective unit day in and day out to achieve a common goal.

“One of the things that I think our team does really well is that we have great team chemistry. There is not one guy on our team that you can point out and say “that is the guy we have to stop.” It is all of us,” says Will. “We bring each other up instead of bringing each other down. It really starts with the team environment and the chemistry. It starts with the captains creating that environment, and that’s what my fellow captains and I have been really trying to push this year.”

Old Saybrook boys’ lacrosse Head Coach Jon Mason has worked with Will for the last four years and has seen him grow tremendously as an athlete in that span.

“Will has been playing varsity since he was a freshman. Back then, he was small in frame but very determined to become a permanent member of the starting varsity squad and to one day be captain,” says Mason. “Through his hard work on and off the field, Will has accomplished both goals. Will is having his best season yet. He leads the team in caused turnovers (21 so far this season). That is forcing the other team to lose possession of the ball. Will is relentless and seems to never tire. He is tied for first on the team (for non-face off players) for picking up ground balls (41), a very important part of the high school game. I am very pleased with Will's performance this season.”

Will and his teammates are well on the fast track to success this season, as they have already qualified for the Shoreline Athletic Conference (SLC) Tournament and the Class M State Tournament after the regular season. Will is locked in and determined to make an even deeper run on the big stage than his team did a year ago.

“We feel great, we are doing our best, and we made both the shoreline and state tournaments for the first time in a really long time,” says Will. “Last year, we lost in the first round for both, so we want to make a long run this year. We know we have what it takes to beat anyone in the Shoreline. We are going to push to be champions for Shorelines and make a deep run in states.”

Not only is Will a star on the lacrosse field, but he also keeps himself busy with other extracurricular activities, making his ability to balance everything that much more impressive.

“One of the things that makes Will special is he's not your typical high school athlete. Lacrosse is the only sport Will plays at the high school,” Mason says. “The rest of the year, his calendar is full of drama, chorus, band, honor society, and other clubs. Will is not a standout natural athlete. That means that anything Will has set his sights on requires that he outworks the competition. Will works extremely hard for his teammates, and they love him for it. He has to juggle commitments for drama and music along with lacrosse, but he's been extremely successful on the field and in the auditorium - a difficult feat to accomplish. We're very proud of Will and his accomplishments.”

As a captain, it is Will’s job to not only manage the attitudes of his teammates, but he also has to set a good example by having the constant drive to improve. This is a quality that Mason feels has always set Will apart from his competitors.

“Will's determination has driven his success on the lacrosse field. He regularly seeks out critique and then sets a path to make improvements,” says Mason. “He's very thoughtful about how he approaches lacrosse and how he uses his captain powers. This approach will set Will up for many future successes.”

As Will and the Rams move closer to wrapping up the regular season and setting their sights on the playoffs, he knows that everyone needs to stay focused on the goal of being better than they were the day before.

“It has been a huge effort from everyone on the team. Young guys are coming up and working hard, turning us around,” Will says. “We started off rough throughout the past few years, but everyone came together and realized that we can be a better team. We have lost some guys along the way to graduation, but the team mentality that we can be better has always stayed the same.”

After graduating in June, Will is attending Trinity College in Hartford and is hoping to walk onto their Division III lacrosse team.