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06/18/2024 12:04 PMCameron Costanzo was always drawn to the fast-paced nature of lacrosse, as it drew him from the diamond to the turf. His passion for the game and the need for speed allowed him to be quick on the draw as one of the more efficient faceoff men in the Shoreline Conference.
The Valley Regional junior started with soccer at the age of 5, which he has continued in high school. But in third grade, Cameron was looking for a speedier change of pace from baseball and tried his hand at lacrosse. The rest was history, and this year, while also acting as a junior captain, Cameron notched First Team All-Shoreline and Second Team All-State honors as a midfielder and faceoff specialist that claimed 206 of his 247 draws this spring.
“I really started to love lacrosse my freshman year here because it was the first time a team I was on felt like a true family,” says Cameron. “It really was a true honor to be named First Team All-Shoreline. My success really comes from practicing all the time around the clock. I will play wall ball everyday and practice with my brother. Working on things like planting and exiting faster have helped me on my faceoffs. It is about being able to beat the guy to the ball off of a whistle. I feel like it all has helped me be able to stop and counter other guys better.”
Serving as a sort of medium between both sides of the ball, Cameron loves to be the iron man on the field in almost never taking a possession off. Though as that double field agent, he knows the grind can truly test the mettle and conditioning of an athlete trying to stretch the field for his team.
“My favorite part of being a midfielder is the fact that there is not a point in the game where you are standing still. You are always doing something, whether you are helping out the offense or the defense,” Cameron says. “But that same aspect of it can also be the toughest part of it with all of the back and forth. We had lower numbers on the team this year, so I would have to constantly go back on and off the field.”
No matter the moments that arise where Cameron's true character is tested, he reveals it as a leader by reminding himself it is all about the others. He has learned to truly embrace the cohesion and closeness of the club.
“Whenever things get tough, I just try to be a leader and remember that we all win and lose together as a team,” Cameron says. “I also wanted to make sure we all stayed close together as a team and kept the camaraderie up between us.”
Most athletes might feel a bit of pressure and intimidation by being appointed a squad steward seemingly a year ahead. Though for Cameron, he took it all in stride and prided himself on being a trusting and hard-working leader each and every member of the program’s roster could confide in.
“Being a junior captain this year was such an honor for me,” says Cameron. “I felt I had a job to include the younger guys and underclassmen on the team and make them feel welcome. I also wanted to act as a mentor to them and be someone they could come to with questions on anything.”
Cameron has been working soundly on fine tuning the little things to be even quicker off the draw. Yet once he gains possession of the ball, he feels he must master more heading into his senior year, such as having full faith when he fires away.
“I feel as far as my general skills, I have gotten a lot better at my techniques when it comes to faceoffs, like clamping and countering,” Cameron says. “I feel, though, that I need to work on not only my shooting, but also my confidence with it.”
Warriors’ Head Coach Colby Hawkins expresses how much Cam is dedicated to not only his craft and his club, but also to the growth of the sport in the Valley Regional community.
“Cam was selected to be our third team captain during this season for showing leadership on and off the field. He shows great passion for the game and is committed to his own improvement and team improvement throughout the year,” says Hawkins. “He plays for Team CT in the offseason, which competes in several college showcase tournaments throughout New England. Cam is very hard-working, he maintains a positive attitude, and regularly helps others learn skills of the game. We're counting on him to continue to recruit new players to the game, work with rising middle schoolers at our fall youth clinic, and work with new players when they play in winter club teams to prepare for next season.”
Cameron knows that the Warriors’ potential success next year starts with him in honing his approach to preparation for games. He adds, though, that it all starts in the dog days of summer with the boys building by bonding in the sweltering summer heat and swatting the ball around.
“I want to be someone who takes practice more seriously next year,” says Cameron. “I also feel that as a team, we need to work harder and train harder in the offseason and get together more in the offseason to build that family. It will help us all in the end because I think it will make us a better team both on and off the field.”