By Christopher Tremblay

Norwood’s Ryan Valeri is looking to have as much fun as he can in his senior year before he graduates this summer. While hockey is, and always has been, his number one sport, Valeri also enjoys playing lacrosse for the Mustangs. Having picked up a lacrosse stick for the first time around the second grade, the Norwood athlete found the game to be a good replacement for the boring baseball he was playing. This fall, he joined the golf team to have fun with his friends.

“I wasn’t liking baseball that much so I quit and started playing lacrosse; it was a much faster game with a lot of running,” Valeri said. “As I got older, the game started to get more serious with the competition being better and I was into it.”

Coming into high school, he knew that he wanted to try out for the lacrosse team, but as a long stick middie he found an intimidating figure in his way. Kyle Ledger was the current Mustang’s long stick middie and the incoming freshman was sure he’d be riding the bench if he made the team.

Photo submitted by Ryan Valeria

“With Kyle playing the same position, I knew that I wouldn’t see the field all that much but going into tryouts I was still confident in my abilities,” Valeri said. “Making the varsity team was sigh of relief. I was thankful and relieved that I had made the varsity team.”

During his freshman and sophomore campaigns, Norwood was involved in a co-op with the Dedham team as neither school had the numbers to field their own program. In fact, a lot of the younger varsity athletes would also find themselves suiting up for the junior varsity squad also due to the limited numbers.

Dedwood, as the players called the team, would open the season with a handful of athletes sidelined so Valeri would see a lot more time on the field than he originally expected he would. As the athletes came back, the freshman’s playing time slowed down until the end of the season.

As a long stick middie, Valeri gets to wield a stick that ranges in length from 52-72 inches, while a regular lacrosse stick is 42 inches. The longer stick is used for checking, picking up ground balls, and guarding attackers while knocking down passes that come their way. 

“Long stick middies’ goal is to cause havoc on the opposition,” the now senior said. “We get the ball off the ground and get it moving into an offensive transition.”

As a hockey player, Valeri is a left wing who likes to score, but as a long stick middie he is a defensive player and gets to be more aggressive while whacking the opposition’s shorter sticks hoping to knock the ball out. The long stick middies primary role is to cover the opposition top midfielder while getting the ball out of their zone and into transition.

Moving into his sophomore season with Dedwood, Valeri saw more time on the field and was named the Norwood Unsung Hero by his coaches. With the accolades, the young lacrosse player decided to improve his game by developing an off-hand and worked on getting to the ground balls quicker. 

Entering his junior year, Norwood would have enough numbers to break away from the co-op situation and field their own team. Valeri was named one of the team’s captains.

“It was defiantly a surprise, especially since it was our first year as Norwood,” he said. “Luckily, I had two great senior captains alongside myself. Being part of that group meant a lot to me and now this year as a second-year captain I want to be more vocal and step up my game to help the team and younger players.”

Valeri has begun to take his role into a new light for the Mustangs.

“Last year, he started taking on that leadership role,” Norwood lacrosse coach John Lochhead said. He knows the game very well and is the focal point of our leadership this year,” “He’s a phenomenal player that also brings an energy to practice and holds the guys accountable.”

The Mustang coach continued to note that in addition to matching up with the best offensive player, he is the commander of the Norwood defense. While Valeri can also give the team some added scoring at times with his quick shot, he is best suited for the defense. Without him back there in the defensive trenches, Lochhead strongly believes that this team would be in a lot of trouble.

Coming into the season, the senior captain would love nothing more than guiding this team into the post-season, somewhere the Mustangs haven’t been since his freshman season.

“I would love to go out with a tournament appearance,” Valeri said. “Being in our second year as Norwood playing in a tough Division 2 would mean a lot.”

Tournament or not, when the high school lacrosse season comes to an end, it most likely will be the end of the sport for the Norwood resident.