The USA Lacrosse awards handbook states that, “USA Lacrosse All-Americans are the best players from their area. They exhibit superior skills and techniques, possess exceptional game sense and knowledge, and embody good sportsmanship.” Many Priory students exhibit one, two, or all of these qualities, but only a select few show them all at a high level. These students are few and far between, but when you meet them you can tell they have worked hard and are genuine people. Colin Pim showed last year that he was one of these people, as he became only the third player in Priory history to be named an All-American. The first was Bill Daake in 1969, a basketball player who ended up going to play at Princeton. The second was Jimmy Holmes, the current assistant soccer coach at Priory.
One of Coach Orf’s favorite things to say to the team is “be a +2 or +3 player.” What he means is to help the team and do everything that you are supposed to, then do some more and make things happen that might not have happened usually. With Colin, I always considered him somewhere in the +5 range. Maybe it was the occasional acrobatic save, or the perfect throw to set up a breakaway shot, but Colin had a way of being a consistent performer that inspired me every time I stepped on the field.
When I heard that Colin received All-American honors, I wasn’t surprised at all. In fact, I would have been more surprised if he hadn’t gotten it. As a defender, I have worked with a number of goalies, from varsity to college level goalies. I can without a doubt say that the times I felt most comfortable defending is when I had Colin behind me to back me up. I’ve played with Colin for 5 years now, and sadly I won’t be able to play with him my senior year, but I will always remember the bond that we as a defense shared with our goalie. We were able to be one of the top defenses in the state solely because of Colin talking in our ear and saving the shots we let up.
Colin didn’t just become the player, or person, he is now. I watched him develop over the whole time I have known him. He lifts, he practices, he studies, and he spends time with people that are close to him. The difference between being a good player and a great player, from what I have observed, is the great players are the ones who arrive first and leave last. They always do all the reps, then they do some more. And they don’t make excuses. This isn’t just a recipe to be good at lacrosse, I am just a student but I have seen people older than me who follow these commandments and go on to achieve success. So next time you have a sports game, or you have a big paper coming up, or you just don’t want to go to practice, remember that hard work and the people around you are your best friends.
