Photo by: Alex Sangiuliano '16
More than a student-athlete
4/19/2016 5:48:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse, Student Athlete
By: Justin Lafleur, Lehigh Sports Media Relations
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Senior Casey Eidenshink epitomizes the Lehigh Lacrosse Man.
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"In my opinion, being a 'Lehigh Lacrosse Man' means being a man of the highest integrity, treating yourself and others with the utmost respect, being a great citizen, diligent, dependable and fully focused on academic and athletic success," said Mountain Hawks' ninth-year head coach Kevin Cassese.
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It's great to have success on the field and in the classroom, but Cassese is focused on more.
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"Being a Lehigh Lacrosse Man is definitely much more than just being a lacrosse player on the field," said Eidenshink. "It's one of the things that drew me to this place. Everyone buys in and everyone shapes themselves to be the Lehigh Man that we talk about so often."
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Eidenshink is an all-around student-athlete. An All-Patriot League honoree on the field, he also owns a 3.33 cumulative GPA in the classroom. Earlier this year, Eidenshink was named a candidate for the prestigious Senior CLASS Award, which recognizes success in the areas of community, classroom, character and competition. He is helping lead the Mountain Hawks' charge as they look to get back to their days of back-to-back Patriot League Championships, the second coming during Casey's freshman season.
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Eidenshink's background has set the stage for greater and greater success as his career has progressed. It all began in elementary school when he first picked up a lacrosse stick.
Â
"I have an older brother and I just followed in his footsteps," said Casey. "We were fortunate enough to have a really good local program. I ended up making some of the travel teams and facing some really good competition."
Â
From the beginning, Eidenshink always knew that he wanted to play lacrosse for as long as possible. In the end, Eidenshink followed multiple La Salle College High School teammates to Lehigh University.
Â
"Our coach at La Salle made a habit of making announcements and congratulating guys who were committing to play in college," said Eidenshink. I remember one practice specifically when he acknowledged Mike Noone and Derek Bogorowski for committing to Lehigh. Prior to then, I hadn't really heard of Lehigh."
Â
Eidenshink hadn't heard of Lehigh, but come to find out, he had played on Lehigh's campus before.
Â
"I had played in the King of the Mountain Tournaments and had come to some of the clinics in the summer," he said.
Â
Eidenshink's freshman year at Lehigh was memorable, playing in seven games during the team's 2013 Patriot League Championship campaign while primarily developing and contributing in practice. Despite not seeing a lot of game action, Eidenshink and his classmates, now seniors, are currently drawing back on that experience.
Â
"Right now, we're the only class on the team that's won a championship," said Eidenshink. "Most of my class was on the scout team as freshmen. We really had to work hard for playing time and had to make the starters better.
Â
"We really harp on this fact with some of the younger guys on this year's team," he continued. "It's important to not get discouraged and really know your role and contribute every day so as a team, we can be better and have a championship season."
Â
Led by senior captains Eidenshink, Reid Weber and Tripp Telesco, the Mountain Hawks are playing with a toughness and hard-working attitude that was present during the back-to-back championships. The 2016 Mountain Hawks are playing with a chip on their shoulders, which has stemmed from the captains.
Â
"I'm more of the guy who's pulling people aside one-on-one and talking to them, coaching them up and giving them a couple pointers," said Eidenshink. "Reid is our major voice when it's the whole team. Tripp does the same thing I do, pulling guys aside. It's a good mix. Everyone takes their turn and can feel when it's appropriate for them."
Â
The intangibles that Eidenshink brings to the team are invaluable.
Â
"I've been impressed with Casey's leadership during his senior year," said Cassese. "He has an accurate pulse of the team. He can tell when the team is focused and he can tell when they're not. He has great instincts when it comes to dealing with issues that come up within the team and knows how to push the buttons of his teammates to get more out of each and every one of them on a daily basis."
Â
To reach the end goal of a championship, incremental goals are important. The Mountain Hawks are worried about the process, as shown by their #wintoday slogan. If they win enough days, the results will take care of themselves.
Â
"Some of the upperclassmen sat down and we put together a list of in-season goals that we felt are necessary to get us back to the Patriot League Championship," said Eidenshink. "To me, a successful season looks like hitting a bunch of those goals and improving on a down season last year. Our class wants to leave this program in a better spot than when we entered."
Â
Athletics is just one component of being a Lehigh Lacrosse Man. A finance major, Eidenshink has excelled in the classroom.
Â
"I've always enjoyed math, problem solving courses and dealing with numbers," he said. "Many of the upperclassmen when I was a freshman and sophomore were finance majors and I saw how they were succeeding in the classroom and how well they were doing after graduating. That sparked my interest, so I wanted to find out more and see what it was all about."
Â
Eidenshink has turned what he's learned at Lehigh into real-world experiences.
Â
"I completed an internship last summer at a broker dealer right by my house outside Philadelphia… Lincoln Investment Planning," he said. "I worked with investment management and research departments. I was working directly with money managers, CFA candidates and the Chief Investment Officer. I learned a ton about stocks, different portfolios and their different strategies."
Â
Through his success as a student and lacrosse player, but perhaps most importantly, the way he's respected as a person, Eidenshink epitomizes the Lehigh Lacrosse Man.
Â
"As student-athletes, we're competitive by nature on the field, so you want to succeed in the classroom and in everything you do," he said. "I just take pride in being a great athlete, great student and overall great guy, wanting to be well-rounded and having the best character possible."
Â
Lehigh and Eidenshink have been a good fit. Casey will never forget his experiences as a Mountain Hawk.
Â
"What stands out about my Lehigh experience is just enjoying every day," he said. "Being able to come over the mountain and enjoying being with these guys is something I will always remember. Winning games and winning championships is awesome, but for me, it's the little things like time in the locker room before games and going on road trips that I'll never forget.
Â
"Looking back 10 years from now, what I'll remember most is the time hanging out with 43 of my best friends."
Â
Â
Senior Casey Eidenshink epitomizes the Lehigh Lacrosse Man.
Â
"In my opinion, being a 'Lehigh Lacrosse Man' means being a man of the highest integrity, treating yourself and others with the utmost respect, being a great citizen, diligent, dependable and fully focused on academic and athletic success," said Mountain Hawks' ninth-year head coach Kevin Cassese.
Â
It's great to have success on the field and in the classroom, but Cassese is focused on more.
Â
"Being a Lehigh Lacrosse Man is definitely much more than just being a lacrosse player on the field," said Eidenshink. "It's one of the things that drew me to this place. Everyone buys in and everyone shapes themselves to be the Lehigh Man that we talk about so often."
Â
Eidenshink is an all-around student-athlete. An All-Patriot League honoree on the field, he also owns a 3.33 cumulative GPA in the classroom. Earlier this year, Eidenshink was named a candidate for the prestigious Senior CLASS Award, which recognizes success in the areas of community, classroom, character and competition. He is helping lead the Mountain Hawks' charge as they look to get back to their days of back-to-back Patriot League Championships, the second coming during Casey's freshman season.
 Eidenshink's background has set the stage for greater and greater success as his career has progressed. It all began in elementary school when he first picked up a lacrosse stick.
Â
"I have an older brother and I just followed in his footsteps," said Casey. "We were fortunate enough to have a really good local program. I ended up making some of the travel teams and facing some really good competition."
Â
From the beginning, Eidenshink always knew that he wanted to play lacrosse for as long as possible. In the end, Eidenshink followed multiple La Salle College High School teammates to Lehigh University.
Â
"Our coach at La Salle made a habit of making announcements and congratulating guys who were committing to play in college," said Eidenshink. I remember one practice specifically when he acknowledged Mike Noone and Derek Bogorowski for committing to Lehigh. Prior to then, I hadn't really heard of Lehigh."
Â
Eidenshink hadn't heard of Lehigh, but come to find out, he had played on Lehigh's campus before.
Â
"I had played in the King of the Mountain Tournaments and had come to some of the clinics in the summer," he said.
Â
Eidenshink's freshman year at Lehigh was memorable, playing in seven games during the team's 2013 Patriot League Championship campaign while primarily developing and contributing in practice. Despite not seeing a lot of game action, Eidenshink and his classmates, now seniors, are currently drawing back on that experience.
Â
"Right now, we're the only class on the team that's won a championship," said Eidenshink. "Most of my class was on the scout team as freshmen. We really had to work hard for playing time and had to make the starters better.
Â
"We really harp on this fact with some of the younger guys on this year's team," he continued. "It's important to not get discouraged and really know your role and contribute every day so as a team, we can be better and have a championship season."
Â
Led by senior captains Eidenshink, Reid Weber and Tripp Telesco, the Mountain Hawks are playing with a toughness and hard-working attitude that was present during the back-to-back championships. The 2016 Mountain Hawks are playing with a chip on their shoulders, which has stemmed from the captains.
Â
"I'm more of the guy who's pulling people aside one-on-one and talking to them, coaching them up and giving them a couple pointers," said Eidenshink. "Reid is our major voice when it's the whole team. Tripp does the same thing I do, pulling guys aside. It's a good mix. Everyone takes their turn and can feel when it's appropriate for them."
Â
The intangibles that Eidenshink brings to the team are invaluable.
 "I've been impressed with Casey's leadership during his senior year," said Cassese. "He has an accurate pulse of the team. He can tell when the team is focused and he can tell when they're not. He has great instincts when it comes to dealing with issues that come up within the team and knows how to push the buttons of his teammates to get more out of each and every one of them on a daily basis."
Â
To reach the end goal of a championship, incremental goals are important. The Mountain Hawks are worried about the process, as shown by their #wintoday slogan. If they win enough days, the results will take care of themselves.
Â
"Some of the upperclassmen sat down and we put together a list of in-season goals that we felt are necessary to get us back to the Patriot League Championship," said Eidenshink. "To me, a successful season looks like hitting a bunch of those goals and improving on a down season last year. Our class wants to leave this program in a better spot than when we entered."
Â
Athletics is just one component of being a Lehigh Lacrosse Man. A finance major, Eidenshink has excelled in the classroom.
Â
"I've always enjoyed math, problem solving courses and dealing with numbers," he said. "Many of the upperclassmen when I was a freshman and sophomore were finance majors and I saw how they were succeeding in the classroom and how well they were doing after graduating. That sparked my interest, so I wanted to find out more and see what it was all about."
Â
Eidenshink has turned what he's learned at Lehigh into real-world experiences.
Â
"I completed an internship last summer at a broker dealer right by my house outside Philadelphia… Lincoln Investment Planning," he said. "I worked with investment management and research departments. I was working directly with money managers, CFA candidates and the Chief Investment Officer. I learned a ton about stocks, different portfolios and their different strategies."
Â
Through his success as a student and lacrosse player, but perhaps most importantly, the way he's respected as a person, Eidenshink epitomizes the Lehigh Lacrosse Man.
Â
"As student-athletes, we're competitive by nature on the field, so you want to succeed in the classroom and in everything you do," he said. "I just take pride in being a great athlete, great student and overall great guy, wanting to be well-rounded and having the best character possible."
Â
Lehigh and Eidenshink have been a good fit. Casey will never forget his experiences as a Mountain Hawk.
Â
"What stands out about my Lehigh experience is just enjoying every day," he said. "Being able to come over the mountain and enjoying being with these guys is something I will always remember. Winning games and winning championships is awesome, but for me, it's the little things like time in the locker room before games and going on road trips that I'll never forget.
Â
"Looking back 10 years from now, what I'll remember most is the time hanging out with 43 of my best friends."
Â
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