Don’t judge a book by its cover
4/21/2017 3:15:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse, Student Athlete, Features
By: Justin Lafleur, Lehigh Sports Communications
Lehigh men's lacrosse sophomore Craig Chick wasn't heavily recruited, but has quickly turned into one of the top defensemen in the country.
Don't judge a book by its cover.
"My physical attributes weren't huge," said Chick. "I wasn't very fast, I wasn't very big and I wasn't very strong. I think I was written off right away by the eye test. Coaches probably saw that I wasn't the biggest guy out there, so they didn't give me a look."
Chick is highly motivated to prove the college lacrosse world wrong. As a freshman at Lehigh, he led the nation in caused turnovers with 37, primarily playing long-stick midfield. Early this season, he was moved to close defense and is again tied for the nation's lead, currently with 35. Chick is already in second place in school history with 72 career caused turnovers.
At least one person knew Chick would succeed in college. Chick came to Lehigh highly recommended by Dave Cottle, former University of Maryland head coach and current General Manager of the Chesapeake Bayhawks, who coached Craig's club team, the Annapolis Hawks.
"I actually got my first college look playing on a different club team, a Maryland state select team called Free State," said Chick. "That's where I played in front of (former Lehigh assistant coach) Coach Callahan, and the recruiting process with Lehigh took off from there."
"I remember Brendan Callahan calling me on his drive back from the Free State tryout event and telling me about this intriguing long-stick midfielder who he just had a feeling about," said Lehigh head coach Kevin Cassese. "He described him as an atypical Division I long-stick midfielder from an athleticism standpoint, but said his ball skills and ability to be disruptive were undeniable.
"Not too long after, I received a call from Coach Cottle, who I consider a personal mentor and one of the gurus in all of lacrosse," Cassese continued. "Coach Cottle had a glowing recommendation of Craig as a player, but what stood out to me most had little to do with lacrosse. It was the way he described Craig's competitive spirit and will to win, which made our decision to offer Craig a no-brainer."
Because he wasn't heavily recruited, Chick committed late (by today's standards). He officially decided on Lehigh the summer going into his senior season.
"A lot of my looks were Division II or Division III," said Chick. "I knew I really wanted to play Division I because that's what I'd been working for. Lehigh was pretty much the first Division I school to show interest.
"When I visited Lehigh, it was what I expected college to be," he continued. "Gorgeous campus, and the atmosphere was awesome. Walking around with my dad, I knew this was where I wanted to go to school."
Chick entered college well-prepared for success. Between his lacrosse experience in high school and the people around him at Lehigh, Chick excelled on the field.
"It was an easy transition and a fun one, too," he said. "The coaching staff made it easy for everyone in getting us prepared for college lacrosse."
Every fall, in between the fall lacrosse season and the fall improvement season, Cassese meets with his players individually, who complete worksheets that lists strengths, areas to improve, goals and game plans.
"I remember one of my goals freshman year was to get playing time," said Chick. "Coach Cassese said I should change that to becoming a starter. I didn't think much of it; I just thought it was to keep my spirits high."
"I understood why Craig had the perspective he did," said Cassese. "He was a freshman and at the time, there were several veteran long poles on the roster. I think he was just trying to be humble and realistic. I challenged him to aim higher.
"It was clear he had potential for greatness; he just needed confidence and a road map for success. Once he was able to attain both of those, his natural competitive drive took over."
That competitive drive, coupled with an opportunity, was all Chick needed. Due to injuries, Chick was given a shot as the team's top long-stick midfielder early in his freshman year, and he made the most of the chance.
"I knew if I didn't seize the opportunity then, I might just get pushed back in the line," he said.
Chick certainly made a statement with his play. He had four caused turnovers in his first collegiate game and continued to improve as the season progressed, really coming into his own when the calendar turned to March. Beginning Mar. 5 vs. Colgate, Chick had multiple caused turnovers in eight of the next nine games, recording 29 caused turnovers in that span. Included was a 10-groundball, eight-caused turnover effort at Princeton followed by seven groundballs and seven caused turnovers just four days later against Cornell.
Chick's eight caused turnovers at Princeton is tied for an NCAA single-game record.
"Causing turnovers is definitely a mindset," he said. "I just think I want it more sometimes. A lot of the teams we play are teams I wanted to be recruited by. Knowing that the guy with the ball may have taken my spot in the recruiting process, it gets me going. I take that aggression and try to get the ball back any way I can."
While he's enjoying individual success on the field, Chick is a strong voice and influence on the Mountain Hawks as they look to get back to winning championships, like they did in 2012 and 2013. An integral part of those teams was playing with a chip on their shoulders, something Chick embodies every day.
"Coach Cassese has pointed out that when the 2012 and 2013 teams were recruited, the Lehigh program was struggling, so they had something to prove," said Chick. "We all have a similar mentality because we were definitely overlooked throughout the recruiting process, but we're trying to find it again here at Lehigh. You saw it in the Boston University game, and you saw it in the Princeton game. It's fun to play with that mentality."
As such an important player for the Mountain Hawks, Chick is also a leader, even though he's just a sophomore.
"The whole defense has looked to Craig this year as a leader, so his attitude and style rubs off on everyone around him," said sophomore Matt Rimol, who starts alongside Chick at close defense. "As a young defense, we've all embraced the chip on the shoulder mentality and it starts with Craig's leadership."
Chick has shown an ability to impact the game in many ways. One example came in Lehigh's big 15-10 win over Princeton this season when he finished with nine groundballs, three caused turnovers, an assist and four faceoff wins (in eight attempts).
People around Chick rave about his statistics, but that's not what he's worried about.
"The only thing on my mind is getting a W," he said. "My dad always has the count of how many groundballs and how many caused turnovers I had, but unless we win, I really don't care. My stats don't matter to me, as long as we have one more goal than our opponent."
Chick is a leader of an all-sophomore starting close defense. Alongside Chick are Eddie Bouhall and Rimol. The future is bright for Lehigh men's lacrosse with such a young nucleus, led by defensive coordinator Will Scudder.
"Will has done a great job with this young defense," said Cassese. "The bonds he forms with his players are incredibly strong. There is no better example than the bond he has formed with Craig Chick. The two spend a lot of time together in the film room, on the white board, in meetings and on text message. There is a natural flow of ideas, concepts, schemes and game plans on a daily basis. They trust each other implicitly and that bleeds through in practices and games.
"That relationship has helped elevate Craig as a leader of the defense and it's helped Craig play loose, relaxed and with absolute confidence."
Chick can go into each practice and each game with absolute confidence, because of his tireless work.
"The way Craig attacks everything he does, he backs up his words with his actions, his mentality and his play," said Scudder. "As a young coach, he's been a huge asset for me, to grow together and to have someone I can rely on back there, even though he's just a sophomore."
With Chick's development as an individual, and the team's development as a group, the Mountain Hawks are set up well for long-term success.
But, the team is focused on winning now.
"I think we're headed in a very good direction, but for this year, we just want to win," he said. "Moving forward, I think we're in a good spot. The coaching staff is excellent and the guys have a great mentality. As long as we stick together, we're going to be good."
The Mountain Hawks have stuck together through an up-and-down season and have shown the ability to compete with, and beat, anybody in the country – most notably earning two top-20 wins in back-to-back home games, over aforementioned Boston University and Princeton.
Chick has that extra motivation to prove people wrong, and so far, he's doing just that.
"Every day, I get to go to work with my brothers and we're playing for a coaching staff that we love to play for," said Chick. "It's a complete honor to be coached by Coach Cassese. I'll go to battle for him. We do some great things on and off the field, and I'm very honored to be part of the Lehigh Lacrosse program."
If Chick could go back to the recruiting process and do anything differently, he wouldn't change a thing.
"I wouldn't want to be recruited any earlier, any later or by anyone else," said Chick. "Everything worked out perfectly."
Remember, don't judge a book by its cover.
Lehigh men's lacrosse sophomore Craig Chick wasn't heavily recruited, but has quickly turned into one of the top defensemen in the country.
Don't judge a book by its cover.
"My physical attributes weren't huge," said Chick. "I wasn't very fast, I wasn't very big and I wasn't very strong. I think I was written off right away by the eye test. Coaches probably saw that I wasn't the biggest guy out there, so they didn't give me a look."
Chick is highly motivated to prove the college lacrosse world wrong. As a freshman at Lehigh, he led the nation in caused turnovers with 37, primarily playing long-stick midfield. Early this season, he was moved to close defense and is again tied for the nation's lead, currently with 35. Chick is already in second place in school history with 72 career caused turnovers.
At least one person knew Chick would succeed in college. Chick came to Lehigh highly recommended by Dave Cottle, former University of Maryland head coach and current General Manager of the Chesapeake Bayhawks, who coached Craig's club team, the Annapolis Hawks.
"I actually got my first college look playing on a different club team, a Maryland state select team called Free State," said Chick. "That's where I played in front of (former Lehigh assistant coach) Coach Callahan, and the recruiting process with Lehigh took off from there."
"I remember Brendan Callahan calling me on his drive back from the Free State tryout event and telling me about this intriguing long-stick midfielder who he just had a feeling about," said Lehigh head coach Kevin Cassese. "He described him as an atypical Division I long-stick midfielder from an athleticism standpoint, but said his ball skills and ability to be disruptive were undeniable.
"Not too long after, I received a call from Coach Cottle, who I consider a personal mentor and one of the gurus in all of lacrosse," Cassese continued. "Coach Cottle had a glowing recommendation of Craig as a player, but what stood out to me most had little to do with lacrosse. It was the way he described Craig's competitive spirit and will to win, which made our decision to offer Craig a no-brainer."
Because he wasn't heavily recruited, Chick committed late (by today's standards). He officially decided on Lehigh the summer going into his senior season.
"A lot of my looks were Division II or Division III," said Chick. "I knew I really wanted to play Division I because that's what I'd been working for. Lehigh was pretty much the first Division I school to show interest.
"When I visited Lehigh, it was what I expected college to be," he continued. "Gorgeous campus, and the atmosphere was awesome. Walking around with my dad, I knew this was where I wanted to go to school."
Chick entered college well-prepared for success. Between his lacrosse experience in high school and the people around him at Lehigh, Chick excelled on the field.
"It was an easy transition and a fun one, too," he said. "The coaching staff made it easy for everyone in getting us prepared for college lacrosse."
Every fall, in between the fall lacrosse season and the fall improvement season, Cassese meets with his players individually, who complete worksheets that lists strengths, areas to improve, goals and game plans.
"I remember one of my goals freshman year was to get playing time," said Chick. "Coach Cassese said I should change that to becoming a starter. I didn't think much of it; I just thought it was to keep my spirits high."
"I understood why Craig had the perspective he did," said Cassese. "He was a freshman and at the time, there were several veteran long poles on the roster. I think he was just trying to be humble and realistic. I challenged him to aim higher.
"It was clear he had potential for greatness; he just needed confidence and a road map for success. Once he was able to attain both of those, his natural competitive drive took over."
That competitive drive, coupled with an opportunity, was all Chick needed. Due to injuries, Chick was given a shot as the team's top long-stick midfielder early in his freshman year, and he made the most of the chance.
"I knew if I didn't seize the opportunity then, I might just get pushed back in the line," he said.
Chick certainly made a statement with his play. He had four caused turnovers in his first collegiate game and continued to improve as the season progressed, really coming into his own when the calendar turned to March. Beginning Mar. 5 vs. Colgate, Chick had multiple caused turnovers in eight of the next nine games, recording 29 caused turnovers in that span. Included was a 10-groundball, eight-caused turnover effort at Princeton followed by seven groundballs and seven caused turnovers just four days later against Cornell.
Chick's eight caused turnovers at Princeton is tied for an NCAA single-game record.
"Causing turnovers is definitely a mindset," he said. "I just think I want it more sometimes. A lot of the teams we play are teams I wanted to be recruited by. Knowing that the guy with the ball may have taken my spot in the recruiting process, it gets me going. I take that aggression and try to get the ball back any way I can."
While he's enjoying individual success on the field, Chick is a strong voice and influence on the Mountain Hawks as they look to get back to winning championships, like they did in 2012 and 2013. An integral part of those teams was playing with a chip on their shoulders, something Chick embodies every day.
"Coach Cassese has pointed out that when the 2012 and 2013 teams were recruited, the Lehigh program was struggling, so they had something to prove," said Chick. "We all have a similar mentality because we were definitely overlooked throughout the recruiting process, but we're trying to find it again here at Lehigh. You saw it in the Boston University game, and you saw it in the Princeton game. It's fun to play with that mentality."
As such an important player for the Mountain Hawks, Chick is also a leader, even though he's just a sophomore.
"The whole defense has looked to Craig this year as a leader, so his attitude and style rubs off on everyone around him," said sophomore Matt Rimol, who starts alongside Chick at close defense. "As a young defense, we've all embraced the chip on the shoulder mentality and it starts with Craig's leadership."
Chick has shown an ability to impact the game in many ways. One example came in Lehigh's big 15-10 win over Princeton this season when he finished with nine groundballs, three caused turnovers, an assist and four faceoff wins (in eight attempts).
People around Chick rave about his statistics, but that's not what he's worried about.
"The only thing on my mind is getting a W," he said. "My dad always has the count of how many groundballs and how many caused turnovers I had, but unless we win, I really don't care. My stats don't matter to me, as long as we have one more goal than our opponent."
Chick is a leader of an all-sophomore starting close defense. Alongside Chick are Eddie Bouhall and Rimol. The future is bright for Lehigh men's lacrosse with such a young nucleus, led by defensive coordinator Will Scudder.
"Will has done a great job with this young defense," said Cassese. "The bonds he forms with his players are incredibly strong. There is no better example than the bond he has formed with Craig Chick. The two spend a lot of time together in the film room, on the white board, in meetings and on text message. There is a natural flow of ideas, concepts, schemes and game plans on a daily basis. They trust each other implicitly and that bleeds through in practices and games.
"That relationship has helped elevate Craig as a leader of the defense and it's helped Craig play loose, relaxed and with absolute confidence."
Chick can go into each practice and each game with absolute confidence, because of his tireless work.
"The way Craig attacks everything he does, he backs up his words with his actions, his mentality and his play," said Scudder. "As a young coach, he's been a huge asset for me, to grow together and to have someone I can rely on back there, even though he's just a sophomore."
With Chick's development as an individual, and the team's development as a group, the Mountain Hawks are set up well for long-term success.
But, the team is focused on winning now.
"I think we're headed in a very good direction, but for this year, we just want to win," he said. "Moving forward, I think we're in a good spot. The coaching staff is excellent and the guys have a great mentality. As long as we stick together, we're going to be good."
The Mountain Hawks have stuck together through an up-and-down season and have shown the ability to compete with, and beat, anybody in the country – most notably earning two top-20 wins in back-to-back home games, over aforementioned Boston University and Princeton.
Chick has that extra motivation to prove people wrong, and so far, he's doing just that.
"Every day, I get to go to work with my brothers and we're playing for a coaching staff that we love to play for," said Chick. "It's a complete honor to be coached by Coach Cassese. I'll go to battle for him. We do some great things on and off the field, and I'm very honored to be part of the Lehigh Lacrosse program."
If Chick could go back to the recruiting process and do anything differently, he wouldn't change a thing.
"I wouldn't want to be recruited any earlier, any later or by anyone else," said Chick. "Everything worked out perfectly."
Remember, don't judge a book by its cover.
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