Luke Swaddling
As a kid, I had always dreamed of playing a college sport. I played soccer, basketball, and lacrosse as a kid, but I always switched between playing lacrosse or basketball in college. I was only dedicated to lacrosse and basketball though I played AAU for basketball and I played travel lacrosse. In 6th grade, I stopped playing lacrosse for a season to focus on basketball, but I missed it too much and decided to go back in 7th grade and I am so happy I did. In 8th grade, I just won a championship in basketball and just came in second place in the state for lacrosse. I wanted to focus on one sport going into high school because I thought it would’ve made me better at that one sport in preparation for college. I took time and decided to quit basketball and focus on lacrosse.
While I was in high school I played for 3 summer club lacrosse teams; Xcelerate, Resolute, and Burning River. I started gaining interest from colleges when I was a freshman. Throughout my high school career, I visited division 1 schools such as High Point, Colgate, Hobart, Villanova and obviously Canisius. I also decided to visit smaller d3 powerhouses such as Salisbury and Cortland. After endless hours of shooting on my own, playing wall ball and lifting it helped make me into the player I am today as well as all of the experience I have had starting on varsity since freshman year. Being the player I am helped me get the opportunity to play Division 1 lacrosse at Canisius College. I chose Canisius because all of the players and coaches made me feel at home as well as the surrounding area, Buffalo made me feel like I was still in Cleveland which I loved.
Signing day itself was just such a surreal experience it felt amazing to get honored for all of the hard work I have put in and to be recognized in front of friends and family
Matt Kazimir
Originally Columbia had always been my dream college. When I was in middle school my brother, Jake, was getting his degree there. He was one of my role models at the time so I really looked up to him and that made me really want to go to Columbia. Not only that but the campus itself there is beautiful and with it being an Ivy League school, the education is top notch. The wrestling team/ coaching staff there is great too. I met all of the coaches and they are all really great guys and they can definitely help me improve to become an All-American and a national champion. Columbia overall just seemed like the right choice every way I looked at it. Plus, being in the city of opportunity, New York, it definitely can give me options for my career and life after college.
