Wow. Score a lot, so you won’t be a ball hog. It sounds like a trick.
But it’s not. Jaden Laborete, 5-foot 4-inch tall powerhouse in a sport that puts a premium on physicality, actually says — and he’s sincere — “As captain, I’m going to score a lot. Then our younger players will be able to come in” (once we build up a big lead).
It’s true, and it came to fruition the next night: University City’s lacrosse team, facing a young Mater Dei unit at home, scored within the first 10 seconds (courtesy of Laborete, the faceoff midfielder), then built up an 11-0 lead at the end of the first quarter, going away to win 16-0.
Lacrosse, though physical, demands finesse. “We have four or five kids from football. Lacrosse is not like football, where you can go downfield and lay a guy out,” says C.K. Littlewood, co-head coach with Joe Satriano. “You can truck a player who is carrying the ball, but not others. We have to dial those guys back a little.”
Satriano and Littlewood, whose team won its first Eastern League title last year and played its first CIF playoff game ever, preach humility, sportsmanship, teamwork. “We’re just trying to build good young men. Lacrosse is just a side note,” says C.K.
In the Centurions’ match against Mater Dei, the diminutive Laborete dominated not by playing a lot and scoring a ton of goals. He helped set the tone. After his initial score, he was subbed out, and teammates were able to try their chops and share the spotlight. Jaden, whose twin brother Joshua also plays middie, came back in to assist on another goal, as UC literally got the ball rolling.
Robert Helmuth, a senior, is another team captain and leads the offense. “We’re definitely improving, but getting better,” he says modestly.
Jia (“Jay”) Lee is UC’s goalie. “I don’t know if you put this in your stories, but during practice, he’ll get shelled,” says the co-coach. “In games, he stops everything. Something clicks. Where does that come from?”
Ryder Glick, a senior LSM (long-stick middie — there are four), “would be the Bob (Helmuth) on defense. He runs the show and tells them where to be.” Glick’s older brother, Gavin, graduated two years ago and comes by to help coach.
Declan Dunne “is an up-and-comer,” says Littlewood. A sophomore, “He’s gonna be our captain in the future. He’s also an LSM. Declan has speed and fierceness.”
Laborete, with all his explosive skills at winning faceoffs and scoring goals, isn’t a lock to play beyond high school. “He’s our one kid who could play at the next level,” says his coach. Jaden, deeply respectful of elders, carries the heritage of a family tradition in working with plants. “I want to study botany,” is how he words it. His mother and grandmother work in the family landscaping business.
