Animated Lacrosse
Plays and Drills for
your Team

Max Parker first started playing lacrosse as a seventh-grader. It gave him something to do leading up to the start of football season.

Now, just five years later, lax has become Parker’s passion — and where his collegiate future lies.

The rising senior midfielder from Orlando, Fla., and Lake Highland Prep, verbally committed to attend Syracuse University, as first reported earlier this week at Twitter.com/Joe_Lombardi.

Parker, who excels in the faceoff X and in coming away with groundballs, is a physical and aggressive athlete who played on the South team in the Under Armour All-America Underclass Games earlier this month.

Now, here’s a Q&A with Max on his commitment.

What were the main factors in your decision?
I envisioned the school I chose as a place where I really felt that “home” feeling, and when I stepped on campus, I immediately experienced that. Not only did (Syracuse Assistant) Coach (Lelan) Rogers and (Syracuse Head Coach John) Desko help myself and my family feel at home, but the alumni, great friend freshman midfielder Sergio Salcido (a native of Winter Park, Fla.), and the people of Syracuse in general really made me feel as if I was already a part of the Orange family.

Now I know that I will be a part of something greater than myself for the four years following my last high school season. The brand-new medical center, the beauty of upstate New York and the school, and its size were critical as well.

What other schools were you considering and what schools did you visit?
I considered Ohio State, Dartmouth, St. John’s, Brown, Tufts, Bowdoin and Middlebury.  I visited Ohio State, Dartmouth, Brown, Boston, Tufts,and Bowdoin.

What are your strengths as a player and how would you describe your style of play?
My physicality, faceoffs, groundballs, transition and my hustle mindset.  I would do anything and everything to get my team possession, and subsequently the win, no matter what the cost.

What area of your game do you need to work on?
No area of my game is perfect, so as long as my game isn’t perfect, although it never will be, I will continue to work on all of it.

How did you get introduced to lacrosse and what other sports have you played?
I was introduced to lacrosse in middle school as a sport to pass the time over to football. The moment I stepped out on the field though, my ideology changed and I fell in love with the game. I played football, basketball and wrestle.

What travel team do you play on what showcase events did you participate in?
I played for Team South at the Under Armour All-America Games. I also will be playing with my high school club team this weekend at the National High School Lacrosse Showcase and for Team Florida at the Battle of the Hotbeds this summer.

Any final thoughts?
I am very religious, so first and foremost, nothing I have done in my life is possible without God. The same goes for my parents, who continue to pour so much love and attention in to me that I can’t begin to understand, or repay enough.

My coaches — Spaulding, Goldberg, West, Oliver Ayad, St. Laurent, Groeninger and Van Der Muelen — were all so helpful and without these special guys, I would not be given the incredible chance to play lacrosse at the highest level.

In addition, I’d like to give a shoutout to my first lax coaches, coaches Webster, Tamayo, Frank the Tank, and Merrill, Bernatavitz, Prizer, Mills and Farwell, along with the parents I’ve met, and my teammates and lifelong friends.

The best part about my experience of playing lacrosse so far is the people I’ve met, and there’s a special group of them here at my school that always encourage me to do my best.

I look forward to finishing my chapter here in Orlando my senior year, only to begin a new one in the year 2014 in the ACC.