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Sam Bouhdary loves challenges and enjoy meeting new people and venturing to new places.
Those are traits that serve him well on the lacrosse field — and also that influenced his college choice.
The defenseman/longstick midfielder from national power Conestoga (PA) has decided to venture to a new and unfamiliar part of the country to play his college lacrosse.
Bouhdary committed to the University of Michigan last week, as previously reported by Joe Lombardi on LaxLessons.com’s Lacrosse Insider premium coverage section.
The 6-foot-1, 180-pound Bouhdary, a resident of Devon (PA), is a versatile righty who excels on groundballs as well as faceoffs in addition to his outstanding defensive skills.
Now, here’s a Q&A with Sam on his choice.
What were the main factors in your decision?
Well for me it has always been about four things:
* Academics- How strong is the school academically? What can the school offer me?
I am a pretty diverse student when it comes to studies, so will the school have the flexibility for me to take classes all across the board? And does the school have an art program and other programs I may be interested in such as Architecture?
* Location- I’m the type of person who wants to get out of their comfort zone as much as possible. Lacrosse is heavily dominated by the East Coast, but I wanted to get away. States like California and Colorado and Florida always appealed to me because of that. As far as extended family goes, I have none in the USA. My family is all across the world, so I have been traveling all of my life.
* Size- Conestoga High School has 2,000-plus students, and I wouldn’t want to go to a school that size for another four years. I love meeting new people and trying new things out, so a larger school always appealed to me more.
* Caliber of lacrosse team- I wanted to play somewhere where I wasn’t guaranteed a spot my freshman and sophomore year because I love that challenge. Essentially, I wanted to play at a school that competes at a very high level.
What other schools were you considering and what schools did you visit?
My freshman or sophomore year, I visited Bryant University for lacrosse.
Over spring break, I visited the University of Miami as a prospective student. And my brother (Alex) is at the University of Colorado at Boulder, so I have seen that school many times. As far as prospective lacrosse schools go, I was considering Boston University and Amherst College.
What are your strengths as a player and how would you describe your style of play?
I like to play fast. Its something my coaches at NXT and ‘Stoga have taught me. So I love to push transition and score goals or assist me teammates.
On clears, I love to have the ball in my stick and just run. When we are on D, I like to communicate with all of my other teammates.
When I’m playing D, I like to get physical with my opponent and play a little dirty. When my opponent has the ball, I always like to give them a consistent pressure so they cant pass the ball with ease.
And whenever there is a potential double, I love to jump the ball. As a defender, my goal is to disrupt the flow of any offense and get the ball on the ground and eventually to our offense.
What area of your game do you need to work on?
In the future, I want to improve my speed, shot, stick check selection, and not chasing the stick overhead.
At times it is easy to get too caught up with getting the ball on the ground that you forget to move your feet and get beat.
So as a defender, I want to focus on going body first and stick checks second.
How did you get introduced to lacrosse and what other sports have you played?
Growing up, I played what seemed like every sport there was too play. I played football up until seventh grade, basketball until ninth grade, baseball until seventh, and tennis and soccer recreationally.
What travel team do you play on what showcase events did you participate in?
I play with NXT Lacrosse Club and we have been all over the show. The most renowned showcase we play in is the Philly Fall Showcase, where I was named MVP for the 2016’s.
Any final thoughts and people you want to thank for helping you reach this point?
I wouldn’t be in the position I am today without the superb coaching from Manney, (2016 assistant coach George) Castle, (2016 assistant coach Bill) Derrick, (NXT LC Director Marty) Kupp(rion), (NXT President & CEO Andy) Hayes, (NXT LC faceoff coach John) Bodnar and the rest of the NXT guys.
I also have to give a huge shoutout to coaches (former Conestoga coach and current Villanova coach Brian) Samson, (Conestoga coach Brody) Bush, (Craig) Gratton, Billy Davis, (Ryan) Sankey and (Steve) Long for molding me into the player I am today.
I also have to thank my trainer at Topspeed, Nick Sita, who’s consistently teaching me how to be a great athlete.
None of this would have been able to be accomplished without the unconditional support and love from my parents.
My older brother Alex, who’s a personal trainer, has helped me mature in the gym and my little brother Jake never fails to crack me up.
All of my friends who have always been there for me and never stopped pushing me also helped me be the person I am today.
Have a recruiting commitment to report? Send an email to info@laxlessons.com, contact Joe Lombardi directly at joe@laxlessons.com or send a Tweet to @Joe_Lombardi or @LaxLessons.
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Posted In: Philadelphia lacrosse, Recruiting Rundown
