Animated Lacrosse
Plays and Drills for
your Team

Owen Jones’ college selection process was a bit more complicated than most. In a good way.

You see, the Bronxville High School senior faceoff specialist is also a kicker and punter in football who was recruited by Yale, Harvard and Princeton as a punter.

But Jones has decided on lacrosse — and Yale. His commitment to Yale’s admissions process was first reported on Nov. 19 by Joe Lombardi on LaxLessons.com’s Lacrosse Insider premium coverage section.

The 6-foot, 180-pound Jones is explosive in the faceoff X with outstanding technique and anticipation ability. You can watch his highlight reel here.

Jones, the Broncos’ fourth 2014 D-I commit, is a righty who played for the Long Island Sting travel program.

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

What were the main factors in your decision?
The decision was easy given Yale offers a world class education and a top notch lacrosse program. The team has a lot of momentum thanks to (Yale Head) Coach (Andy) Shay, (Assistant Coach Graham) Niemi, (Assistant Coach Andrew) Baxter and (Assistant Coach  Andrew) Stimmel, and I look forward to working with the coaches and my teammates to continue that success.

What other schools were you considering and what schools did you visit?
I seriously considered and visited Dartmouth, Brown, Middlebury, Amherst and Washington & Lee.

What are your strengths as a player and how would you describe your style of play?
I consider my explosiveness off the whistle to be my biggest strength. Also, my ability to adapt to change at the X throughout the game is extremely helpful in beating my opponents.

What area of your game do you need to work on?
I need to improve my offensive skills, especially my shot, to be successful at the next level. Also, I need to continue working on my overall athletic ability, including my speed and strength.

How did you get introduced to lacrosse?
I was introduced to lacrosse in the fourth grade by friends who played in Bronxville’s youth program, BYLA. Our team was one of the best in New York and Connecticut and my youth coach, Danny James, helped develop my love for the game.

What travel team do you play on what showcase events did you participate in?
I play for the Long Island Sting in the summer and I attended NYLA, LT300, Island Uprising, Legacy, ECLC, Under Armour Shootout, Battle of the Hotbeds and the UNC Team Camp this summer. I also attended the National Faceoff Combine and Nike Blue Chip last fall and winter.

Any final thoughts?
I want to thank my family for being by my side throughout this process. My parents have traveled with me to events all over the East Coast and taken film and stats at every game. I couldn’t have done it without you.

Ken Miller, my club coach, who guided me through every step of the recruiting process, pushed me to get better and encouraged me to aim high. Playing on the Sting has been a highlight of every summer for the past few years.

Matt Schomburg of Fogolax, who helped me take my faceoff skills to another level this summer and showed me that hard work pays off. Schommy gave me a training environment at Fogolax where I can improve my skills by going against the best FOGOs in the country every week.

Tim Horgan, my varsity coach, who built a team that is known and respected, giving me and my teammates a great stage to develop as players. Peter Vlahakis, who gave me a solid foundation as a face-off specialist and Ricky Buhr for the tough workouts and encouragement. I would also like to thank Andrew Walsh for paving the way for me as a faceoff specialist and the Walsh family for their support along the way.

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.