Endgame

Most graduating athletes will leave spotlight behind

AAU? She never heard of it. SATs? She never took them.

Ashley Laurie, an 18-year-old who graduated from Framingham's Keefe Technical School on May 31, was captain of the Unicorns' cross-country, basketball, and track and field squads this school year. A member of the National Honor Society, she earned a 3.4 grade-point average.

But she's also from a family of electricians. Her uncle, Joseph Annese, owns the Weymouth-based Annese Electrical Services, where her father also works. When Laurie decided to take electrical training for a shop course, she was one of just three young women in the class at Keefe Tech.

"I was a big girly-girl, but I liked my brother's Legos a lot better," she said, laughing.

And so, on June 2, Laurie hung up her running spikes. Her new full-time job as a commercial electrician has her up at 5 a.m., and takes her anywhere from Weymouth to Worcester to Jamaica Plain or even Nantucket - all of which leaves little time for shooting hoops.

Laurie is among the vast majority of graduating high school athletes who played their final competitive games this spring. And like the others who won't be on a varsity team in college, her experiences still yielded lessons and friendships that will last a lifetime.

For Laurie, sports was not just a way to stay in shape or stay motivated in school.

"I feel like sometimes, when I'm running, nothing can go wrong, and I'm in a different world," Laurie says. "I'm stress-free. It can get stressful at work."

Participating in sports was also a great way to stay organized.

"At first it was pretty hectic," she said. "But once I got the schedule worked out - that I would only work part time, and leave early to come play sports - it made me able to get to places on time a lot easier."

Her senior year hit a few bumpy stretches. She was diagnosed with mononucleosis in early January, and was told by her doctor she may not play basketball again. But she persevered, and helped lead the Unicorns to a Division 3 tournament berth, where they got a tough draw in Central sectional finalist Sutton High. The Sutton Suzies went up big early; Laurie scoffed at an opportunity to sit down late in the game, staying in for every second.

Two years ago, Keefe's outdoor track coach, Ken Collins, persuaded Laurie to switch from softball to his squad. This spring, she took third place at her league's meet on May 22, but that was after placing first in the discus at the state meet for vocational high schools.

"It was pretty emotional because it was the one sport I was pretty good at," Laurie said of finishing her track career. "Knowing that I had only done it for two years," and had already won a state vocational title, she said, "it felt pretty good. And I didn't want to leave that."

Nationally, fewer than 5 percent of high school athletes will participate in collegiate sports, the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association says. Like Laurie, most team members may stay active as they move on to college and careers, but they won't experience the excitement of school sports again.

JEFF EDWARDS
Milford High volleyball

Jeff Edwards first picked up volleyball out of curiosity. In the summer heading into his freshman year at Milford High, he attended a camp run by head coach Linda Zachilli.

"I played basketball, but it wasn't even close to the rush I got from playing volleyball," he said, grinning at the memory.

The feeling was so strong for the 6-foot-2 Edwards, a punishing outside hitter for the Scarlet Hawks, he can barely come up with the words to characterize it.

"When I'm playing my best, it's like I'm not even thinking about anything. It's all instinct. It's a total rush, when you get that kill and . . . everybody goes crazy."

Those emotions, however, were not enough to persuade him away from Tempe, Ariz., where in the fall he will attend Arizona State University with plans to major in psychology. He turned down an offer to play volleyball for Lasell College, a Division 3 school in Newton.

Edwards was a captain on Milford's team, which went 22-0 before reaching the Central sectional final against Lincoln-Sudbury Regional. The Scarlet Hawks lost, 3-0, on May 31, ending Milford's season - and his volleyball career.

"I was trying not to think about it, but in my head I was like, 'This is going to be my last point,' " Edwards said. "It was more like desperation, because there wasn't anything I could do about it."

DAN MONAHAN
Newton North lacrosse

At around the same time Edwards discovered volleyball, Dan Monahan discovered a similar exhilaration playing lacrosse, as a middle-schooler in Newton.

The graduating senior at Newton North High says he was attracted to everything about lacrosse - the camaraderie, the fast pace, the physicality - and considers it his favorite sport. Growing up as a defenseman in ice hockey, he was naturally inclined to play in goal.

It's often said that you have to be a bit crazy to get in the lacrosse net and face shots exceeding 90 miles an hour, as many as 20 to 30 times a game, with a minimal amount of padding. But he thrived "making my presence felt."

"I try to be relaxed, but at the same time, my head's going a million miles an hour," Monahan said. "You've got to read the offense, stay focused on the ball . . . it's mind-boggling, basically."

Monahan also spurned offers to play in a Division 3 program, most notably Muhlenberg College in Pennsylvania and Newton's Mount Ida College, for the allure of a large college campus. In the fall, he will be at Northeastern University, which does not have a varsity men's lacrosse program.

After winning just six games in 2007, the Newton North Tigers doubled their win total (12-8) this spring, and drew Needham in a preliminary-round playoff for Division 1 high schools. Monahan's squad had upset the Rockets nine days earlier, but in the rematch surrendered an early five-goal lead and couldn't come back. Still, it didn't sink in until late in the game that this would be the last dance for him.

"I couldn't believe it was over," he said.

And to add injury to insult - literally - Monahan tore a ligament in his ankle in the final 20 seconds while carrrying the ball behind the net, looking to throw an outlet pass.

NATE GRIEB
Newton South lacrosse

North's crosstown rivals, Newton South, didn't fare as well in boys' lacrosse, winning just one Dual County League game and going 4-15 overall this spring. The Lions had a new coach, David McCallum, with a different approach that hints at an upward future.

At least, that's how senior captain Nate Grieb saw it. He picked up the sport as an eighth-grader after dabbling in it at a summer camp. The allure of a full-contact sport at such a fast pace had him hooked quickly.

Part of this season's rebuilding process had Grieb moving from midfield to defense.

"As a midfielder, I had to come off the field all the time," he said, while as a defenseman, "I got to hit kids more. I understood the game better, but I think that has a lot to do with our coach, too."

But like Edwards, Grieb is moving on to bigger things. He'll be taking up economics at the University of Colorado, which doesn't field a varsity lacrosse program.

The score of Newton South's last game - a 14-0 loss at St. John's Prep on May 19 in an atmosphere Grieb described as "basically a scrimmage" - suggests a forgettable affair. But Grieb saw it as "a good game to end with," giving his teammates a chance to see how one of the state's best teams plays.

Once the game was over, the Newton South squad formed a huddle and a number of players gave speeches. After a few minutes, McCallum asked the three seniors to stand and face a round of applause.

Grieb's reaction to the farewell moment: "I wish I was able to keep going."