Fathering tradition

It's been an exciting few weeks at the Bullard house. They live on a quiet, shady street in Needham, modest colonials lined up shoulder to shoulder along each side of the road, families coming and going in the suburban rush of school and sports activities. Inside the Bullard home, however, life is exploding.

There are still a few balloons hanging off the ceiling fixture in the front hall, remnants of the celebration for 18-year-old Sarah, who graduated from Buckingham Browne & Nichols a few weeks ago. But there's no end to the hoopla -- and no end to the hard work.

Like her father, Lyman, Sarah swept through prep school playing three sports a year -- soccer, hockey, and lacrosse -- and now she's headed to a prestigious Division 1 college.

But while Lyman Greenleaf Bullard Jr. went to Harvard, like so many Bullards before him, and played soccer and a little hockey, Sarah is headed south to Duke to play lacrosse with an athletic scholarship in her pocket, and her New England parents (Julie Bullard is from New Canaan, Conn., and went to Trinity) almost as excited as she is about the new opportunities opening up before her.

First, Sarah will lead the US Under-19 lacrosse team in the world championships in Peterborough, Ontario, in August. Bullard was the only athlete from New England chosen for the squad, and moreover, she was named captain.

"It's very cool," said Sarah, who played in the Under Armour Lacrosse All-American game Saturday in Baltimore. "It's actually kind of surreal. We've had previous national players come and tell us what it's like, especially when you're playing out of the country, and the anthem plays, and you have that sense of pride, because you're the one wearing the uniform."

Like father, like daughter. Lyman grew up in North Andover and played soccer, hockey, tennis, and a little lacrosse at Berkshire School. He was captain and a star on the Harvard soccer team, and set up the winning goal in a Beanpot semifinal with BU after being called up to the hockey varsity the day before.

A lawyer at Choate, Hall & Stewart, Bullard has forged a career in sports law, beginning with an assist to a friend negotiating a loan to the Bruins. Soon enough, Bullard was brokering deals (loans, mergers, acquisitions) for a number of professional sports leagues.

He became so intrigued with the process he bought a team, the Portland Pirates of the American Hockey League. For the last two years, the Pirates have been affiliated with the Anaheim Ducks, and there was another celebration at the Bullards' when the Ducks brought home the franchise's first Stanley Cup two weeks ago.

With all the big-time athletes and big-money stadium deals swirling through his world, it is clear Bullard is proudest of the slim, sweet young woman sitting beside him on the sofa.

Some time between elementary school and the end of high school, Sarah emerged as a leader on the field. By the time she graduated, she had captained five teams at BB&N. Athletically, she was fast, and she was determined, and each step brought out a faster, sleeker, more confident version of Sarah. Perhaps it was all those years playing for her father.

Lyman coached Sarah's teams throughout her youth soccer and hockey careers but both Bullards looked blank when asked about player-coach tensions. "My parents always take me home from my games so they always talk to me about the game," said Sarah, "but neither of my parents try to tell me what I did wrong."

Sarah was introduced to lacrosse in the fifth grade and benefited from learning the sport before most of her peers. She also was in the right town at the right time, as Needham High School had just won a string of state championships and initiated summer youth lacrosse. As a result, Sarah was already a good player when she got to high school, when many girls were just picking up the sport.

That meant her biggest challenge became playing alongside less experienced players, knowing when to push, when to pull, and when to go for goal.

"It was a challenge, especially this season after you've had the experience of playing on the national team with the best players in the country," said Sarah, who usually plays center. "At BB&N, I definitely got into a bunch of leadership positions. I've gotten to be very loud on the field. I love it. It keeps me going, too, and keeps me motivated."

Lyman said Sarah was an excellent soccer player, too, probably good enough to play Division 1, and a decent hockey player. "But the first time she picked up a lacrosse stick," he said, "it was like it was made to happen. She looked so natural, and she worked so hard."

Bullard went to her first US tryout last August, where 150 athletes from across the country competed for three days, and 24 were selected to be the Under-19 training squad. That group trained together on long weekends in October and February, then played in the high school division of the annual women's national tournament on Memorial Day. The team was named hours after the final session ended, and Sarah not only got the news she had made the team, but U-19 coach Wendy Kridel also told her she had been selected captain.

With these experiences under her belt, Sarah will focus her attention next on a new level of play at Duke.

"Julie and I are so excited about Duke, about Sarah playing in the ACC, about every aspect of it," Lyman said. "She is seeking out the highest level of challenge at what she loves to do."

And now, as Sarah heads to Division 1 competition, the reasons to celebrate keep on coming.