By Ted Ryan

Matt Parker made the most of his role as a reserve player for the St. Lawrence University men's lacrosse team in the spring of 2009. The former Champlain Valley Union student-athlete saw little game time of significance in his seven appearances, but his ability to absorb the lessons of daily practice against veteran players and a fierce determination to improve have thrust him into the starting lineup for the Saints this season. "I came in and I was labeled as a reserve player," said the Shelburne native. "I saw a lot of time in games which we had logged away and they could afford to put in lower players like myself. "I had a couple of upper class leaders to work against (in practice) and that really helped show me the way St. Lawrence plays lacrosse," said the 6-foot, 195-pound defender. "I put in a lot of off-season work. I had to work really hard for the spot this year."

Parker's persistence and effort made an impression on veteran coach Mike Mahoney. "As many freshmen make the transition to college, it was more of a developmental year," said Mahoney of Parker's 2009 season. "He's a real student of the game. He really wants any input a coach can give him to make him better from the physical and mental aspects. "I would consider him our most consistent defender," said Mahoney. "We rely and believe in him as coaches, as do his teammates and his goaltender."

Parker said he never spent time worrying about whether he would start. "All I thought was to work as hard as I could so when the season rolled around, I had put in the time, and if the coaches thought I was good enough, I'd get the chance."

Parker said he focuses upon communication with his defensive partners and his one-on-one work. "I try to stop my guy from scoring at all costs," said Parker. "I would definitely consider myself a physical player, especially with one-on-ones against attack men with pretty good size."

"Matt's very disciplined as a defender. He plays very good position defense. He trusts not only his own ability but the ability of his teammates around him," said Mahoney, whose Saints are 4-3 this year. Neither believes Parker's game is fully developed. "Like with any young player, you want to see them expand their game," Mahoney said. "As disciplined as he is and as great ‘positionally' as he is, at times we will want him to extend on an attack man and get in on his hands and get balls on the ground. "That will come with confidence and experience," predicted Mahoney.

In high school, Parker was a two-sport athlete, competing in lacrosse and hockey as a freshman and sophomore at Champlain Valley. He then transferred to Kimball Union Academy, where he added mountain biking as a fall sport to go with the other two seasons. Parker, like a number of Shelburne student-athletes, was attracted to St. Lawrence by the school's setting and academics, as well as its athletic program. His freshman year, Parker was a teammate of senior Alex Slauson, the Saints' leading scorer and a Shelburne resident with whom Parker had played at CVU. In addition, Parker had established a rapport with Mahoney through summer camps.

Lacrosse is Parker's only varsity sport and music has become a major part of his life. A guitarist, Mahoney is "heavily involved" in the music scene at St. Lawrence. "Music is one of the biggest passions I have in the off-time I have," he said.

Parker plans to spend the fall semester in the northern Thailand city of Chiang Mai as part of his major in global studies. "The trip will include rural home stays in Thai villages and we'll have some free time to travel for a couple of weeks," said Parker. "I've never traveled outside of North America before." And then it's back to Canton, N.Y., for another season of lacrosse.

If you know of a Shelburne student-athlete competing in college or of a Shelburne athlete excelling in her or his sport, please contact me at TedRyanVT@aol.com.