When Jacob Irizarry gets the ball in lacrosse, he usually knows what he wants to do with it.
That makes sense, since this impressive young man has meticulously been plotting his future since elementary school.
Known only as “Izzy” to most of his Lawrence High School classmates, Irizarry is the leading scorer on the Cardinals boys’ lacrosse team. He had 20 goals and nine assists in the Cardinals’ 3-3 start, which left him just 15 short of 100 for his career.
But as good as he is, Irizarry won’t be playing the sport after this season, unless they have pick-up lacrosse games on the army base at Fort Benning, Ga.
Fulfilling a childhood dream, which began when he watched older brother Jose go off to the Navy, Irizarry has already enlisted in the U.S. Army. He hopes to see active duty as a Cavalry Scout, which he describes as being “the eyes and ears of the commanders.”
“It’s kind of reconnaissance,” Irizarry said. “I’ll be scoping out enemy positions, feeding back information to headquarters, or whoever I have to send it back to.”
This isn’t some rash decision of a kid who’s got nothing else going on and has to go into the service because no one else will take him. It’s the next step in life for a guy who loves his country.
“My ultimate goal and my dream for as long as I can remember is to join the army. I was that kid,” Irizarry said with a laugh. “I guess seeing people in uniform, like my brother, had a lot to do with it.
“It’s something that always interested me. All the military equipment, the vehicles, jumping out of planes, shooting guns. As I got older I wanted to make it happen. Instead of going to college and having loans and living with my parents, I’d rather be out doing something I enjoy and love while I’m serving my country.”
That sounds like a guy you’d want on your lacrosse team, and Cardinals coach Anthony Ammirata is certainly glad to have him.
“He’s a great kid,” the veteran coach said. “He’s quiet, he’s unassuming and keeps to himself. He’s a really respectful kid and he’s a really hard worker.
“Lacrosse is the only sport he has played. He’s just grown in the sport so much on his own. He’s worked with the stick on his left hand. What he’s done is basically on him.”
Irizarry will tell you otherwise, saying he has had two of Lawrence’s greatest players—Colin Anderson and Nick Bosted—as his mentors.
When Irizarry was in 8th grade, his small frame (he stands 5-10 now) did not lend itself to playing athletics. But Anderson was dating Irizarry’s sister Gabrielle at the time, and rather than try to avoid her little brother, she encouraged Irizarry to hang out with her boyfriend, who played lacrosse for Division I Albany.
“I didn’t play baseball or soccer, so there was a void to be filled,” Irizarry said. “My sister encouraged me to learn from Colin since he was really good at lacrosse. I bought a stick, they bought a pad for me, and we were in my backyard almost every day. He taught me everything I know. That’s when my mom signed me up for the (Lawrence) rec league.”
Irizarry played one season in middle school and decided to go out for the team at Lawrence High. During one of the first practices, he caught Ammirata’s eye. The coach asked his name, Jacob told him, and Ammirata said, “You’ll be with the varsity for now on.”
And while that seemed like an awesome accomplishment, Irizarry admitted that he struggled with it, and to this day regrets how he reacted.
“I was a little intimidated, so I would try to go down to the JV and eventually my spot got taken,” Irizarry said. “I didn’t really ask to go down, I guess you could say I wasn’t really putting out to my full potential, I didn’t have much enthusiasm for playing. I think coach recognized that and sent me down.
“That was a mistake because it kind of goes against what I believe in now. I think no matter what your age is or how good or bad you are, you should go to your full potential, and given an opportunity like I was you should take full advantage. Who knows? I could have been twice the player I am now, if I played with varsity guys my freshman year.”
He came back to the varsity team as a sophomore and scored 26 goals. Last season he exploded with 39 goals and 23 assists while playing attack with Bosted, who scored a school record 72 goals last year.
“I think a lot of what I did last year had to do with Nick Bosted,” Irizarry said. “Last year was the first year I played attack, my sophomore year I was at midfield. Nick took me under his wing, really. He showed me a lot of good moves that I use.”
It has been more than just moves, however, as Irizarry possesses the kind of speed that most great attack men have.
“He’s really fast and elusive, so that creates some benefits for him and our team in the open field,” Ammirata said. “He’s tough to run with. We’ve had problems scoring this year in a settled offense and tried to manufacture more up and down transition. We haven’t really done that effectively but his elusiveness helps him get to the goal and score.”
With Bosted gone, Ammirata moved Alberto Santiago from midfield to attack this season with positive results. Santiago’s presence takes some of the defensive pressure off Irizarry, just as Irizarry’s presence took the pressure off Bosted last year.
“Alberto being there gives our offense more flexibility and strategic advantages because they have to focus on both of us,” Irizarry said. “At the beginning of the season I saw there was a big gap on attack. Alberto and I are good friends, I suggested that we should move him up. We tried it out one practice, Alberto did phenomenal and the attack looked good.”
Seeing as this is his final month of lacrosse, Irizarry is hoping the Cardinals can end strong before he heads off to Georgia to fulfill his dream. Irizarry did not sign up for ROTC, but paid to be on the GI Bill as he continues to plan ahead.
“After my first year out, I get my GI Bill, so I can give it to a son or daughter if I have one, or use it for my education,” he said. “What I think I’ll do is learn a trade rather than go to college. I’m more into hands-on building and construction.”
That makes sense, as he seems to be is in the process of constructing a life to be proud of.
LHS senior Jacob Irizarry evades a Steinert defender April 11, 2014 in a game at Steinert. (Photo by Suzette J. Lucas.),
