There have been a number of talented, big-time athletes at Hopewell Valley Central High over the first quarter of the 21st century, but arguably the best all-around three-sport athlete in the past 25 years is getting ready to play his final athletic season in high school.
That would be Luke Caldwell, a record-setting machine in football and lacrosse and a state qualifier in wrestling.
Aaron Oldfield never coached Caldwell but has taught and coached track & field at HVCHS since 1993. He’s an ardent supporter of the entire athletic program and has a pretty good feel for the school’s sports history the past three decades.
Asked if he feels Caldwell is the best he has seen at doing three sports, Oldfield said, “Absolutely and if he isn’t I would love to know who it is.”
He took it a step further, saying “Luke is super polite, respectful and probably a better person than athlete, which is saying a lot since he is a stud athlete.”
Lacrosse coach Matt Foret would agree with that.
“Off the field he is very humble and unassuming,” Foret said. “He is easy to get along with and all his teammates really like him. He is a very genuine person and is welcoming of young players. He supports his teammates in such a positive way.”
Caldwell’s father Dave, who coached Luke in football, is as humble as his son and noted that there have been several outstanding all-around two-sport performers like Drew Wiley (football, basketball), Joe Immordino (football, lacrosse) and Blake Echternacht (hockey, baseball) who played two sports.
When it comes to three sports, current senior Milan Desai springs to mind as one of the best, but hasn’t been dominant in every one like Caldwell.
Luke’s top sport is lacrosse and he will play for Washington & Lee in Virginia next year. He enters this season as Hopewell’s all-time leader in points (295), goals (181) and assists (114). As a junior he set school records for goals (91), assists (57) and points (148) while finishing second in the state in goals.
Then there are his “other” sports.
In football, the defensive back holds program records for interceptions in a game (3) and season (6) and career solo tackles (121). He’s second in career interceptions (7), tackles in a game (18) and career tackles (245-½).
On the mat, he was a four-time Region 5 qualifier, a District 18 champion and a state qualifier this year although he had to miss states due to injury. He has the sixth most wins in program history (101) and second most pins (68).
Caldwell has made too many all-county and all-state teams to list here, and he captained all three teams.
Time management
If that isn’t enough, he has forged a 3.9 grade point average. How the heck does a modern-day teenager budget his wealth of activities?
“That’s something you have to learn over time,” Caldwell said. “It’s a testament to my parents and how they raised me and helped me grow up. I plan my time. I like seeing it all in front of me on a planner, and that helps me. I definitely find time to hang out with my friends too, but I wouldn’t know what to do without being busy.”
Dave Caldwell recalls his sophomore year when Luke made double digit tackles in two straight state games, then drove to Delaware and Long Island, respectively, to play multiple club lacrosse games the next day.
Success fueled by burning desire
Just what makes this guy tick?
“His high level of competitiveness and athletic ability make him an excellent wrestler and athlete,” Bulldogs wrestling coach Mario Harpel said. “I am certain he could excel at any sport and any team would be happy to have him. Luke doesn’t go away in the competitive moment. He competes to the very end and this makes him priceless.
“As a coach, you can always count on him to show up. He is a humble, true leader. Everyone trusts him, so everyone responds to him. He cares about the team and the general group gravitates towards him.”
When it comes to Caldwell’s burning desire, Harpel’s comments are echoed by Luke’s other two coaches.
“It’s his work ethic and his desire to compete,” Dave Caldwell said. “You can control your effort and your attitude and ever since he was competing as a five-year-old he felt he had to go out and give his absolute best effort in everything he did.
“With him being a little undersized, as he started getting older he had to continue to prove himself and compete. I think he’s been pretty successful in everything he chooses to do because it’s an attitude.”
Bulldogs lacrosse coach Matt Foret made it unanimous.
“The first thing with Luke is the effort he puts into everything he does,” Foret said. “Whether in the classroom or on the field he is extremely focused and always gives a 100 percent. That is just who he is as a person. He also brings such a great mindset of grit and determination. He never once gives up a single rep in practice. He wants to win all the time. It doesn’t matter what you are doing.”
Being from a sports-minded family doesn’t hurt that competitive nature. Older brothers Chris (football, lacrosse) and Mike (football) were HVCHS athletes while younger sister Dani is starting for Lawrenceville lacrosse.
A CVC lacrosse icon
Foret will savor his final season with one of the Colonial Valley Conference’s all-time performers. When emailed about what makes Caldwell so great, his response was numerous paragraphs long.
The coach cited his quickness, an explosive first step, fundamental stick skills and the ability to play with both hands, which makes him a versatile dodger who is tough to cover. He discussed his high lacrosse IQ and the ability to read and successfully attack defenses. Caldwell passes that knowledge to others and “Is constantly communicating with his teammates about how the other team is playing us and what they need to be doing.”
Foret also cited his ability to feed his teammates by having “great vision and really seeing the whole field. If teams commit too many players to stopping him he will find his open teammates and set them up with great scoring opportunities.”
Words like fearless, tough and relentless are also sprinkled into Foret’s assessment, which makes it “really hard for defenses to get him off his game.”
Recalling the highlights
It will seem strange not to see Caldwell in a Bulldogs uniform next year; for HVCHS coaches and students, and for the athlete himself.
“It does feel surreal, it really flew by,” he said. “Playing all three sports has been amazing and fun in all their own ways. It’s kind of crazy it’s coming to an end.”
It’s no surprise Caldwell could not list just one career highlight. He opted to name one in each support and again, no surprise, they were all team oriented.
For lacrosse it was winning the Mercer County Tournament as a low seed and beating two teams the Bulldogs lost to earlier in the year. In wrestling it was Hopewell winning last year’s Central Jersey Group III championship “for Coach Harpel and the program,” for the first time in school history. And for football, it was his entire senior season, along with playing in his dad’s 100th victory.
“I’ve grown up watching all the teams he’s coached,” Luke said. “It was cool to see him build the program up from nothing and get 100 wins.”
When pressed to name individual highlights, he listed setting the school scoring records in lacrosse, “especially since I knew (former record-holder) Mylers Ackerson and he’s coaching with us. It was cool to do it and have him there.” He was also proud of qualifying for states in wrestling.
One sport helps the other
To play three sports in high school is tough enough. To excel in all three is even tougher. Caldwell feels he has been fortunate to be healthy throughout his career but knocked on wood for the upcoming lacrosse season so as not to jinx it.
He has made it a point to eat right, and credited Bulldog trainers Tim Coyne and Morgan Cozze for doing “a phenomenal job of helping us out. TC and Miss Cozze kept me flowing from one sport to the next. I can’t thank them enough for everything.”
Caldwell felt his hardest sport was wrestling, saying “there’s a lot of pressure. There’s a great amount of conditioning and you’re hoping all the work you put in will translate on the mat.”
Harpel thinks Luke’s grappling experience helped make him a better athlete.
“Wrestling is one-on-one competition versus the team concept,” the CVC’s most successful coach said. “Walking out on the wrestling mat alone must help and challenge individual mental growth, and the visibility of losing and winning alone.”
Harpel and Dave Caldwell feel Luke could have done wrestling or football in college had he chosen to focus on those sports.
But when it comes to being a high school athlete, they all helped complement each other.
“I think the physical and mental toughness that football and wrestling instilled in him really benefits him in lacrosse,” Foret said. “At the same time it will be exciting to see how much he improves as a lacrosse player once he gets to college and puts all of his energy into lacrosse.”
Luke concurred, saying “Being a competitor helped me build all those skills that would translate into the next season.”
As an added bonus, he never burned out on a particular sport.
“I’m always so excited for the next season because I haven’t done that in a while,” Caldwell said. “Obviously I pick up my lacrosse stick in the off-season but I never really touch a wrestling mat til the first day of practice. I’d be so excited when matches came around.
“It’s the same with football. You toss around a football with teammates but I wasn’t in the weight room like some of my other teammates. It would have been nice to get in the weight room and lift but it was tough to find time in the off-season with everything else going on.”
Fleeting thoughts of cutting back
Forget tough defenders, or talented receivers, or an undefeated wrestling foes. Finding time is Luke’s biggest challenge. He admitted that being on a practice or game field seemingly every day can drain him at times.
“There was definitely some pressure of continuing to play all three,” he said. “There were thoughts in my mind of ‘Do I want to stop and just focus on lacrosse, or maybe take a break from a season?’”
But the allure of playing in a Bulldogs uniform proved too much to resist.
“Feeling a part of Hopewell Valley sports just meant so much to the team and coaches that I built so many connections and bonds with, it would have been so hard to walk away from those,” Caldwell said. “It would have been hurting the team. I couldn’t have done that. There were thoughts of just focusing on lacrosse but each sport complements each other. The coaching was another reason I stuck it out and did all three. I had great coaches in every one.”
Dave Caldwell knew he had to tread lightly while coaching his son. He left the decision about whether he would start to his assistants, and they decided it was time three games into his sophomore season. Luke and the team never looked back.
Dave was always guarded about discussing his son in too many glowing terms, for fear of giving the impression of favoritism. But as Luke’s time at HVCHS winds down, he has every right to talk proudly.
“I think he’s unselfish, he prioritizes his team’s success over personal,” Dave said. “My wife (Lourdes) did a good job. He’s a humble kid. He’s a kind, caring kid. He doesn’t talk, he just goes out and works.”
But it never seemed like work.
“I wouldn’t take back any moment from any season,” Luke said. “They’re all so special and unique in a way.”
And Caldwell was equally special and unique as he joins the long list of HVCHS athletic legends.
