The Scoop Winter 2015 | Page 18

Stops in Southborough, Massachusetts, North Bridgton, Maine, Springfield, Massachusetts, and Lewiston, Maine have defined the meandering lacrosse career of former Mass Bay Youth Lacrosse League (MBYLL) player Bill Mason. This winding journey has taken stops on youth baseball diamonds, high school and collegiate lacrosse fields, and an office at Bates College, where he currently serves as the assistant coach of the men’s lacrosse team.

No matter how atypical Mason’s journey in the sport of lacrosse has been, one thing has remained constant: his passion for the game. It is his fervor that has allowed him to enjoy a prosperous career as a player and a rewarding experience as a coach. And like many players young and old in the Mass Bay region, Mason can trace his roots back to his invaluable experience with youth lacrosse.

Growing up in Southborough, Mason played baseball for most of his childhood. In 8th grade he saw some of his friends playing lacrosse with the Northborough-Southborough Youth Lacrosse Association and decided to join the program.

“MBYLL was fantastic for me,” said Mason enthusiastically. “A lot of the coaches were dads of my friends and some even played in college. I remember one coach in particular, Mr. Cook, who played at Princeton. To have that insight and a coach of that caliber around lacrosse in that area was a big deal.”

Aside from the fantastic coaching, Mason attests that the best part was playing with his close friends. Whether it was after school or on the weekends, he was able to enjoy the game with his peers and focus on having fun.

Mason also recalls the vital role MBYLL played in honing his fundamental skills. While lessons like picking up a ground ball or properly cradling are engrained in the memories of young lacrosse players, Mason is appreciative of one drill in particular: wall ball. In theory, it is such a simple exercise, but simply throwing a ball off a wall transformed Mason from an athlete experimenting with lacrosse to an athlete with strong skills.

“When I was young, one of my coaches introduced me to wall ball and it really changed my entire game,” Mason recollected. “All you need is a wall to develop your hands and hand-eye coordination. I went from a kid who had no idea what I was doing to playing a lot. The basic stuff that Mass Bay coaches gave me really transformed me as a player.”

From that point on, Mason was enthusiastic about the game and turned this energy into a prosperous playing career in the high school and college ranks. Like many of the players from the Northborough-Southborough MBYLL program, Mason went on to Algonquin Regional High School, where he played midfield.

Admittedly, he struggled to assert himself in the program at first. Mason’s passion only took him so far and he did not join the varsity team full-time until his senior year. He had not yet developed physically or skill-wise from his freshman to junior year, so Mason played the majority of his first three seasons on the freshman and junior varsity teams.

In his time on the freshman and JV teams, Mason was able to cultivate a valuable relationship with the JV coach, Rich Luongo, much like he had with his MBYLL coaches. Come Mason’s senior year, this relationship carried over to the varsity team when Luongo was handed the head coaching job and Mason earned a spot on his team.

In this defining year, all of Mason’s hard work and persistence paid off as he was able to take the Algonquin program by storm. His team ended up winning the Central Massachusetts Championship and he finished second on the team in goals scored. With this type of explosive season, numerous recruitment offers came Mason’s way.

But due to his late development as a player and desire to play at a high level collegiately, Mason decided to forgo the limited college offers he received and pursue a post-graduate year at Bridgton Academy in North Bridgton, Maine. Once there, his career showed no sign of slowing down as he continued on the same upward trajectory that defined his senior year.

“I really wanted to play at a high level in college,” said Mason. “I did a post-graduate year at Bridgton Academy…which allowed me to develop my skills and mature academically. I was lucky enough to have really supportive parents along the way as well. At Bridgton I was able to go

Where

Is He Now?

2002-2003

2003-2007

2007-2008

Started playing

lacrosse in 8th grade

for NSYLA

Played Freshman, JV, and Varsity Lacrosse for Algonquin Regional HS

Played one post-graduate year at Bridgton Academy

18 The Scoop / Winter '15