During this time last year, Blake Carrara, coming off of a Suffolk County Rookie of the Year campaign in his freshman season as a Blue Wave, was trying to stay calm throughout all the insanity.
His name was listed as one of the top players in the nation for the Class of 2016.
Even though he still had three years of high school lacrosse to play, colleges were already lining up to secure his verbal commitment to play for them. At the ripe age of 15, Carrara was pressured to make a choice. Elite colleges grab their prospects early and expect a commitment so that they could move on to the next recruiting class. The University of Maryland, the school he ultimately chose, is already done with the 2017 recruiting class, two years before they even step on their campus. That is how a perennial lacrosse powerhouse does its business.
“Last summer was the most stressful thing I had ever endured,” Carrara said, reflecting on the madness. “I felt like I was making a life-changing decision before I could even drive a car.”
But today, he’s happy it’s over with.
“I can finally relax and play lacrosse,” said Carrara, ready to start his junior year. “It’s a huge weight lifted on my shoulders. I don’t need to impress anyone, I can just play the game I love and get better every day.”
Carrara’s in a class of his own in Blue Wave history, becoming the youngest athlete to commit to a college. But as colleges recruit earlier and earlier, who knows how long his record will hold up.
Though colleges still try to persuade him to decommit, he’s not budging. The verbal he made to Maryland is as concrete as a freshly paved driveway.
“Colleges contact me but I don’t even entertain them,” Carrara said. “There’s no reason to contact them back. I’m happy with my decision.”
It’s not like anyone could offer him a better package to change his mind anyway. Between an athletic and academic scholarship, he won’t spend a penny to attend one of the best lacrosse programs in the nation.
No need to stir the pot.
He still attends recruiting events to play with the best of the best.
“But I’m not worrying about who’s watching me when I go there,” Carrara said. “I know I don’t have to play really good to get seen by a college. It’s a huge change from my mindset of last summer.”
“It’s cool to play with the best kids in the nation,” he continued. “I like to see where I’m at compared to other kids.”
A week ago, Carrara attended Nike Lacrosse’s ‘The Ride’ in Portland, Oregon, which brought together the top 50 rising star recruits in the nation. Out of the 50 players, 40 were already committed to top schools from all around the nation.
“It was really fun,” Carrara said of the experience. “I actually met three other kids who will be going to Maryland. We didn’t really play much. But we got to hang out and got so much free equipment.”
So much so, he won’t be needing to buy anything any time soon.
“I’ve got like eight helmets now,” Carrara said, laughing.
He also tried out and played in the Under Armour All-American games this summer which pinned his selected Long Island team against teams from all over the nation. Though Long Island was expected to make a run in the tournament, they finished 0-4 after a few tough games down to the wire.
Carrara, who plays for Guadagnino’s 76 gas travel team as well as the Long Island Rebels, has one more tournament this summer and he’ll turn his attention to football for the upcoming season.
Often times when a player commits to a sport in college, they just focus on that one sport for the rest of high school but Carrara disagrees with that concept. And his coach at Maryland backs up his decision.
“My coach told me you can get hurt walking across the street,” Carrara said. “You can’t think like that. If I wasn’t playing football, I wouldn’t get the work in. It’s more beneficial for me to play football for lacrosse than it is to play wall ball at home.”
So expect Carrara to be lined up at outside linebacker and tight end this fall; he’s eager to work towards bringing another championship home for Coach Leif Shay without a recruiting worry in sight.
Breathe easy.
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