From LaxMagazine By Laurel Pfahler – Photo by Preston Mack Jared Bernhardt recalls his dad advising him and his brothers to play lacrosse with a football mindset. The U.S. U19 midfielder says doing so has a lot to do with his success on the lacrosse field. An all-state quarterback at Lake Brantley (Fla.) High School, Bernhardt brings his skills running the Patriots’ triple option attack to the way he carries himself with a stick — explosive, athletic, elusive. In the same smooth rhythm he pitched a football to the running back at his side or found a receiver down field, he has a knack for finding the open man in lacrosse, too, whenever he’s not finding the back of the net himself. As a four-year starter at Lake Brantley, he tallied 429 career points on 232 goals and 197 assists. Bernhardt hopes to make a similar impact this summer as Team USA tries for its eighth consecutive gold medal at the Federation of International Lacrosse U19 World Championship, July 7-16, in British Columbia. “I definitely think football has an impact on the way I play in lacrosse,” Bernhardt said. “My dad always said, ‘Have a football mentality in a lacrosse world,’ and me and my brothers took that over. It’s definitely helped us throughout our years playing.” Bernhardt began playing football before lacrosse was available to him around second grade, but his background is steeped in both sports. His father, Jim, played football and lacrosse at Hofstra, and now serves as the Houston Texans’ director of football research. His brothers, 26-year-old Jake, and 25-year-old Jesse, were successful two-sport athletes at Lake Brantley before playing lacrosse at Maryland and then professionally for Major League Lacrosse’s Ohio Machine and Chesapeake Bayhawks, respectively. Jesse Bernhardt competed for the U.S. senior team in 2014. Maryland nabbed its third Bernhardt before Jared entered his sophomore year. He was widely considered a top-five recruit from the class of 2016. However, his first love almost dragged him in a different direction as the early signing period approached in November. Read the rest of the story here