
Catching Up With . . . Adam Sawicki of Lehigh and Lake Highland Prep!
Written by Lee Roggenburg on . Posted in Uncategorized.
The first in a series of interviews with Florida-bred kids who have made the successful leap to Division 1 lacrosse! Thanks to Adam and the Lehigh lacrosse community for responding!
Name: Adam Sawicki
College: Lehigh University
Class: Sophomore
Position: Goalkeeper
Major: Computer Science and Business
Describe what made you decide why this school was what you wanted to attend:
Lehigh offered the best combination of what I wanted in a college. The lacrosse team was on the rise, having recently won the Patriot League Championship for the first time in school history. Its academic reputation and proximity to NYC and Philadelphia were things I found very attractive. Lehigh also has a great business school, which is what I had originally applied for.
What surprised you after you started attending your school?
I’d say the biggest surprise was the amount that lacrosse dictated my college experience. It provided me friends, gave me my schedule, and told me what I could and couldn’t do. Some people like the structure, others don’t. I definitely fit in that second bin, but it’s all I’ve come to know and I can’t picture anything other experience besides the one lacrosse has offered me.
Describe a typical day in lacrosse season:
Wake up around 8:00 AM. Sleepily make myself some breakfast and hop in the shower to wake up. Have class from 9:00 – 3:00, with some club meetings along the way and finding food at some point. Go to practice from 3:30 – 5:30. Lift til 6:30. Team film til 7:30. Have dinner at 8 with my teammates. Relax for 30 minutes to catch my breath. Start homework and studying at 9 until I can’t keep my eyes open any longer. Sleep. Do it all over again.
What advice would you give Florida high school kids going through the recruiting process?
Try to consider what you want your college experience to look like. Make a choice based on the type of lifestyle and school you want, and then add lacrosse into the mix. As for getting to the point where you can pick between schools, work hard and be persistent. Florida lacrosse is getting to the point where a lot of the state’s best players can play at the highest level. Look no further than Syracuse University, where one of my best friends, Sergio Salcido, is one of their leader scorers, or the Naval Academy, where another good friend of mine, Hiram Carter, is starting at close defense. Unfortunately, a lot of the Florida don’t get the look some of the kids up north get. Use that as motivation; make it a chip on your shoulder. Most importantly though, enjoy the ride, as it’s a wild one. There is going to be a lot of ups and downs, but trust that it’s all part of the process.
How do you balance your schoolwork and your lacrosse responsibilities?
Grind. A lot of people say that in college you can have good grades, a good social life, and sleep, but you can only pick two. If you’re on a lacrosse team, add in lacrosse, but you can still only pick two. I’m (semi) kidding, but it is tough. It causes a lot of kids to lose perspective as to why they picked up the stick in the first place, let alone why they let it lead them to college. You have to get really good at prioritizing. Pick what is most important, then what’s second, and so on. Trim the fat. Above all, you just have to put it all into perspective: you get to play a game you love at a great school, with your best friends. Things aren’t too rough when you keep that in mind.
Some Quick Hits:
What food do you miss eating while training in season?
Eating habits don’t really vary in season. I just eat whenever I get a chance.
What song pumps you up for playing?
I’m in a pretty big Blues phase right now. Nothing like Live at the Regal to get a guy ready for some lacrosse.
Who’s your funniest teammate?
Toughest question on here by far. Anything out of Danny Norris and Nolan Apers (two of my classmates) mouths makes me tear up. Everyone on the team is pretty funny. We actually start every practice with a joke of the day, with every going throughout the season. Chris Appell, a senior middie, is pretty good at those.
What one person do you wish you could have dinner with?
I’d love to chat with anyone that’s been to the Moon, maybe Buzz Aldrin.
Last Call:
What is your favorite college lacrosse memory so far?
This one is pretty easy for me. In my first college start freshman year, we played the eventual National Champions, Denver. It was in the middle of March on a Tuesday night after finals just ended, with gorgeous weather. We had come off such a brutal winter (especially for a Florida boy), and everyone was so happy it wasn’t sub-20 that the crowd was huge. We have a tradition where we all “tap the hat” of the guy that scored, i.e. run down the field and dap him up (even us goalies). We got off to a hot start, going up 3-0 on them in the first. The game slowed down, and they ended up going ahead on us 5-3 headed into the fourth, keeping us scoreless for over two quarters of play. Their goalie was playing hot and our offense was stagnant. It seemed like we couldn’t sneak anything in. Then, (now captain) Reid Weber split between their whole defense, took a diving shot that their goalie got a piece of, but it trickled in to put us down by one. The crowd went wild. I remember running down the field to tap the hat and looking to my right at the stands and the bench. Everyone was going crazy, just genuine excitement and entertainment. That was cool.
Adam’s Lehigh Bio Page
Again, thanks to Adam and good luck the rest of the way!


