St. John's Nevin Named to Team Ireland
from press release
He won’t take the field for St. John’s until the
season starts with an exhibition game at Massachusetts on January
30th, but senior Red Storm lacrosse defender Jerry Nevin will gain
invaluable experience well beforehand. Nevin has been selected as
one of 12 Irish-American lacrosse players to represent Ireland in
the World Championships of Lacrosse this upcoming summer.
From January 8-10, Nevin will attend a mini-camp in Dublin, Ireland
to train with his team.
“I actually just found out a couple of weeks ago that I made
the team that’s going to be competing in the World
Championships,” Nevin said. “The whole process has been
going really well.”
After finding out about the international competition a few years
back, Nevin was immediately interested. He competed in a full-day
tryout at the United States Merchant Marine Academy to make the cut
down to 20 players. Those 20 then competed for 13 team spots at the
New York Athletic Club on Oct. 18, one day after Nevin played with
the Red Storm in the Lacrosse for Leukemia exhibition tournament in
Maryland.
“I got a call and an e-mail saying I made the team,”
Nevin said. “They made the team with 12 Irish-Americans and
12 or 13 Irishmen. I was very excited.”
The 2010 FIL World Lacrosse Championships will be held July 15-24
in Manchester, England. Nevin will fly with the team from Dublin,
Ireland, to Manchester for the championships a week beforehand.
Before coming to St. John’s, Nevin was a top lacrosse player
at St. Ignatius High School in San Francisco, Calif. The San
Francisco Chronicle and CalHiSports.com named him a Top 100 athlete
as a senior in 2006.
Nevin’s athletic accomplishments come as no surprise, as he
comes from a very athletic background. His father, Dan, played
basketball for Santa Clara University and his brother, Joe, played
basketball for San Diego. During Joe’s stint at San Diego,
the Toreros made an NCAA Tournament appearance in 2003.
Nevin was a three-sport athlete at St. Ignatius, playing football
and basketball, before eventually committing to lacrosse.
A native of San Francisco, Nevin is one of only three Red Storm
players from the West Coast. While most major lacrosse programs are
still on the East Coast, there is a growing interest in the sport
in California.
“In high school, all of my coaches were actually from the
East Coast and New York,” Nevin said. “But guys out
there are enthusiastic about the game and more schools are picking
it up now.”
Being named to the Irish national team is not the only honor Nevin
has received this fall season. Jerry was one of three captains for
the Red Storm this year joining redshirt senior midfielder Tom
Manes and senior goalkeeper Gavin Buckley.
“I’m really excited to be named captain,” Nevin
said. “I’ve been on a ton of teams and never have been
named captain. To be recognized by the team and coaching staff
means a lot.”
The senior defender put up impressive numbers last season en route
to a career-best 18 ground balls and 10 turnovers for the Red
Storm. Throughout his career at St. John’s, Nevin has posted
30 ground balls and 14 turnovers, seeing action in all 40 games
since joining St. John’s back in 2006.
“Jerry has been a steady contributor for us from day
one,” St. John’s lacrosse head coach Jason Miller said.
“We have called on him to play a variety of roles for us in
his career and he has fully embraced that. Being named to the Irish
National team is a great honor for Jerry.”
Nevin is currently a finance major who also volunteers with the
student development office to help incoming freshmen adjust to
college life.
“I was really involved with volunteering in high school and
Coach Miller emphasizes the importance of service and being
involved with all aspects of life here at St. John’s,”
Nevin said. “I like helping out people, especially when
I’ve been in that same situation.”
After graduating, Nevin plans to work in Manhattan in the finance
industry.
“I’m looking forward to using the St. John’s
network to get into finance in the city, but I still have a lot of
lacrosse to play before that.”
