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National Senior Showcase: French Territory
June 20, 2008
The fifth-annual US Lacrosse National Senior Showcase, an all-star exhibition featuring 96 of the top high school boys' lacrosse seniors in the country and sponsored by Warrior, is Saturday at Benedictine University in Chicago.
by Daniel Malloy, Special to Lacrosse Magazine Online With gasoline at $4 a gallon, it's not easy on the bank account, but James French commutes 70 miles each way three times a week in the name of lacrosse. That's how far you have to go to find a game in Alabama, where football is king and lacrosse is still a curiosity. French's high school, Stanhope Elmore, in Millbrook, doesn't have a team, so he has to cruise up Interstate 65 to play with the club team at Hoover High, outside of Birmingham. "It's a killer," said French. "The only good thing is dad's paying for it." The hefty investment has paid off as French, a midfielder, will play in US Lacrosse's fifth annual National Senior Showcase this weekend at Benedictine University in Chicago. In the fall, he'll head to the Naval Academy Prep School, then to Annapolis for the 2009-10 school year. With a father in the Air Force, French - whose given name is Brye - spent his childhood bouncing around, beginning in Maryland, where he caught the lacrosse bug in elementary school watching Navy play. The family moved to Missouri, then to Alabama three years ago, and French found himself having to explain his chosen sport to friends. "It's still kind of weird being a lacrosse player, but it's growing," French said. "It's weird, but in a good way. They all ask what it is. They seem interested." But in Alabama, football reigns above all else, especially at Hoover, which has a football culture so insane that its team was the subject of the MTV series "Two-a-Days." None of the stars of the show are on the lacrosse team, but MTV is always a hot topic at Hoover. French said everyone loved to have the cameras around at first, but it got to be annoying after a while - especially when the Bucs didn't win the state championship in the show's second season. Reality TV wasn't much fun when reality disappointed. Then a scandal erupted last fall when it was discovered that head football coach Rush Probst, in addition to some sketchy business dealings, had a secret second family. His resignation made headlines across the country. "It's not everywhere that a high school coach is national news," French said. Away from the bright lights, French excelled. A Navy fan since childhood, he got a chance to impress head coach Richie Meade when he held a camp in Birmingham, which led to an offer of a roster spot. French knows the academy's legendary discipline will be an adjustment, but he's getting tips from his father and friends who have attended military academies, and prep school will help the transition. He's already got one key part down, punctuating almost every sentence with the word "sir" when speaking to a reporter. This weekend, French will worry about representing his state, not the Navy. He hopes to leave an impression competing with the South team - which includes players from Maryland to Florida - as the all-star exhibition's first-ever selection from Alabama. "Hopefully, I can make Alabama proud in a way," French said, "and show them that we do have a little bit of skill down South." You just might have to drive a ways to find it. Are you a graduating high school senior with a great story to tell? E-mail it essay@laxmagazine.com for an opportunity to be the "Parting Shot" guest columnist in the August issue of Lacrosse Magazine.
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