Sports

Junior High Lacrosse Stars Headed to National Tournament

Three local players will represent Three Village, and Long Island, in a national tournament that starts Monday.

If Gary Schmidt, Young Hur and Eddie Munoz have anything to do with it, the Ward Melville varsity boys' lacrosse team will have a bright future. But for now, the three young lacrosse players are taking their talents to the national lacrosse stage.

Schmidt, Hur and Munoz are headed early next week to the Brine National Lacrosse Classic, where they will play four or five games a day for three days against players from across the nation and in front of college coaches.

"We are confident that this year's roster is full of a lot of talent and we are looking forward to getting the kids out on the field and allowing them to show the nation what they can do," Joel Franklin, the tournament's executive director, said in a statement.

Hur, 14, and Munoz, 14, are incoming freshmen at Murphy Junior High, while Schmidt, 13, is an incoming freshman at Gelinas Junior High. Hur, a midfielder/attack, has been playing lacrosse since kindergarten, while Munoz, a midfielder, and Schmidt, a defenseman, started playing in third grade. They are among just 40 players from across Long Island who made the tournament.

"We're so proud of them," said Schmidt's mom, Cathy. "They enjoy it. It's all about the kids."

Munoz's father Ed, who is one of the coaches of the Ward Melville varsity football team, said he doesn't know too many kids who can put in the kind of efforts that these three put in.

"The amount of time they put in, it's a tremendous amount," he said.

Hur's father, Ben, added: "It's a big sacrifice for them, but at the end it's worth it."

Patch recently had the chance to sit down for a chat with the three players before the start of the Brine tourney.

Patch: What do you love about the game of lacrosse?
Hur: It's just fun.
Munoz: Scoring goals. I like helping out the team.
Schmidt: Hitting people. It feels good to shove people down and take the ball from them.

Patch: What are you looking forward to about the Brine Classic?
Hur: Getting looked at by college coaches, showing the coaches what you can do.
Munoz: Winning a championship and having fun.
Schmidt: Getting noticed by the college coaches and playing well.

Patch: Are you nervous for the tournament?
Hur: I'm not really nervous because half of my team is my club team. I've been playing with them for the past year.
Munoz: I'm not really nervous. I'm just looking forward to going there and play well.
Schmidt: I'm confident and looking forward to playing with different kids.

Patch: If you had to pick a dream college team to play for, what would it be?
Hur: Princeton or Yale.
Munoz: Princeton or Syracuse.
Schmidt: Duke or Syracuse.

Patch: Do you look up to the Ward Melville varsity team?
Hur: Yes. There's a lot of pressure on us to follow them up.
Munoz: Yeah. I look up to them. It's a lot to live up to.
Schmidt: I'm looking forward to playing varsity and trying to play just like they did.


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