Earning his stripes
Denis Morris’ Carter Zavitz looking forward to playing field lacrosse for Princeton Tigers
Carter Zavitz played triple A hockey and in his final year in high school was instrumental in Denis Morris advancing to the high school championships.
But the 18-year-old from St. Catharines never felt hockey would be anything more than a blip on the horizon when it came to his future.
He appreciated that his small stature — 5-foot-6, 140 pounds — would be a big mark against him come draft time for Ontario Hockey League teams.
College recruiters likewise would leave his games unimpressed, if they went to them in the first place. Their eyes stayed focused only on players who had all of the four S’s — size, speed, strength and smarts.
In comparison, the measuring stick wasn’t as rigid, nor as unforgiving, in lacrosse.
“Growing up I felt like I could dominate a little bit better on the lacrosse field than I could on the hockey ice,” Zavitz said. “In lacrosse, you don’t need height, you need speed, speed can make up for your height.
“I feel like I can put my body and my speed and my abilities a lot more to use in lacrosse.”
He will be getting the chance to do just that as a member of the Princeton Tigers in the prestigious and highly competitive Ivy League.
Zavitz also received offers from Cornell, Denver, Harvard and Ohio, but decided to major in ecology and evolutionary biology after visiting Princeton, which is located in western New Jersey north of Philadelphia.
“I stepped on campus and I fell in love with the whole campus,” he said. “I felt comfortable there on my visit.
“I like the feel when I step on campus, and I think they are a really good lacrosse program that has the potential to do very well in the next couple of years.”
Unlike Denver and Ohio State, Ivy League schools, such as Cornell, Harvard and Princeton, do not award athletic scholarships. Student athletes are only eligible for academic scholarships and financial aid.
Zavitz, who is averaging 93 per cent in his final year of studies at Denis Morris, received an academic scholarship.
Denis Morris head coach Matt Vinc’s go-to guy on the Reds offence appreciates that after four years as one of the biggest fish in the Niagara pond he will be among the many minnows trying to get playing time in an ultra-competitive division as freshmen.
“I’m going to have to show up on campus in September and work my butt off as soon as I get there,” he said. “Put in the work, put in some extra work.
“I’m going to have to work out a little bit more than some of the other guys to make sure I keep up, because I’m a smaller figure.”
Zavitz wants to add 15 pounds to his frame, “most of it muscle I hope.”
He ranks speed and “vision on the field” as his biggest strengths playing the field version of Canada’s national summer game.
“I think I can make plays and make other people be better,” Zavitz said. “I think I’m more of a playmaker, I like to pass the ball rather than shoot it.
“But, if I have the chance, I’m still going to take the shot to see if I can score.”
Zavitz, whose natural position in lacrosse is attack, will be especially busy over the next two months. As well as setting up plays for his high school field lacrosse team, Zavitz will be returning for a second season playing indoor lacrosse for the junior A St. Catharines Athletics.
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