This past summer we ran into one fo the most exciting players on and off the field in Mike Morris. The Deerfield academy long pole had us laughing before he even put his gear on. We found that it's simply because, when the pads go on the game and his job is no laughing matter. We wanted to get to know Morris a little better so we can keep track of him as he keeps heads rolling off the field with his personality, and on the field with his fierce play.

Name: Mike Morris
High School: Deerfield Academy
Travel/Club Team: Tri-State (Coach MV Whitlow)
Position: Defense/ LSM

ESPN RISE: What first got you interested in the sport of Lacrosse?
Mike Morris: My Dad encouraged me to play it in the spring to help out my athleticism for hockey. It wasn't until I got to Deerfield that I began to think about playing collegiality. It helped that the town of Ridgewood is crazy about lacrosse.

ESPN RISE: Do you play other sports?
MM: Football for just my junior year, and Ice Hockey my whole life.

ESPN RISE: Were your parents athletes?
MM: My Dad played football, tennis, and basketball in High school, and my Mom played field hockey and swam. She is incredibly proud to this day to state that she had a scholarship offer to URI to swim, but instead went to Providence.

ESPN RISE: What do you love about the game?
MM: The speed and tempo of the game itself, and about 90% of the people I have met through lacrosse have been very classy and great people.

ESPN RISE: What do you hate about the game?
MM: Not a whole lot going on after college, professionally wise.

ESPN RISE: Do you want to play in college? Where?
MM: There is no better combination of academics, athletics, and unreal campus environment than Georgetown University in the country. The town of DC is unreal.

ESPN RISE: Have coaches contacted you?
MM: My favorite schools were Georgetown, UVA, Princeton, Harvard, Duke, Maryland, and Notre Dame. In the end, I felt the Georgetown coaches were the most excited about me, and I really just got a good feeling about Georgetown. They were all great schools, so that took care of itself. I also wanted to go to an urban campus setting, so it all pointed to Georgetown. Also, the style of play including hard pressure and occasional takeaway that Georgetown defensemen typically play is something I try to model myself after.

ESPN RISE: Who is your favorite lacrosse player?
MM: No one plays a more complete, exciting game than Brodie Merrill. I watched him play in college, and he would de-stick at least 2-3 kids per game. He's unreal.

ESPN RISE: Who is your favorite Athlete?
MM: No one changed their sport more than Bobby Orr of the Boston Bruins did in the early 70's. Ricky Bobby wasn't too bad either.

ESPN RISE: What are your hobbie?
MM: I love to wakeboard and fish during the summer a lot. My buddy Donald Denihan takes me fishing all the time with his Dad. I used to snowboard lot, but I think that will have to wait until after college. I'm very good at solitare, which is a little odd I guess.

ESPN RISE: What do you hope to accomplish with Lacrosse?
MM: I want to help bring Georgetown back to the final four, very, very badly. The NCAA committee screwed them over by not putting them in the tournament, and it really ticked me off when they did that. I feel great that I'm going to Georgetown. It's a great school I never would have gotten into without sports, so I feel pretty happy with what lacrosse has done for me so far.

ESPN RISE: What has been your greatest challenge as an athlete?
MM: I wasn't very athletic until middle school. I used to be really skinny, and was somewhat weak, so I had to compensate by being more mean than the other players. Hockey really pushed me in that area. This eventually created a drive in me, where I am not satisfied with any level of success.

ESPN RISE: What motivates you?
MM: I constantly want to be better than the person near me. I am a little overly competitive at times, but it's helped a lot in sports.

ESPN RISE: What advice do you have to a young laxer just starting out?
MM: Lacrosse has a lot of great athletes playing, but what separates the D1 stars from the D1 role players is stick skills like throwing, catching, and shooting on the run. Always work on your stick skills, because that is what will help you get on the field earlier on every level.

ESPN RISE: What do people not know about you?
MM: I don't know about me, but I've heard Brennan Bicknese sleeps with his thumb in his mouth. Just something I heard from a little bird.


Do you think you have the next big lacrosse name in your school, household, or community. Email me at brett@studentsports.com with the info to prove it. We are always looking for the kids on the RISE.