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05/10/2018 12:00 AMMike White is the type of player that every coach likes to have on the roster. That’s because Mike gives everything he has every time he suits up for the Branford boys’ lacrosse squad.
Mike, a senior captain, has had to deal with being a diabetic throughout his career. However, he takes the necessary precautions to make sure he’s able to be out there on the field with the Hornets.
“I have a handle on it, but it’s something I have to worry about day to day. I have to make sure I eat and check my levels during the day, so I’m right where I need to be for practices and games,” says Mike. “It’s just another obstacle, but I kind of get past it at this point.”
Branford boys’ lacrosse Head Coach Jim May feels proud to see Mike get past that obstacle. May says that Mike is one of the few midfielders who never comes off the field during a game.
“It’s truly amazing what he can do. Having him never come off the field as an offensive and defensive player, he does it all,” Coach May says. “He’s absolutely the heart and soul of our team.”
Mike puts his heart and soul into leading the Hornets as one of their captains. He was also a captain for the basketball team this past winter and enjoys being in a leadership role.
“For this being my senior year, it meant a lot to be a captain. I love everyone on my team. Nobody is negative and everyone has good energy,” says Mike. “Being a captain means a lot, because everybody on this team is very close. I have a lot of respect for everyone on the team.”
One of the things that Mike likes most about playing lacrosse for Branford is bringing energy to the Hornets’ transition game. Coach May says that Mike has a knack for battling for possession and then swiftly moving the ball out of the zone and onto the attack.
“He has the fastest game speed of anybody on the team. He just makes things happen,” says May. “A big part of any game is who has possession. Mike gets our possession about 90 percent of the time, because he’s so active.”
Mike prides himself on having a tenacious mindset on the field. Mike isn’t shy about getting involved in the physical fray—and he has the bruises to show for it.
“I’m small in height, but I like that in lacrosse, because I think people aren’t intimidated at first and think I’m a weak kid. I spend a lot of time in the weight room, so strength-wise against people, it’s even,” he says. “I like drawing contact for a penalty, but I definitely get hit a lot. I’m used to the welts by now.”
Mike adds that he likes being relied upon to gain possession for the Hornets whenever he steps into the face-off circle.
“I started taking face-offs freshman year, because coach said he liked my hand speed and felt it was something I can improve on. He was right as my hand speed has always been one of my best assets,” says Mike. “I’m not overpowering, so I stress my technique. I get my head over fast and win it fast to get the ground ball. I work on that with as many drills as I can.”
While working out at BreakOut Athlete, Mike made a connection with the lacrosse coach at Cheshire Academy. Mike is going to do a postgraduate year at Cheshire Academy after he graduates from Branford, and he’s looking forward to continuing his lacrosse career at a higher level.
“I thought it was a good idea for me to grow and get stronger, because I’m still a small kid,” Mike says. “I have a high IQ, so that extra year will be good to get stronger and look at colleges, because I want to play in college. That extra year is giving me more time to look.”