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06/25/2020 12:00 AMAfter growing up playing baseball, JJ Gargano decided it was time to make a change when he was in 8th grade. JJ started playing lacrosse for Dave Carpenter, who coaches at the youth level in North Branford and is also head coach of the T-Birds’ boys’ lacrosse team. At the time, JJ just wanted to “get my feet wet” and was unsure if he was going to pursue lacrosse in the long run. Well, JJ went on to play the sport for the next several years and wound up being named one of North Branford’s captains as a senior. Now, he’s looking to play lacrosse in college.
When JJ started playing lacrosse, he would show up to practice with the short stick that’s typically used by attackers. However, after seeing how JJ played in the midfield and on defense, Coach Carpenter had him trade in his short stick for a defensive long pole. JJ had to get the hang of things, but he quickly fell in love with lacrosse and knew that he wanted to keep playing.
“The passing and catching and basics were hard, because I never played before, but once I got into it and started playing during the season, coach was super helpful and really got me going,” JJ says. “I was still a little rusty throughout the whole 8th-grade season, but I put in a lot of work the summer before high school. That’s when I started noticing things starting to pick up.”
During that summer, JJ did a lot of sprinting and various other drills in order to increase his stamina. He wanted to get faster, while also learning the fundamentals of the sport by playing wall ball. When he joined the high school team, JJ spent the first half of his freshman year on JV before seeing varsity time in the latter half of the campaign. By his sophomore year, JJ had earned a starting position as a long-stick midfielder/defender for North Branford.
“Playing JV my freshman year helped me a lot. Once coach saw that growth as a freshman, he started getting me into a lot more varsity games,” says JJ. “The offseason before sophomore year, I put in even more work. I was ready to go.”
In addition to starting for the lacrosse squad as a sophomore, JJ also joined the North Branford football team. JJ had never played football before, but due to his 6-foot, 175-pound stature as a sophomore, several members of the team asked him to join.
After school one day, JJ met up with Head Coach Mark Basil, who also encouraged him to give football a shot. JJ suited up as a wide receiver and a safety for the T-Birds. He was able to take what he learned in football and translate it to the lacrosse field.
“Playing both sports, football definitely helped me with lacrosse—the speed training, the weight training, and things like that,” JJ says. “I was just getting stronger and more agile on my feet. I saw the payoff from football in the fall to lacrosse in the spring.”
JJ’s most memorable moment as a North Branford lacrosse player came in his junior season. Last spring, JJ and the T-Birds traveled to the Indian River Complex in Clinton to face Morgan in the championship game of the Shoreline Conference Tournament. The Thunderbirds left the complex with a 12-7 victory over the Huskies, earning the first league title in the history of the North Branford boys’ lacrosse program.
“Winning the Shoreline championship last year is one thing that is always going to stick with me. It was the first Shoreline championship in history we’ve ever won,” JJ says. “Our game was at 7 p.m. that night, and our girls’ lacrosse team played right before us. While we were warming up, the girls won their Shoreline championship. Then we took the field and beat Morgan. We got back-to-back championships, and everyone was celebrating that night. It was kind of a crazy night.”
Coach Carpenter has seen JJ come a long way as a lacrosse player during the past few years. Carpenter knew that JJ had potential, and he enjoyed seeing JJ realize that potential throughout his tenure at North Branford.
“JJ was one of the few guys in town who moved to North Branford in middle school. I didn’t know him when he was younger. The first time I met him was the first practice in 8th grade, when he showed up with the stick you get from Dick’s Sporting Goods,” says Carpenter. “JJ was always different from the other kids in terms of understanding responsibilities. He grew up a little bit faster and matured a little more. He’s a great person. He would do anything for those kids.”
JJ was named one of the T-Birds’ captains alongside Xavior Cognata for his senior year. Unfortunately, JJ would not have been able to play lacrosse even if there had been a season after having suffered a torn ACL in his left knee during the football season. Still, even though he knew he would be sidelined, JJ did everything he could to fulfill his responsibilities as a leader on the team.
“I knew that, whether I could play or not, I wanted to be a captain,” says JJ. “I wanted to be on this team and help the younger guys get better. I wanted to be there.”
JJ plans on attending Southern Connecticut State University later this year. Several members of the men’s lacrosse squad have already contacted JJ, hoping that he will be 100 percent and ready to go for the 2021 season. No matter what the future holds, JJ knows that playing lacrosse for North Branford has shaped him into person that he is today.
“My whole time at high school was based around lacrosse. It was always in my mind. It was always something I was looking forward to,” JJ says. “All the guys would always get together, shooting around and going out to eat. We were a close team. It was an honor to be named a captain. Lacrosse meant so much to me. I finally found a sport that was right for me. I loved everything about it.”