Photo courtesy of Pam Murphy.

LHS goalie Cole Blazer makes a save against Lake Forest in 2013.

Imagine a ball being fired 80 miles an hour at you from point-blank range. At that speed, it takes .4 seconds for a batter to react to a pitch in baseball, and .25 seconds for a lacrosse goalie to react to a mid-range shot.

For LHS lacrosse goalie and senior Cole Blazer, facing a barrage of shots is normal, and his ability to do it has helped him earn his position as starting goalie at LHS. It may also help him replicate those results at a Division I college.

There is a saying that some things were just written in the stars, and that statement could not be more accurate to describe the process Blazer underwent to become the goalie he is today. Starting lacrosse in 3rd grade, he played in a youth league at the Sports Complex whilst playing other sports like baseball and football during the remainder of the calendar year. While playing lacrosse, Blazer enjoyed playing on offense for four years, when a revelation dawned upon him: Why not play goalie?

“In 7th grade, while I was playing in a spring league, my brother had just switched positions to play goalie for LHS,” said Blazer, who previously had never even considered stepping into the cage. “In my backyard, I would play goalie, and my brother would teach me proper goalie technique.”

Then, Cole got his chance. “I was still not too interested in playing goalie, but a goalie on my lacrosse team got injured before a game, and I was granted permission by the coach to replace him,” he revealed. “I adjusted very well, and consistently played well, and I learned that goalie was the position for me.”

In the eyes of boys lacrosse head coach Brady Sullivan, Blazer’s talent at goalie was apparent early on. “I realized he had potential when I was evaluating him,” the coach said. “By the time he was going into 8th grade, the varsity players, myself, and the assistant coach would shoot at full speed on him,” he said. “Our then-assistant coach Steven Brooks, who is a current professional player, was shooting shots at over 100 miles per hour at him.”

Blazer cites the early transition to goalie as key, and although his position is selective, he thinks it would have only been harder if he waited longer. “I was still young and developing as a player,” he said. “I think if I first transitioned to goalie during high school, it would have been more difficult.”

That’s not to say that Blazer’s path has been free of its bumps and bruises. While playing goalie in the spring of his freshman year, an opponent struck a shot at his collarbone, breaking the bone. Despite being sidelined for six weeks, Blazer was thankful that the injury was not worse. “There are many sports injuries that involve ligaments, like ACL injuries, and many injuries involve tendons, too. Injuries to those parts of the body often result in athletes having to go through physical rehabilitation. I went through a six-week recovery period for the bone to heal without having to do that,” he said. Blazer was able to return to competitive lacrosse early in his sophomore year, and after a handful of practices, was back in the cage for his sophomore season.

In addition to playing lacrosse in orange and black, Blazer has suited up for multiple club teams over the years. When he first started high school, he played for a team called Team One, which is based in both Milwaukee and Glenview. While Blazer enjoyed his experience there, he decided to join a new program at the start of his sophomore year called True Lacrosse, headquartered in Elmhurst. Blazer initially thought True Lacrosse was the better fit for him, and he looks back on the decision with no regrets. “They (True Lacrosse) had a very strong team and the goalie coach was very good,” he said.

No matter how much one loves a sport, it requires tenacity to play for a club team in addition to playing for a high school team. But Blazer has several memories from his past with True Lacrosse that reflect his passion for the game. One memory from the summer going into his junior year particularly stands out. “True Lacrosse had organized a month-long trip where we were out on the east coast in which we played in tournaments on the weekends and we visited different colleges during the weekdays,” he recalled. “Other coaches observed us and we got to visit many different cities. I was very fortunate to do that.”

By overcoming the adversity of injuries, limiting his offseason, and pulling off a 4.019 weighted GPA on top of lacrosse, it was no accident that Blazer became a force to be reckoned with. The results speak for themselves: Blazer was a key asset in the Wildcats’ third-place finish in the state finals last year. In fact, it was their final win of last year, a third round win at higher seeded Glenbrook North, that stands out as his favorite memory playing for LHS. That win avenged their 2012 postseason home loss to the same team. “That was definitely my favorite memory thus far with LHS,” he said. “Every Wildcat player played phenomenal, myself included, and we were able to beat them.”

By being a strong goalie, Blazer is also reliable. Senior forward Nick Bagatti says having a goalie as reliable as Blazer instills confidence in the team. “Stronger goalies can handle high shots to the stick side easier and read bounces off of the ground a lot easier,” remarked Bagatti. “When the team is not performing very well, Cole is able to lift us up by employing these skills.”

Unfortunately, LHS was eliminated after losing in the 4th round to Loyola. But 2013 raised the bar of expectation for Blazer and the Cats going forward. Even despite losing 17 seniors from last year, Blazer is optimistic about this season. “We have a lot more spots to fill… but there’s not a doubt in my mind that the players will do well this year,” he stated. “We are definitely not short on senior leadership this year, and seniors such as Nick Bagatti will lead by example for the younger guys.”

Even with new faces, Coach Sullivan agrees that Libertyville can match last year’s success this time around, and he trusts Blazer to get the W in pressure situations. “We have the potential to be as good or better than last year, but if guys are not working their hardest, we may very well come short of that mark,” he reflected. “Cole will protect us in close games. He can make up for a lot of mistakes and inexperience.”

In the short term, Blazer wants his experience to pay dividends when the season starts. But after the final horn, Blazer is hoping his long-term goal will take shape: playing at the next level. “I am hoping to play Division One collegiate lacrosse,” he explained. He explained the difficulty of being recruited in a midwest player pool that he believes receives noticeably less attention from elite schools out east, many in which are his college preferences. There are four schools he is considering walking on to play at: the University of Virginia, Marquette, Villanova, and Bucknell. He has been observed by all of those teams.

As the last man back, a strong goalie must be reliable. Look no further than Cole Blazer to uphold that responsibility.