It’s a nonstop sport with constant motion, and you better have your wits about you, or the game will literally pass you by. For Salpointe senior Caleb Dudas, that’s just part of the beauty of lacrosse.
We caught up with Dudas Thursday afternoon to talk a bit about the sport and the prospect of his senior season ending much too soon:
Q: When did you start playing lacrosse and did you try other sports growing up?
A: I played basketball and baseball when I was little and I played lacrosse from a very early age when we lived in Virginia and later New Hampshire. We moved to Tucson when I was in the seventh grade.
Q: What positions have you played?
A: You play every position when you’re little but defense has been my favorite since the fifth grade. It’s not really a glorified position because you’re not scoring but if you mess up you can take all the blame. There’s lots of pressure and I like that part of playing defense.
Shout out to the 5 Lancers selected for the D1 All Star team! Congrats to the players who received additional honors:
Cole McKenney, Attack
All State Honorable Mention
Daulton Franzoy, Midfielder
All State Honorable Mention
Caleb Dudas, Defense
All State 2nd Team#WeAreSalpointe pic.twitter.com/qXmTwAR0Vz— Salpointe Lacrosse (@SalpointeLAX) May 12, 2019
Q: How many players do you have on your team and how many teams are in Tucson?
A: We have about 30 to 35 players, mostly seniors and freshmen. Oro Valley, Foothills and Mountain View have teams but most of the teams are in the Phoenix area. As long as you are athletic it’s not a hard sport to pick up. We had about ten new guys on the team this year and they all had important roles because they were athletes.
Q: What do you love the most about lacrosse?
A: There’s a lot, but I would say the pace of the game. It’s nonstop and you have to pay attention. It’s intense. You have to remember everything about your position but you also have to know what your teammates are doing. You have to have their backs.
Q: Do you play against a lot of physical opponents?
A: I think the higher the skill level the less physical players have to play. It’s a finesse sport and you can tell when there is a new team or a new player because they depend on the physical aspect t o compete. I played on the east coast this summer and it was all finesse and skill competition. I attended camps and tournaments and made a national team where we played all over from New York, Philadelphia and Maryland.
Q: You obviously are unable to play right now. What are your thoughts about not
being able to play?
A: There’s hope for sure but I think the general idea is that the season is over. Everything is online and graduation might be online. Some will miss prom but for me it’s missing my senior season playing lacrosse. That’s the hardest part. It’s an odd situation and I’m not able to see my friends. We are all super disappointed, especially the seniors.
SO. ARIZONA 2019 LACROSSE ALL-STARS
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Andy Morales was recognized by the AIA as the top high school reporter in 2014, he was awarded the Ray McNally Award in 2017, a 2019 AZ Education News award winner and he has been a youth, high school and college coach for over 30 years. He was the first in Arizona to write about high school beach volleyball and high school girls wrestling. His own children have won multiple state high school championships and were named to all-state teams. Competing in hockey, basketball, baseball and track & field in high school, his unique perspective can only be found here and on AZPreps365.com. Andy is the Southern Arizona voting member of the Ed Doherty Award, recognizing the top football player in Arizona, and he was named a Local Hero by the Tucson Weekly for 2016. Andy was named an Honorary Flowing Wells Caballero in 2019. Contact Andy Morales at amoralesmytucson@yahoo.com
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