In his own, ‘Gosh, me?’ kind of way, Quinn Stanhope is pumped for the final months of high school.
The New Westminster Secondary student sits uneasy fielding questions on his lacrosse exploits, but there’s no denying the facts.
The 17-year-old lefthander will wrap up his Grade 12 year and pack his bags for a new world and life as a student/athlete at Canisius College, located in the heart of Buffalo, New York.
“I had a really good feeling about Canisius and what they’re about when I visited,” said Stanhope of his initial fly down in 2014. “It’s in the city but not a real big university, about 5,000 students. … Yah, I’m pretty pumped.”
Although not exactly a late bloomer, Stanhope started playing the sport at the age of 10 and patrolled both the box and field with equal aplomb. Born and raised in Kelowna, by his Grade 10 year it was apparent that the opportunity was real, but he had outgrown his region’s competitive level years prior and accepted the family’s decision to move to New West with an open mind.
Joining the vaunted intermediate Salmonbellies and high school Hyacks organizations put a brighter spotlight on him and intensified the college scouts’ glare.
“The ball moves a lot faster, people just have a better sense for the game,” he said of playing in New West. “They seem smarter in terms of decisions they make. They play it faster.”
It’s meant Stanhope had to hone his skills to be at his best and make the most of his new linemates, passing and moving the ball around.
“Up there, there are strong players but they have never played as part of a ‘team’ before,” remarked NWSS coach Al Varley. “They’ve learned to play by themselves and when they move down here we have to strip that away and bring it back to the team.”
As a teenager, Stanhope did have an advantage in playing with midget and junior teams in the same season, but few players were comparable in skills. Still, by his Grade 8 year he knew that college was a possibility.
“I owe it all to my parents. Their commitment and support for me has just been awesome. … There were a lot of trips on the Coquihalla (to games),” he noted.
Canisius has recruited from B.C. before, but relies mostly upon locally produced players from around the north eastern U.S. The main Canadian connection, however, is pretty strong, with Canadian national team head coach Randy Mearns calling the shots.
Meeting Mearns was a big reason why Stanhope chose Canisius over Robert Morris and UMass-Lowell.
“What stood out to me was the coach. He’s the head coach of Team Canada’s men’s team, and I really liked the message he had. (Mearns) is very enthusiastic, (but) he’s not the kind of coach who praises people because their stats are great,” said the 6-foot-2 midfielder/attackman. “It’s about the guys who are team players, working as a unit, it’s about the team.
“It feels like while they’re not winning right now, they are on the path, that things are coming together.”
Ken Bowman believes Stanhope can make the transition to Div. I lacrosse fairly smoothly.
“Quinn is so easy to coach because he is driven to get better every day,” said Bowman. “A coach’s dream.
“His eyes are going to be like saucers, he’s going to be a huge sponge learning all this new stuff. He’s going to have a circle of friends who will be with him for the rest of his life. It’s quite a unique situation for those who go away to school.”
