Determined lacrosse player, sophomore Gabriel Arnett scores his way into the national qualifiers for the U.S. Olympic team, the USA Indoor Lacrosse team, this year making it his second consecutive year. Playing in the World Championship, held in Utica, New York, it is a hope for both him and the many other young men on his team will be given the opportunity to play in the U.S. Olympic team. With pressure on his back to fulfill this goal, he is focused on working at it to live out his dream of going to the Olympics.
Arnett, previously a soccer player, began to play lacrosse at the age of 8 after being recommended by one of his friends’ parents at one of his soccer games to try the sport out. Due to the similarities in lacrosse and soccer, Arnett took up lacrosse not so effortlessly, but quickly became one of the best players on the first lacrosse team he played on with focused practice and determination.
“I was bad [at lacrosse] at first,” said Arnett. “But then I practiced like four times a week and that’s how I got to where I am now.”
On each of the nine lacrosse teams Arnett takes part in, he plays as defense and midfield, with a specialty in face-off, a one-on-one match between the two players that specialize for this specific type of match. His most competitive teams, the U.S.A U16 and U18 teams, which are nationwide lacrosse teams created by the official U.S.A Lacrosse governing body, are the top two teams he mainly played for this past Fall and Winter. Both the U16 and U18 team are composed of 24 players from across the nation, making it extremely competitive to be selected. Joe Arnett, Gabriel Arnett’s father and lacrosse coach, tries to manage which team Gabriel plays for each day.
“You know, he [Gabriel] sometimes asks about which team he’s playing today,” said Arnett. “He just plays on so many travel teams including Katy Men’s Varsity Lacrosse team.”
To be a part of the U18, one has to be 18 years old to be able to play, however, because of his excellence in face-offs and defensive skills, he was able to play for both the U16 team and U18 team. Joe Arnnett believes that two things cultivated his son’s success in the sport: his practice and dedication. Practicing is something Arnett does consistently, both with the support of his family and himself. Using the hand-painted lacrosse field made by his dad, on days that he is off from competing in a competition, he goes outside to practice.
“You know the 10,000 rule?”, said Arnett. “Gabriel is way over that. He’s probably in the 100,000-hour rule now.”
The 10,000 rule suggests that it takes 10,000 hours to successfully master a skill. Currently, Arnett is on the road to the Olympics, hoping to progress from U16 to U17 and U18 by 2026 and 2027 respectively. There will be a great amount of competition across the United States vying for these coveted spots, however, it is Arnett’s goal to continue to get better and progress each day and for every game. To be able to go to the Olympics, he would need to be able to successfully advance to these teams and win. Wanting to continue lacrosse in the future, one of Arnett’s biggest goals would be to make Division 1 at a college level. He is already being sought out by multiple colleges, like Yale and Brown. However, his main goal would be to play for the U.S. Olympic team.
“I would feel really happy [to be able to play as a part of the Olympic team] because I would get to represent my own country,” said Arnett. “I would feel very proud.”
