Alumni Spotlight on Ronan Jacoby
We are on the cusp of what proves to be an exciting year for Glastonbury Lacrosse. New this year, Friends of Glastonbury Lacrosse and the Glastonbury Lacrosse Club will be bringing news and interviews of current and former players.
Today’s spotlight is on Ronan Jacoby, a 2017 GHS Alumni and one of Wesleyan University’s star players. Ronan was a Freshman on the Wesleyan Men’s Lacrosse Team last year where he contributed to the Team’s first National Championship. He was the Team and Conference leading scorer with 66 goals and 14 assists and was selected as NESCAC Rookie of the Year which is a tremendous honor.
Ronan started playing lacrosse in first grade in the inaugural season of Glastonbury Lacrosse Club’s - Rising Stars Program. The Glastonbury Lacrosse Club (GLC) helped jump start Ronan’s love for lacrosse and taught him the fundamental skills of the game. To this day, he is still out practicing and continuing to play the sport he loved so much as a child.
At GHS Ronan and his teammates had many accomplishments. The team won the CCC championship 2 times, made the state tournament all 4 years, and played in the state semi-finals in 2015 and 2017 falling to National # 1 Darien both times. The mere fact that Glastonbury could compete against such outstanding competition put Glastonbury on the map as one of the top lacrosse programs in Connecticut.
“Ronan was a great leader in our program. His success came from his hard work. He would always be shooting or doing individual work beyond just team practices to improve his game. Ronan and his classmates set the tone for our program with their hard work and dedication year-round. His competitive spirit and desire to be the best allowed him to excel. To see him win a college National title and lead his team in scoring is a tremendous accomplishment.” GHS Coach Scott Hinchey
Ronan had many different opportunities to play lacrosse at Division I and III schools. Some of these schools are the highest level academic schools in the country including Amherst, Williams, Bowdoin, Wesleyan, and several Division I schools. Today there are many other programs wishing they had recruited Jacoby. In the end Ronan decided to play for his club coach who he had a great relationship with at Wesleyan.
“If you want to win a Division III national championship, you don’t do it with Division III players. You do it with Div. I players. Ronan’s a Division I player.” Wesleyan Coach John Raba in the Hartford Courant
Today, Ronan is building on his 66 goal Freshman campaign, with Wesleyan (7W-1L) and 8th ranked in the country. Despite a separated shoulder in the final preseason game severely impacting the start to his season, Ronan has 19 Goals and 3 Assists thru 8 games. He is one of Inside Lacrosse’s top players in college lacrosse for 2019.
Ronan says the major difference between high school and college lacrosse is the physicality. The game is much more physical, and the overall speed of the game dramatically increases in college. Playing a sport in high school and now in college, Ronan has had to balance his schoolwork with lacrosse. Overall, it has taught him a lot about time management and what to prioritize. “It was quite easy” he said. “I always put school and lacrosse above everything else”.
Ronan may be away at college, but he is still in touch with his friends from his high school team. He follows the GHS lacrosse team and tries to attend most of the important games during the season. In fact, he has been known to bring some of his Wesleyan teammates to help him cheer on the GHS team. Ronan is still in contact with his high school coaches and helps out wherever he can. It always interests him to see how the team compares to when he was playing at GHS.
To all high school players looking to play college lacrosse, Ronan has this advice. Go to a college or university where “you can actually play” and not just sit on a bench. To all Glastonbury High School lacrosse players, Ronan says enjoy your time in high school because, “You will never get the time to play in a place like GHS again and make the most out of your experience!”
Good luck to Ronan and the Wesleyan Lacrosse Team in 2019!
Reported by Thomas Anglim
Lacrosse Journalism & Media Intern
