Team 24/7 Lacrosse Player Spotlight
2021 Paul Reidy
Learn more about some of the top High School lacrosse players in the Carolinas with the Team 24/7 Lacrosse Committed Player Spotlight
Getting to Know Paul Reidy
Player Name: Paul Reidy
College Commitment: University of Delaware
High School: Charlotte Catholic
Position: Goalie
Graduating Class: 2021

What other schools did you consider?
West Point, Michigan, and Richmond
How did the school you chose separate itself from the others you considered?
I thought the academics at Delaware made the most sense for what I wanted to study. I also build a great relationship with the coaching staff. I really enjoyed speaking with the coaches, hearing their goals for the program, and how they conduct practices. Delaware also has a specific goalie coach (Coach Fossner) which was a big draw for me and I am looking forward to learning from him. Finally, they are about to finish new facilities that rival those of the top athletic facilities in any sport across the country.

How would you describe your recruiting process overall?
Overall, my recruiting process was a rollercoaster. On September 1st, I received emails and phone calls from some of the top schools in the nation which was a dream come true. I remember being at Midnight Mania with my teammates and thinking "this is what I've been working for". That was a day that will forever be memorable for my family and I.

What was your favorite part of the recruiting process? 
My favorite part was playing the summer before my recruiting process started. Looking over at the sidelines and seeing all of coaches for the first time really motivated my team and I more than ever before. The sidelines of every game were loaded with coaches from all over the country. The other thing I really enjoyed was seeing my teammates commit. I knew how much it meant for each of them so was really happy when it happened.

What opportunities and information assisted you during your recruiting process?
For opportunities, I would say having the opportunity to be on the 2021 team for 24/7 was a huge aspect. Being surrounded by some of the top talent in the nation pushed me to be better throughout my entire career. We all always helped each other out through the process and had a really good group that played together for a long time. For information, I would say the recruiting meetings my family and I had with Ryan were enlightening and talking to past collegiate players that had been through the process was really helpful.

Did you feel like you had support from the Team 24/7 Staff during your process? If so, how?
Ryan and the 24/7 staff were really helpful throughout the entire process. With the new recruiting rules around when coaches were allowed to contact us, it was difficult to know what to expect but Ryan guided my family and I through the process so we knew what to expect every step of the way. The 24/7 staff has been extremely supportive of my dreams and aspirations over the years, I have always felt supported by them, even before the recruiting process started. 

What individual or showcase events, if any, did you find the most beneficial during your process?
I thought that Maverik Showtime was by far the most beneficial event I attended. After I attended the event, I had more confidence in my ability and most of the coaches I spoke with said that is where I stood out during recruiting. 

What would you tell younger players or parents to help them prepare for the recruiting process?
Know what you're looking for in college before the recruiting process begins. Whether that is the coaching staff, a specific division, or something else. Having that in mind really assisted me in narrowing down which schools I was most interested in. Also, take your time and keep your mind open to everything. Being able to think through which schools stood out, where you could see yourself, and which is right for you is essential throughout this process. Don't focus on just the top schools you had in mind, make sure to evaluate all your options. Remember everything happens for a reason. Lastly, work hard and have fun, that's what this is all about. Being recruited and committing is just one step in the process but you have to enjoy all of it.
Coach Flanagan on Paul
Paul is another one of those guys that grew up in our program and we were fortunate to have his family’s support from his first day playing with us. His parents trusted us with their son and supported us in everything we did. I would also be remiss not to credit his sister Elizabeth (@StadiumPhotographe). She has been our MVP on the sidelines over the last few years and will certainly be missed! 
When we started coaching Paul, he was a good player that was tall and athletic, but we weren’t sure if he was going to save a ball with his stick, get hit by it or miss all together. He was a young kid that had not grown into his body yet. For years, he was an afterthought when talking about goalies around the Carolinas that were his age, older or younger. He was certainly never a kid that you heard about as being this middle school game changer. Then as the years went by he just kept improving. He was growing into his body, his hands were getting faster and he was doing anything he could to get an edge. I would get videos of him juggling, boxing, jumping rope or taking shots in his backyard. If guys wanted to get together to shoot or workout, he was jumping in cage. If we had a league running, he was jumping in goal to take shots. If we had an academy program, he was there learning. Each season he was getting better and better.

Our coaches started to look at each other each season and note that he kept improving. We continued to hear about guys all over who were better but we thought this kid we were coaching was pretty good. We were at a practice leading up to the events in the summer before his junior year and I was warming up the goalies. It started as a normal warm up where we hit each spot then we end with just free shots on the goalie. I was shooting the ball as hard as I could from about 12 yards and he was practically laughing at me. He took up the entire cage with his size and his hands were so fast that he could catch all of my shots with ease. I wasn’t trying to warm him up. I was trying to score and it definitely wasn’t happening. After that moment, no one was going to tell myself or our coaches that there was someone better. We had the best and he was playing that way at the perfect time. He would go on that summer to show the rest of the country that same thing.

The thing I will always remember about Paul was his focus. Between school lacrosse, camps and the summer club circuit, kids play hundreds of games each year. Specifically in the summer, it can be hard to get guys dialed in and focused for each game. Our guys will play 25-30 games in a summer and we want them to have fun. Sometimes that means they aren’t as focused as they should be in warmups or even once the game starts. Paul was different. Before every game you can find him off on the side starting to go through his own visual warm up and starting to loosen up his body. While he is a loose kid that likes to have fun, he always had a way of finding 5-10 minutes before each game or practice to start to prepare himself mentally. More often than not, that mental preparation before the game or practice allowed him to play well once the action started. Playing goalie is different than a lot of other positions and it takes another level of focus. When our younger goalies ask us for tips and tricks on how they can improve, we will share some insight on Paul and his mental approach to the game. It’s something that will stick with our program for years to come.
  
We’re going to miss Paul, Elizabeth and the rest of the Reidy family but will be following his career at Delaware closely!
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