A Comox lacrosse player will be taking his talents south of the border after he graduates from high school this year.
Adam Torry, a Grade 12 student at Highland Secondary, will be attending Augustana College in Illinois, where he will join the Viking lacrosse program.
“Because it’s a division three school, they don’t give athletic scholarships, but I got a bunch of academic scholarships, so it’s a good amount paid for,” Torry said. “If you put in enough work through school, you can make it the same price as Canadian schools.”
The 17-year-old honour roll student ranks in the top five of Highland’s class of 2020. He was part of two Highland basketball teams that won North Island championships. He has also served as team captain in volleyball.
But those sports have taken a back seat to lacrosse this year.
Torry stands 6’ 6” and weighs 220 pounds. Playing attack, he was a three-year captain and three-time scoring leader for the Comox Valley Wild. He has played under coaches Peter Parke and Gary Spaven.
Spaven said Torry’s size was sometimes a hindrance defensively against smaller players. On offence, however, he was able to work himself into great scoring positions.
“Adam is a very passionate and competitive player,” Spaven said. “Demanded the best from his teammates and led by example. He’s very coachable. Whenever I said or asked something of him, he wouldn’t hesitate to do it and was always seeking advice on how to improve his game. He was eager to help his teammates with set plays and drills.”
“I think he’ll be a great asset to the Vikings,” said Geoff Garbutt, past-president of the Comox Valley Lacrosse Association, noting Torry joined the league at the midget level after his family moved from Texas to the Valley in 2016. “He was a great addition to our program.”
Torry played in two recruiting events last summer: the All Canada Games in Oshawa, Ont., and the Elite 100 at a college in Massachusetts. The events caught the attention of numerous college coaches in the U.S. He then compiled highlight videos, which he sent to various schools.
Augustana’s academic side — particularly its biology program leading into medical schools — attracted Torry to the school, which is located in Rock Island, Ill. He took two trips to the college to meet the coaches and players, and to get a feel for the campus.
“After that I made the call,” he said. “It was a good six, seven months of work put in. It was hard work, but it’s definitely paid off.”
“It’s always wonderful to hear that there’s opportunities for local kids to go on and keep playing the great game of lacrosse, and further their education,” Garbutt said. “It’s one of the things that attracts people to lacrosse, is the educational opportunities in addition to the culture. We wish him all the best.”
reporter@comoxvalleyrecord.com
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