March 3, 2009
by Mike Zhe/
Nate Billings is back in goal for Brewster Academy after a bout with testicular cancer.
As the weather got hot last summer, Brewster Academy goalie Nate Billings’ disposition was pretty sunny as well.
He was coming off a strong senior year at the Wolfeboro, N.H., school, his third as the starting goalie. He was drawing some Division 1 interest for his skills. And he had a birthday coming up.
It was the day before that July 23 birthday — his 18th — that he went to the hospital after feeling some pain in his abdomen. He guessed it was appendicitis.
Wrong.
Testicular cancer.
“I was kind of shocked, but it didn’t really hit me until a while after,” he said. “I was trying to be strong. My parents were crying. It was very hard on them.”
The diagnosis wasn’t an entirely unfamiliar one. Billings’ father had gone through it two decades ago, though that had nothing to do with Nate getting it. And medicine has made significant advances in treatment since then.
“One of the first things the doctor said to me was, pretty much nowadays nobody dies from testicular cancer,” said Billings, a Woodstock, Vt., native.
That doesn’t mean that it was an easy recovery. He had his first surgery the day after he was diagnosed. He had another one in August, to remove lymph nodes in his abdomen after it was discovered the cancer had spread.
By the time he started chemotherapy in the fall, his weight had dropped from 190 pounds to 160. Instead of showcasing himself at summer tournaments, he spent a lot of time in bed, restricted to a low-fat diet.
The good news came around Thanksgiving: Billings was cancer-free, with doctors telling him there was less than a 1 percent chance of a remittance. He was cleared to resume his athletic activities last month.
Even as his health and energy level fluctuated, say those who know him, his spirits never wavered.
“What’s great about it was that his attitude was phenomenal through the whole thing,” said Brewster coach Bill Lee. “He was happier and more upbeat than he was before. He took it on with such a positive attitude. I was really inspired by it.”
Billings was a big reason Brewster went 14-2 last year, going undefeated in Lakes Region League play and winning a Northern New England title. He plans on heading to either Hartford or Bentley next year on at least a partial lacrosse scholarship.
Growing up in Vermont, Billings picked up the sport at an early age, but he didn’t become a goalie until junior high school, after a chance practice session during a summer tournament in Middlebury, Vt.
“I was just hanging out with a friend,” he said. “We had some free time and I got in net.”
At 6-foot-2, 190 pounds, he fills up a good part of the net. He’s also become a more vocal player, taking on a leadership role with his view of the entire field. In three years as the starter since arriving at Brewster as a sophomore, he’s only lost three games.
“He’s a good stopper, but his real strength is when he makes a save and gets a play started,” Lee said.
Brewster is hoping to show it has more than Billings in goal this spring. Junior Riley Merritt is the top defender, and the trio of Justin Ingram, Dylan Koontz and Jared Boudreau give it a strong attack.
The defense took the hardest hit from graduation, but Brewster does have its reliable goalie back in net, after an offseason when the fear was that he might not even return to the field.
“I feel great now,” Billings said. “I’m not exactly 100 percent, but I feel close.”
His best save yet.
The good news for teams not named Deerfield? Rob Panell is gone.
After breaking the modern-day school record with 99 points and helping Deerfield (14-1) share the Western New England Division 1 title with Trinity-Pawling, Panell has moved on to Cornell, where he’s in the mix for a starting job as a freshman.
In all, Deerfield said goodbye to seven Division 1 players, but its coach thinks it has enough left to keep the joyride of the last two springs (29-1 record) going.
“I’m optimistic,” Deerfield coach Chip Davis said. “We don’t return a huge core of seniors, but it’s quality over quantity.”
Midfielder Peter Berg (Harvard) and attacker Drew Philie (Vermont), the team’s top returning scorer, lead the way. Mike Morris (Georgetown) anchors the defense, and midfielders Josh Hawkins (Loyola) and Jake Ghitelman (Virginia) are two other players to watch.
It’s the beginning of a new era at Loomis Chaffee, where former University of New Hampshire coach and Boston Cannons assistant Ted Garber takes over for longtime coach Jim Wilson, who started the program in 1960 and retired after last spring.
The Pelicans graduated all but five players, but among those five is midfielder Tom Harris, who earned All-America honors. Defender Ted Barker, goalie Nick Petrarca and middie Oliver Norton also are being counted on to keep the club afloat in the tough Founders League.
“I think it’s going to be a real competitive league,” Garber said. “It seems like everyone has bolstered their lacrosse programs with post-grads and repeat juniors. It’s going to be interesting.”
Hotchkiss returns a strong senior class, and the strength starts on a defense that features several Division 1-bound players: long-sticks Chris Nourse (Georgetown), Baxter Lanius (Lehigh) and Derek Raabe, and goalie Dan Marcus (Denver).
George Sherman (Brown), T.J. Cholnoky, Kyle O’Keefe and Ted MacKenzie are other players to watch.
“It’s a very competitive league we’re in,” Hotchkiss coach Chris Burchfield said, “but we hope to be competitive.”
Salisbury returns better than 60 percent of its scoring from a year ago, when it went 12-3. Other teams to watch include Avon Old Farms (11-5) and Westminster (8-7), which returns defender Kieran McDonald, an All-American last season as a junior.
Governor’s Academy crafted a 17-0 mark last year in winning the ISL outright and has plenty of top players back to make another run at the title.
Speedy midfielder Blake Riley (Virginia) is a threat at both ends of the field, while attacker Marc White (Brown) is a scoring threat. The defense is anchored by a pair of Big East-bound seniors: defenseman Colin Canty (St. John’s) and goalie Pete Metcalf (Villanova).
“No doubt, we will have plenty of competition,” Governor’s coach Peter Bidstrup said. “I believe that on any given day, any team in the ISL can beat any other. It’s just a great league that way.”
Challengers to the throne include the Rivers School, which finished in a tie for second a year ago at 14-3 and has plenty of talent back, particularly up front. Senior Mark Cornacchio tied for the team lead in goals, and he will have plenty of support with juniors Jordan Greenfield and John Fitzgerald, and midfielder/faceoff ace Jeff Rautiola.
“This may be one of New England’s best attacks,” Rivers coach Justin Walker said.
Middie Steve Manning, defenders Tommy Harrison and Geordie Carrick, and goalie Christian Dallmus also are assets for the Red Wings.
Middlesex (12-4) will look to make noise behind Duke-bound midfielder David Lawson, while Belmont Hill (10-6), Nobles (14-3) and St. Sebastian’s (14-3) are other teams expected to win their share of games — or more.
Hebron Academy was the best in Maine for a third straight year last season, going 15-3 but losing 12 players, including 85-point man C.J. Estes (now at Nazareth College).
Anchoring the Lumberjacks will be senior defender Derek Gilbreth, junior middie Corey O’Brien and Malik Garvin, who put up 30 points as a freshman. Kyle Cordaro is expected to keep the goaltending position an asset.
“Kyle is very athletic and very polished,” Hebron coach Jay Keough said. “He will anchor our team from the net.”
Kents Hill also has a superb goalie in Jake Cockrell, and will try to take the next step after falling in the Maine title game a year ago.
Phillips Exeter is led by standout defender Sam Gardner and will try to improve on last year’s 13-4 mark in Eastern New England Division 1.
In the Eastern Independent League, Rhode Island’s Portsmouth Abbey (14-2) is aiming for a second straight league title.
All across New England high school champions were crowned in 2010.
For the Boston Cannons, selecting Max Quinzani (Duxbury, Mass.) in the 2010 Major League Lacrosse draft was an easy decision.
Cannons defender Chris Passavia juggles his roles as a lacrosse player and lawyer.
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