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April 5, 2009 E-MAIL PRINT

Shanley next in line at Fairfield Prep

by Kevin Henkin/

Ask Chris Smalkais how many goals any one of his players scored last year and he’ll probably give you a cursory shrug. Such numbers are unimportant to the coach of the vaunted Fairfield College Preparatory School lacrosse program. Instead, he’ll point out the recent overall success of the Fairfield Prep team, which has won the past three Connecticut Class L championships and is preparing to challenge for a fourth title this spring.

Even Smalkais will concede, however, that every team needs its designated leader on the field. For this upcoming season — following the graduation of four seniors honored as All-Americans — Smalkais has anointed Tucker Shanley to fill that role.

After three full seasons of increasingly dynamic play from Shanley — who tallied 22 goals and 15 assists in 22 games last year — many expect this to be a season of true emergence for the physically gifted midfielder.

“Tucker’s full potential as a high school athlete has yet to be discovered,” Smalkais said. “His level of play will be determined by him. I think he’s fully committed to being as successful as he can his senior year at Fairfield Prep. I think there will be no distractions. He will not allow himself or his teammates to be distracted.”

Based on what he’s seen from his player over the past three seasons, Smalkais feels confident assigning Shanley with the leadership role.

“It was a pretty easy choice,” Smalkais said. “Tucker is well liked by his peers and he carries himself with a quiet confidence.”

Shanley agreed with his coach’s assessment of his unassuming leadership style.

“I’m more of a lead-by-example type rather than a pump-up-speech-type guy,” he said.

At the tail end of last season, as the goals began to pile up, Shanley drew increased pressure and frequent double-teams from opposing defenses. He anticipates a similar heightened pressure this season but seems prepared to respond.

“You just have to be prepared to face that,” Shanley said. “When you’re dodging against a player, you’ve just got to dodge that much earlier because the other guy has that six-foot pole in his hands. You have to dodge a couple of steps earlier.”

Beyond his elusive dodging, Shanley’s arsenal also includes an ability to generate a high velocity on his shot with either hand.

“He can shoot the ball extremely well with both hands,” Smalkais said. “He can shoot the ball with both hands at a hundred miles an hour. Actually, he can shoot the ball harder than anyone we’ve ever had in our program.”

This is no small praise when you consider that Fairfield Prep has produced a total of 14 All-Americans over the history of its program, including the four from last season alone.

Regarding the development of his offhand, Shanley had the benefit of some early guidance.

“When I first moved here from Chicago back in the fourth grade, it was the first time I ever picked up a lacrosse stick,” he said. “I luckily ended up with a babysitter who was a high school lacrosse player at the time. He instilled in me very early that you have to be able to play with both hands. Since then I’ve been working on my offhand and trying to perfect it as best as I can.”

Shanley also benefitted from the steady guidance of his parents. Both were lacrosse players in high school who have since kept alive their passion for the sport. Smalkais specifically pointed to Shanley’s family as a major contributor to his ongoing development.

Said Smalkais: “Tucker comes from a good family, and the key to him being as level-headed as he is and driven as he is comes from his parents and his sister.”

Based on her own experiences in the game, Tucker’s mother, Joan, possesses a heightened appreciation for his play and development thus far.

“I’m just totally amazed by what he’s been able to accomplish,” she said. “He’s really self-motivated, He just loves the game so much. The minute he first picked up a stick, it just suited him. For him, it comes down to raw talent and a love of the game.”

Even beyond Shanley’s obvious physical abilities, his mother attributes much of his success to his general approach to the game.

“He does not have an ego,” she said. “It’s not in his way. He doesn’t need to be the guy scoring the goals. He’s just as happy passing it off.”

Addressing what Shanley needs to do to step up his game even further this season, Smalkais said: “Great players make the players around them better. We hope that Tucker’s experience and his leadership ability will shine through to make the players around him better players.”

Although his high school career is coming to a close soon, Shanley has already firmed up his next step by committing to play next for Princeton University.

“They’re losing some senior midfielders,” Shanley said. “They want me to stay at midfield and then to step in early and play a bunch. At least, that’s what Coach [Bill] Tierney has told me.”

In terms of what he plans to work on to prepare himself for the college game, Shanley said: “Ground balls and aggression. It’s a whole other level stepping into college, and you’ve just got to be that much crazier to play in college, so I think I’ll have to be even more aggressive, I’d say.”