A funny thing happened to Seth Neeleman on the way to Maryland.
The New Canaan, Conn., native was never too big on summer club teams that now define youth lacrosse. The feeling was born out of Sunday religious commitments and a fidelity to the three-sport athlete persona that’s slowly going away.
In fact, it wasn’t until the summer heading into his senior year that he seriously considered playing college lacrosse, at the nudging of his coach at New Canaan, Chip Buzzeo. Shortly after Buzzeo canvassed colleges with game tape, interest in Neeleman took off.
Loyola won the sweepstakes – but not before Neeleman, a Mormon, embarked on a two-year mission to Brazil, in the capital district of Brasilia. A year and a half into the mission, Neeleman had a change of heart, desiring to move closer to his grandparents in the Salt Lake City suburb of Sandy, Utah.
