Lynnfield’s Lilli Patterson, a three-sport athlete, will serve as a captain of the Pioneers field hockey team this fall. File Photo
By Anne Marie Tobin
LYNNFIELD — It’s no big secret that, in the world of youth sports, specialization is a fast-growing trend. Many parents feel that in order to make it at the high school level and beyond, their kids need to pick their best sport and play it year round.
Such isn’t the case with Lynnfield High School rising senior Lilli Patterson. Patterson’s proof positive that you can play for the love of the game. She’s also proof that good athletes will always rise to the top, even without the benefit of intensive, all-encompassing youth programs.
In her case, she plays for the love of three games — field hockey, indoor track and lacrosse.
Not only is Patterson one of a vanishing breed of three-sport athletes, she’s one of those special athletes who’ll serve as a three-sport captain.
She never held a field hockey stick until the week before high school tryouts began her freshman year.
“I had played youth soccer since I was little, but a few of my friends who were on the high school field hockey team told me about a field hockey camp at Endicott College,” she said. “I decided to go and I loved it, so I went out for field hockey instead of soccer.”
Lynnfield coach Mamie Reardon makes it no secret that she’s one of Patterson’s most ardent fans.
“For someone who never played, she really took to it,” Reardon said. “‘Bailey (Fanikos) noticed her right away and said to keep an eye on her. She turned out to be right. Lilli is the whole package, a real go-getter both on and off the field. She’s a tenacious player and nobody gets by her. She just understands the concepts of the game and has great anticipation and great stick skills as well. She is undoubtedly the backbone of our team and has really come into her own.”
Patterson started out on the junior varsity, but after a few weeks into the season was called up to varsity. She’s been there ever since, needing only one year to establish herself as one of the Cape Ann League’s premier players. The sweeper was selected to the Cape Ann League second team as a sophomore in 2014. Last year, the junior captain was the only Lynnfield player selected to the first team.
Patterson plays in the offseason for the Boston Field Hockey Club.
“After my sophomore year I didn’t think I was that good, but started playing for Boston,” she said. “We play a lot of tournaments and went to the USA Field Hockey National Indoor and Outdoor tournaments. They were amazing. At the outdoor before junior year, we went to Pennsylvania and it was crazy to see the talent level. Field hockey is huge in that state, they are bred to play field hockey, so there were so many great players there.”
Patterson will also serve as captain of the indoor track team this winter.
“I ran the 300 and 600, but I’m probably going to run the 55 this year,” she said. “I’m more of a straight-line runner, so I think the straightaway aspect of the 55 will be a good match for me.”
Patterson’s older sister, Tia, was a cross country and track standout at Lynnfield High and now runs at Boston College.
Next spring, Patterson will wrap up her high school athletic career as captain of the girls lacrosse team.
“We had a great season last year and made the playoffs, but got a tough draw in the first round,” she said. “But we are getting most of our players back, so we should be able to make the tournament again and maybe win a few games.”
Patterson, a member of the National Honor Society, serves as senior class president. Her course load is challenging with a mix of AP and honors classes. She’s on the board of the school’s Habitat for Humanity chapter and volunteers at the Red Cross and Pat’s Place, yet somehow finds the time to squeeze in a part-time job working at the Nike store on Market Street.
One of Patterson’s goals after getting hooked on field hockey as a freshman was to play at the Division 1 level in college.
Right now, Patterson feels that may not happen.
“I want to go into nursing and the trouble with D1 programs is they don’t let you take nursing because there are too many conflicts, especially with clinicals,” Patterson said. “The best advice I ever got about choosing a college was from a New England area college coach. The advice was don’t choose a school for field hockey because it may not work out.”
Patterson said her top two schools are Boston College and Villanova.
“I’ve worked really hard in school so I need to focus on academics and nursing, not field hockey,” she said. “Originally Fairfield, Sacred Heart and Vermont were my dream field hockey schools, but you couldn’t do both field hockey and nursing.”
For now, Patterson’s focused on making her final field hockey season the best one yet.
“We have so many returning players and a lot of club players and talented freshmen coming in. Everyone has been working really hard this summer, so I think we have a shot to do really well this year.”
She said a big part of this season’s success will be happening off the field.
“We raised $2,000 last year for Play for a Cure, and we want to increase that this year,” she said. “It’s such a worthy cause and we want to do all we can to fully support it again this year and hopefully raise more money.”
For Reardon, Patterson’s skill set goes far beyond what she is capable of doing on the field.
“On and off the field, she is a leader and is always finding ways to take the lead, be it setting up a car wash or other fundraisers,” Reardon said. “This is a girl you just know will be extremely successful at whatever she does as she has the spirit and the drive and the personality to work well with people. She is one of those rare kids that has it all.”