Matt Gademske was at his cousin’s house one day when he discovered a couple lacrosse sticks in a bin full of sports equipment in the garage. The 8-year-old had no prior experience with the sport, but he took the sticks with him and never looked back.
“I just picked them up one day and I went out front,” Gademske explained. “Literally ever since then, I just fell in love with the sport, and I grew at it, and I just kept working on my craft, and I’ve never been so passionate about something.”
Now, the well-spoken Sweet Home High School senior almost has trouble expressing just how much he loves the sport that has become a constant in his life.
“I literally fell in love with the sport,” he said. “You hear people say that, but honestly, I’ve never worked at something so hard. It literally became a part of who I was. That’s all I want to do. If I find myself sad or I’m having a bad day, I would pick up my stick, I would go outside. I really love the sport. I’m really passionate about it.”
From its history to the joy of playing, Gademske said lacrosse and his lacrosse stick have become a part of who he is.
“The background of it goes all the way back to the Natives,” Gademske said. “Some say it was the first sport to ever be played, and I feel like that’s just something pretty special. It’s kind of tough to explain though. The stick hit my hands, and literally since then, something about it, that stick was a part of me. It’s tough to explain to people. I do get this question a lot, and it’s just something that I really love.”
He played as much lacrosse as he could while growing up and was joined by his best friend Nate Faller, whose grandfather John Faller coached both boys and is now their varsity coach at Sweet Home. Gademske participated in camps and summer leagues growing up, and every May, he would watch the NCAA Division 1 Tournament on TV. But he wouldn’t just watch.
“I’d just stand in front of the TV and jump around and practice the moves that the players would do,” Gademske said.
It was his freshman year of high school when Gademske knew he wanted to keep playing lacrosse as long as possible. The next step was college lacrosse. Gademske talked to several schools before narrowing his list down to three Division 2 schools: Mercyhurst University and Westminster College, both in Pennsylvania, and Roberts Wesleyan in Rochester, New York.
“It was a tough decision,” Gademske said. “It was a really long stressful process. It was exciting, but it was stressful, and the opportunity I was given at Roberts Wesleyan was something I really couldn’t give up, and I really kinda fell in love with the school, felt comfortable there. Seeing where I could be the most productive and accomplish the most in my next four years is why I chose the school.”
Gademske’s determination has done as much for him as the work he’s put in, and his college career will be no different. His goals are set high, and he expects to achieve them.
“I really wanna be a top player at the Division 2 level, and it’s something I’m gonna do,” Gademske said with certainty. “People ask me a lot, ‘What do you wanna do from there?’ and it’s not really what I wanna do — I tell them, ‘I’m gonna do this.’ From a young age, I said I was gonna play at the next level, and I’m playing at the next level. Every goal I set for myself, I’m looking to do. I’m a firm believer and living proof that if I wanna do something, I’m gonna do it. At the next level, these next four years, I’m gonna work day in and day out, do what I can to have an impact on the team and get on the roster right away and be a starting player and be a top Division 2 player, hopefully lead the team to a lot of success.”
Although his lacrosse stick will likely be in his hands constantly through his college career, Gademske does set it down every now and then, like during the winter sports season. He’s a two-year captain of Sweet Home’s varsity hockey team, and he started playing hockey before he picked up that first lacrosse stick. He was 6 years old then.
“I remember when I first started skating,” he said. “I think it was a figure skating class. My dad just wanted to get me on skates to see how I would do, and I just started basic training and skating, moving back and forth, and then from there it progressed, and I developed and started playing with teams. Started playing house hockey, select hockey, travel hockey, and then obviously now high school.”
Gademske and his fellow Panthers are expecting a successful season on the ice. They’re an experienced team and have been playing together at the varsity level for a few years now. Currently, Sweet Home is 2-1 and in second place in Division 4.
“We got a great group of guys right now,” Gademske said. “We’re really excited. We’re no longer the underdog, I feel like. Not to say it in such a way, but I feel like we’re gonna be the bullies this year, so to speak. We’re the upperclassmen now, we’re bigger, we’re faster, we definitely know what we’re capable of, and we take it a game at a time, practice at a time, shift at a time. We’re really ready to go. Coaches believe in us, we believe in ourselves, so we’ve already come together. If we keep doing that, if we stay together as a unit, I think we’re gonna have a lot of success.”
When the hockey season ends, Gademske has one more season on the turf with Sweet Home lacrosse. While it might be a rebuilding year for the team, Gademske expects to play well and be a leader on the team.
“I do have a pretty big goal of mine,” Gademske said. “It’s kind of personal, some people kind of laugh at me about it, but I want to hit a 100-point season. I believe I can do that. I got not too shy from it last year with 71, but honestly, I just wanna have fun with these guys. I know a lot of the boys that I’ve developed really good friendships with over these past four years, I might not ever see again, and I just really wanna have a fun time. I know we’re not gonna be the best team. We lost a lot of depth. Coming back as returning seniors, me and Nate Faller, we’re definitely gonna look to put the team on our shoulders and help the young guys out and do what we can to have a successful season, but I’m really just trying to have fun and do what I can to be the best I can be to finish out my career.”
Gademske believes that Coach Faller, as well as his own parents, are the reason he is the player and person he is today.
“Knowing [Faller] from such a young age, he kinda took me and Nate under his wing and disciplined us a little bit more so than he would the other kids because he knew our potential and knew our goals that we set for ourselves,” Gademske explained.
When Gademske was younger, he hated car rides with his father after his games. Now, he remembers them fondly and has learned to appreciate his father’s advice.
“Growing up, I had a pretty hard head,” Gademske said. “My dad was my biggest coach, and driving home was the worst — driving home from any sport at all. He would chirp in my ear and he would always give me advice, tell me what I could do different. It’s not that I didn’t wanna hear it, but I always wanted to just show him I could do it without him having to tell me. But I love that he told me because it really pushed me to be a better player.”
Gademske smiles now as he remembers those car rides, and he knows that he has his family and coach to thank for the opportunities he has ahead of him at Roberts Wesleyan.
“I would not be where I am today without my parents, my mom and my dad, and then my sister and my coaches, of course,” Gademske said. “They really have developed me into the player I am.”