He started playing hockey when he could barely walk, but the future is all lacrosse for Niagara-Wheatfield defenseman Zack Belter. The All American is committed to St. Bonaventure to build a foundation in the lacrosse program’s first season in Division 1.
“Hockey was just something you grew up with on the street,” Belter said. “It’s different with lacrosse and hockey. Lacrosse, a lot of guys start later, and hockey was just like, the stick was in my hands with all the guys down the street from day one.”
Belter picked up a lacrosse stick in fourth grade. He started off playing box lacrosse and gradually transitioned to field lacrosse and defense.
“They thought they’d try me with a long pole, and I’ve stuck with that ever since,” Belter said.
Defense was Belter’s strength in hockey as well and was a crucial part of the Falcons’ 2017-18 success as they finished the season with a loss in the Division 1 New York State Championship. Belter was named First Team All State.
He knows it took the whole team to get there, and they were a close group who’d been playing together “since we could barely walk.”
“It didn’t end the way we wanted it to, but I have no regrets. I enjoyed it, all the years,” Belter said. “It was definitely cool [to be named First Team All State], but I couldn’t have done it without my teammates and coaches. From day one, all of them always pushed me, and I pushed them and that’s why we got as far as we did.”
The loss of a classmate just before the hockey state championship weekend gave Niagara-Wheatfield more to play for, and since Mike Ziegler was a lacrosse player, Belter and his lacrosse teammates dedicated the 2018 season to Ziegler. And when Belter thinks of dedication, Ziegler comes to mind immediately.
“He’s what we preach with this program – the hard work and dedication, the commitment he brought,” Belter said. “He was always pedal to the metal, and even this school year, he’d always be a kid that I’d run up to in the hallway and we’d talk about how excited we were to win a section championship.”
The Falcons weren’t able to accomplish their goal of a Section VI Lacrosse Championship this year, but they played for each other and for Ziegler every time they took the field. Belter is grateful for what his teammates and coaches have helped him achieve and become, and he plans to give back in the future.
“[The 2018 season] didn’t go as planned, but they bring back a lot of young players with a lot of potential,” Belter said. “I hope they can get N-W back on the map. I can’t wait to help out when I can next year.”
His All American selection is something he’s proud of, but for Belter, it just makes him hungry for more.
“Being named All American is an honor, but you can never be satisfied,” Belter said. “It just means you have to keep setting your goals higher and higher.”
Next year, Belter will have higher goals and new teammates at St. Bonaventure, but there will be some familiar faces as well. Since his freshman year at Niagara-Wheatfield, Belter has spent his summers playing for the Buffalo Lacrosse Academy with Lancaster’s Ben Mazur, Carlo DiRienzo, and Andrew Hersey, and the Legends’ trio will join Belter at St. Bonaventure in the fall.
“Playing with all those guys over the summer, I felt like kind of the oddball at first,” Belter said. “A lot of them play for Lancaster, and they just really took me in, and those are some of my best friends now. And we’re all going to play at the next level now, which is cool.”
He’s excited to be a part of St. Bonaventure’s “foundation and pave the path for years to come.”
And Belter is confident that lacrosse will be a part of his own future for years to come as well.
“The stick’s always in your hands, whether you’re walking around school, walking around your neighborhood, or just sitting on your couch,” Belter said. “It just sticks with you.”
Photo submitted by Zack Belter.
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