Trailblazing in the Footsteps: One-on-One with Caldwell Rohrbach
Submitted by BBowker on Mon, 2011-02-21 18:56
By Brett Bowker CANTON, NY- No one can doubt Caldwell Rohrbach is a leader. He is now in his junior season at St. Lawrence University in rural upstate New York. Last season, he led the Saints in points with 22 goals and 10 assists. In addition, he is also the solo captain of the St. Lawrence lacrosse team, a first in their history.
“Usually in the past we’ve had four to five captains. But we have a small senior class, so the coach upped the position’s prestige. He decided to have only one and the team elected me. It was a lot more work than I thought, you get a good behind the scenes look at how a team is run,” said Rohrbach. “Being a solo captain is a lot of pressure. It’s the little things, like hustling during practices and games, attending coach’s meetings, making sure team chemistry and morale is good, making sure guys are in the know about what’s going on.”
The day of a collegiate captain starts at 6 am practices three days a week; it tapers off during the season. Afterwards Caldwell heads straight into classes for the morning, after lunch he hits circuit training with a light workout. By the afternoon he’s in practice again. Into the night its homework, study time and coach’s meetings. The “student” clause of student-athlete is often taken for granted when thinking of collegiate lacrosse. Academics often require more work than the time put into the sport. “Good grades help with playing time. Freshman year is usually the toughest; you got to make the grades to make the team. You do the best you can. Monday, Wednesday and Friday are my big academic days,” said Rohrbach.
Rohrbach competes for the St. Lawrence Saints in the Division III Liberty League. It compromises teams from upstate New York. “We have about 41 guys on the roster. A lot are from the New England area, couple natives from New York, the Chicago area, one from Colorado and two from Washington. We have about 10-13 long poles, four goalies. Our attack is really strong this year, we got all returners from last year and they’re young too, mostly sophomores. I’m looking forward to competing with Hamilton College this year, RPI beat us twice last year, so Lachlan (Murphy) I’m coming for you (laughs).” said Rohrbach.
Not only does Caldwell lead as a team captain, he also was selected to play in the Western Lacrosse Association Junior A Men’s box lacrosse in Vancouver, BC this summer. He earned a spot on the Nanaimo Timbermen roster, alongside Stealth stars Lewis Ratcliff and Chris O’Dougherty. He leads the way in Washington players playing box lacrosse. However, despite Caldwell’s trailblazing leadership and his accomplishments he remains humbled. Rohrbach acknowledged those Washington players who came before him and paved the way for his ascension into the limelight.
He first picked up a lacrosse stick when he was in middle school, playing for the Mercer Island program. He then went on to play high school ball for Garfield, achieve all-state honors and become an All-American. “Luke Larson and Paul Swanson, of Mercer Island were the first guys to get me into the game. They were big influences in my life back then. It all started with teaching me how to pass on the back porch,” said Rohrbach. “The Mahonys are great competitors and have strong work ethics, which motivate me as a player. Drew Snider, Shane O’Neill and Andrew Parietti were teammates of mine that I admire. I feel I’m just following all their footsteps,” said Rohrbach. “Also all the guys on the Stealth team, it is great having our own lacrosse team in Washington. It’s wonderful that they come down and teach the box game to us and we go play the field game up north. It’s a great exchange.”
Caldwell had some final words for young players interested in the collegiate level. “Keep having fun, play it because you love it. Don’t look at it as a chore. Washington lacrosse recently had a hardship with losing a good dedicated player in Tyler Lucas, it is a privilege to play. Remember to put the time in with the books. You’re not going to any collegiate program without academics, colleges want a complete package. And always thank your parents for what they do to support you,” concluded Rohrbach.
Check here at Walax for Rohrbach’s campaign with the Saints this season, as well as other Washington collegiate players.
