Ben was introduced to lacrosse at a very young age by his father, Jeff, who played lacrosse in college at Bucknell. “My dad had me watching lacrosse on TV with him when I was super young,” said Ben Kangas. “He got us fiddle sticks for Christmas when I was probably three years old.”
“He played in the backyard non-stop for a solid two years before I convinced the local team to let him play,” said Jeff Kangas. “He was in Kindergarten, playing with second graders. He was a foot shorter than the other kids, but already had the stick skills. It was so fun to see the joy on his face when he played in that very first game.”
“I remember that first game,” recalled Ben Kangas. “It was raining. I remember the freeness I felt. I was totally clear headed in that game. It was totally consuming, and I felt a joy that is incomparable.”
Ben has felt that freeness and joy on the field ever since. It is an unmistakable part of his game that comes naturally. “I love the creativity of the game,” Ben said. "That’s the part of the game that attracted me from the very start. It’s always fun to go out and try new things. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. I like the feeling of succeeding or failing, but picking myself back up if I fail. The whole game is a battle. It takes speed, strength and quickness .. a complete athlete. That part of it has been so cool to me from the very beginning.”
After playing locally in the East Bay for several years, Ben joined a club team. After a few years, he decided to join ADVNC. “I had gone to some ADVNC camps and became friends with some of the guys already playing on ADVNC Select Teams,” said Ben. “I knew Chris Rotelli (ADVNC Founder & CEO) was an incredible coach and ADVNC became a place I wanted to be.”
“There was going to be a big commute for us to get Ben from the East Bay to Menlo Park for the ADVNC practices,” said Jeff Kangas. “But I saw that he was getting a little complacent in practices with his first club team, and I wanted him to be challenged. So we joined ADVNC.”
“Joining ADVNC was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made in lacrosse,” said Ben. “They were able to help me develop in practice with great coaching and helped me with college recruiting.”
“ADVNC is really well organized in how they structure their practices,” said Jeff Kangas. “Their success has bred more success, and that has helped attract better and better players. The players get better at their practices because they are highly competitive practices. Then, the way ADVNC has expanded their footprint to include Seattle and Oregon into the NDP, it’s been amazing adding all those great players.”
“NDP has been one of my best lacrosse experiences,” said Ben. "It's a very unique experience. My team has so many great players. Many of them are committed to play in college. Getting that type of competition in practice elevates everyone’s game. And having those types of teammates that I can bounce things off .. I've created friendships for life. Our NDP team is a brotherhood.”
Ben was ready when September 1, 2021 came around. “It was nerve wracking and exciting. Coach Rotelli and all of ADVNC NDP helped me prepare. They scheduled us to play great tournaments against great competition in front of great coaches, and allowed us all to show what we had.”
“It was good to have Chris Rotelli to let us know which coaches were interested in Ben and get us info on who had decided to move onto other players,” said Jeff Kangas. “As you come into the process, you feel a little in the dark. It was good to have Chris to lean on for guidance, so we didn’t feel like we were at sea in the dark as it all unfolded.”
Ben took his time, making sure to choose schools and programs that he felt were a good fit for him. Eventually he zeroed in on one school. “I first recognized Vermont a couple of years ago,” said Ben. “They won their league multiple years in a row and I liked their style of play. It was similar to my style. Lots of creativity. They like to do wing dodges and that’s my type of game. The coaches there are awesome. They’re young guys I felt I could relate to, and they were super interested in me. I also like the town of Burlington. It’s right on the lake and really beautiful. And the school is a perfect size with great academics. It was just a great overall fit for me."
“I’m really proud of him,” said Jeff Kangas. “He took his time to evaluate his options and thought clearly about what he wanted. He found a place that’s great for him for both academics and lacrosse.”
Ben’s advice for young players who want to follow in his footsteps: “Consistently put in the work. Do it every single day. Get out on the wall, go for a run, lift weights, and love what you’re doing. Make sure your passion is always there. Always have a ton of heart and intensity and go 100% all the time.”
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