Looking Back: Tim Harrington

(The Looking Back series features Anna Maria College spring student-athletes and coaches to tell their story about what they will miss following the cancellation of the spring season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We celebrate our student-athletes and coaches by allowing them to share their stories and hope their own words can bring a positive light during these unprecedented times.)

Written By Tim Harrington (Sr., M, Chicopee, MA/Chicopee Comp., Criminal Justice)

PAXTON, MA - My whole life was always soccer from when I was three, in sixth grade my best friend and his family convinced me to play lacrosse. During high school, I still joined the team even though I didn’t play but stayed with the team because of the friendships I made. At Anna Maria, Coach Mayo gave me a chance and I don’t think I can thank him enough for that. He gave me four more years to play a game I fell in love with and spend it with some of the greatest group of guys.

The past four years aren’t just about the lacrosse, yes playing that will be missed but more importantly, is the friendships and team that I was fortunate to hang out with. One thing about this team was it was a family, no matter what year you were or if you were a transfer, it didn’t matter, we all looked after each other and hung out. The bus rides, the locker room pre-game, the after-win celebrations, anything with this team was memorable. The countless trash-talking at practice just to grind and get us better, the grind of waking up, going to class, and then looking forward to practice will be missed.

Something else I will always wonder and I will spend a lot of time thinking about is the what-ifs. This senior class put in four years of work to turn a program around with an amazing coach. Every senior knew their role and accepted it, we all tried to be leaders in our own way and knew our end goal was to get this program and campus known for a successful program. This year was our year, the attitude around this year was nothing I felt in the four years before, not only did we have the confidence that we would win, other teams came in scared of Anna Maria lacrosse. We turned our team into something the campus was excited to talk about, that feeling of what success we could have brought to Anna Maria will always be with me.

One last thanks to you to the training staff at Anna Maria College, the three athletic trainers all took care of us but also made quality friendships with the athletes and often the training room was a good hangout spot for athletes although it was against their rules. Although our season was cut short because something bigger than sports and something we cannot control, the short time I had this year was amazing and something I’ll bring with me for the rest of my life. Thank you.

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