CHILI, N.Y. — Hunter Smith, a Chili native and McQuaid graduate, was selected 10th overall by the Boston Cannons in the Premier Lacrosse League draft earlier this month.
It’s a busy time of year for a college lacrosse player—the regular season is winding down, its finals season for school, and for Hunter Smith, its time to turn pro.
“I got finals this week, just trying to get that out of the way and become a full time lacrosse player, which is why I really came to college,” Smith joked.
Hunter watched the draft at his college house surrounded by the rest of the Richmond lacrosse team. His family meanwhile, watched at TC Hooligans in Greece.
“There was a lot of people either crying or screaming, like very happy. So it’s cool to see whether it’s friends or family. Everyone there was pretty emotional,” Zach Smith, Hunter’s older brother, said.
When the Boston Cannons came calling, it was incredible for the entire family, but for much of Hunter’s high school days at McQuaid, playing professionally or even Division I lacrosse felt far-fetched.
“I wasn’t like a four or five star or a three star. I had no stars coming in,” Smith said.
Ya see, Smith and his brother Zach were initially soccer players. In fact, Zach played collegiately at Keuka. The two trained at Total Sports Experience (TSE) when another sport came into the fold.
“All of a sudden, some guy taps me on the shoulder and I turn around. He’s like, I need two more players for my lacrosse team. I’m like, really? I’m like, when do you start? He goes tomorrow and I’m like, we’re in,” Shannon Smith, Hunter’s dad, said.
At that time, both Hunter and Shannon knew very little about the sport.
“Yeah, he never touched the lacrosse stick before. He still can’t really throw a ball that great. But he loves it,” Hunter Smith joked.
So is it fair to say that the father and son duo learned the sport together?
“Yes, 100 percent,” Shannon said. “He was right beside me.”
Learning from scratch, together.
“I probably put in hundreds of hours into YouTube just to figure out this game,” Shannon said.
To grinding, and eventually getting on at least some colleges’ radars.
“I didn’t know what the opportunities were going to be there for me. So I was like, okay, maybe I’ll go like D2, maybe I’ll go D3. I was like, you know, I had no idea,” Hunter said. “Then like a couple of high level coaches, there’s an ACC school that texts me, an Ivy League school, a Big Ten school, and I was like, oh, I was like, okay, so maybe I got a chance to do this thing at the D1 level. And then as I kept talking to those schools, they never offered me.”
Until Richmond came along.
“I came down here for a visit. It was during Covid, so I couldn’t have like an official visit, but I could come around the campus and I could watch practice,” Hunter said. “Did that. The campus was beautiful. The weather was beautiful. They gave me a great offer, so I’d be stupid not to take it. And, you know, these coaches are they’re really, really good coaches and they have a great culture here. So I accepted the offer from Richmond. And the next six years, we’ve been making history here.”
Hunter has embraced every opportunity along the way.
“There’s always going to be somebody better than you, and you’re never as good as you think. You’re all, you’re never as bad as you think you are. So just having that mentality every single day and just attacking it. I think that’s the biggest thing that’s made the difference for me over these years,” Hunter Smith said.
For the Smith family, Hunter turning pro is no surprise. Shannon described his son as a competitive athlete from birth who hates losing and loves winning.
“He’s put in the time. He’s a grinder. That’s really what separates him,” Shannon Smith said.
TO THE LEAGUE | Chili native Hunter Smith reflects on being picked in PLL draft WHEC.com.
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