Approximately 1,800 Maine boys play high school lacrosse per year. In June, only eight among them received the honor of being named an 2017 High School All-American Player. A single goalie, Carter Landry (GHS ’17), the son of Megan Landry and stepson of Scott Cook, appeared on the list of the best of the best. Landry also goes into the books as Gorham’s first Lacrosse High School All-American.
Landry headed to Widener College on August 22, a college program that provided him with a summer conditioning and nutrition program, as he wanted to “bulk up a little” in preparation for the college game. In addition to, or in spite of, his summer job with a moving company, he also worked out at a local gym. But he lit up when talking about his summer play in adult pickup and organized lacrosse leagues as well as shooting around with teammates informally.
His teammates have obviously been integral to his life in Gorham, and not many sentences were spoken between mentions of Mat Anderson, Cam Wright or Alex York, with whom he’s played, socialized and attended school. GHS varsity coach Dan Soule was also mentioned often. Soule told the American Journal, “Carter wasn’t a great player coming into high school, but he was a strong athlete.” The All-American and his mom affirmed that assessment.
Megan Landry shared, “Carter’s athletic talent came from my late husband who died when Carter was one. Carter was raised by his stepfather and I. While we have supported his strong athletic ways, we are not a typical ‘athletic’ family.” She added, “We have to learn the sports he plays. I often wish for a ‘Lacrosse for Dummies’ handbook so I can understand the sport.”
He played everything, including hockey, soccer, football, and golf. He began lacrosse in 7th grade at Gorham Middle School under coach Tom Talbot but he was still playing in high-level hockey programs as a freshman. Soule told the American Journal, “He was a hockey kid that was fully invested in hockey. The challenge for my coaching staff and I was selling him on the fact that he had the raw ability and potential to be one of the best goalies in the State—if he committed to the game and put in the work required to develop his skillset.”
What makes Landry a rare, elite lacrosse goalie? He said, “I get adrenaline going taking shots and I don’t feel it—my right thumb is always swollen.” Advice for kids? “You can’t be afraid. You have to have super hand and foot speed. I’m flexible. I can contort my body and lay it out.”
As for Widener University, in Chester, Pennsylvania, his visits just “felt at home.” Widener is a school of 3,600 undergraduates, with a similar number of graduate students. It competes in the MAC Commonwealth Conference, Division III, and Landry wants to have fun with lacrosse. He hopes to get the starting role, but with an All-American already in net there, he knows he gets to play with, “a program on the rise, with some great players and a goalie mentor.”
Landry plans to major in finance, and nearby Philadelphia should offer some great internship opportunities. If he approaches those college opportunities similarly to his extraordinary goalie save percentage (he has a good number of 20-plus save games), he won’t let much pass him by.