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“Ephraim [my Athelites trainer] always says, ‘Be a leader. If you’ll be a leader in life, you’ll get somewhere’,” says Grant Bridges, a Bel Air senior. Grant plans to use his leadership skills to improve a college lacrosse team next year thanks to a lacrosse scholarship from Seton Hill University.

“I was scouted at a tournament at Mt. St. Mary’s,” says Grant. Out of three games, “I had four goals in the first and second and a hat trick in the last.” The scouts liked what they saw and offered him a scholarship.

Grant will be the first to tell you that it takes a lot of dedication and hard work to earn a college athletic scholarship. Lacrosse season hasn’t started, but Grant and his younger brother are already in training. “We train with Athelites on Mondays and Wednesdays. We take protein and lift on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and on Fridays we run.”

He began training with Athelites two years ago. “Before Athelites I wasn’t that quick, and now I’m one of the quickest on my team,” he says. Grant increased his skills by doing agility drills. “It helps on speed and quickness…and awareness.” Although he doesn’t know whether or not he could have gotten the scholarship without Athelites, Grant says, “They motivate you to do the work.”

The most challenging thing about becoming an exceptional athlete is, “doing the task that’s in front of you,” says Grant. For him, it requires, “Working hard. Waking up at 4 in the morning sometimes just to start weightlifting. Go running. Motivating yourself to do what you have to do, and don’t whine about it.”

Athelites’ Player Rating System motivates Grant to work harder. He says, “Last year I was second of everyone in Athelites. Louis Boyle, who went to Queen’s University last year, was first. I’m pushing to get first this year.” He explains, “The Player Rating System shows you how fast you can run the forty, how high you can jump…and at the end you do it again. It shows all the hard work you do. You see you can jump three inches higher.” Grant says that even a small improvement makes a difference in the game when you can get a couple of extra steps against your opponent.

As a senior, Grant uses what he’s learned to encourage his teammates. “Last year, I was the quiet guy,” he says. “Now I’m a leader this year, pushing everyone else.” At Seton, he plans to continue being a team leader. “I’ll be the rookie that’s stepping up,” he says.

In the next couple of years, Grant plans to, “do as best as I can at Seton Hill. I want to really jump start that program and really help them out. I like to be on winning teams.”

Written By Terri Pilcher

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