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# Focus on and off the field helped Nashua South's Linscott become better lacrosse player
- URL: https://www.nh-highschoolsports.com/focus-on-and-off-the-field-helped-nashua-souths-linscott-become-better-lacrosse-player/
- Published: 2018-04-11T18:00:14.000Z
- Updated: 2018-04-11T18:00:14.000Z
- Description: Bill Monsen had a simple answer for Devin Linscott to become a better lacrosse player and it had nothing to do with lacrosse. During Linscott's freshman year playing for the Nashua High School South team, Monsen, the Panthers head coach and an assistant coach for the football team, saw a lot of pote
- Author: Joe Marchilena
- Tags: Division I, boys lacrosse, Devin Linscott, Nashua South, NH High School Sports Insider, slider, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-08-18 04:44

Bill Monsen had a simple answer for Devin Linscott to become a better lacrosse player and it had nothing to do with lacrosse.

During Linscott's freshman year playing for the Nashua High School South team, Monsen, the Panthers head coach and an assistant coach for the football team, saw a lot of potential but something more was needed.

Actually, there needed to be more of Linscott, physically, so he started playing football as a sophomore.

"Freshman year I was only playing lacrosse," the senior said. "I just played lacrosse and that was what I did best. (Monsen) was like ‘you’ve got play another sport.’ I think (playing football) helped me a lot. I got bigger from it, I gained a lot of muscle. When I came in freshman year, I was a scrawny little kid."

As a senior, Linscott is not only a four-year varsity player for South, but he spent last fall as a starting linebacker for the Panthers on the gridiron.

"He had a lot of talent on the field," Monsen said. "He was skinny and getting tossed around. He picked up football, took the strength and conditioning piece to another level, and now he’s more of a complete player."

While South returns a strong core on defense, it will need Linscott's experience on offense, where he and fellow senior Sean Holland are the only players returning from a team that went 6-10 a year ago and missed out on the playoffs.

"He’s a grinder and he’ll keep going, but he needs to impose his will on teams sometimes," Monsen said. "He doesn’t do that as much. There was a moment in practice (in the preseason) where he did do it and I stopped practice to say that is the Devin we need to see this season. That is the No. 1 thing we need from him. We’re going to be relying on him quite a bit."

It's a long way from where Linscott, who also participated in unified basketball, was when he first started to get interested in lacrosse. He'd only played baseball when he was younger until an opportunity to attend a lacrosse camp presented itself and he decided to give it a try.

"My cousin, Max Fay, he had a lacrosse camp and he couldn’t make it," he said. "My aunt asked my mom if I could take his spot, so I did and from there, I just loved it. I was still playing baseball at the time. I would never have thought of picking up a stick."

Instead of rushing into the sport, Linscott participated in a few more camps first, trying to improve his skills first before joining a team.

"I wanted to keep doing camps until I felt comfortable," Linscott said. "I started playing U11\. It’s crazy that it’s already senior year. It should be a good season and it should be enjoyable."

Part of the reason Linscott believes that is because there are a lot of football players who are also on the lacrosse team, and after going through a successful year - the Panthers made the playoffs for the second year in a row - the hope is it can carry over into the spring.

"Tough, hard-nosed kid who is quiet and plays the game the right way," Monsen said. "That’s Devin. He does all the right things. He has been a great leader from that perspective. He’s around the school community and he’s a great person to have as a representation of your program because he’s doing all the right things."

While he'd like to continue playing lacrosse in college, and there are a handful of Division III schools that are interested, Linscott has been focused on trying to find the right fit academically and financially.

"I know how much tuition can be and that’s something to consider," he said. "That’s what my mindset has been. I don’t want to graduate and have debt. I’m looking forward to getting to play college ball."