Nashua North's Redman uses size, experiences to grow as a lacrosse player

There are five words that Todd Redman loves to hear when he steps onto the lacrosse field.

I've got the little guy.

Whenever the Nashua High School North senior gets wind of a defender saying it, he knows he's going to have some early opportunities to score.

"When I first started (playing), people said I’m going to get the little guy," Redman said. "I just didn’t say anything and went and did my thing. Let them try to catch up to me."

Defenders have been trying to catch Redman for a long time, and there have been many - particularly the bigger ones - that he's left in his wake. As his final season at North gets going, Redman is closing in on his hundredth goal and three hundredth point for the Titans.

With those numbers, and the experience he brings as a four-year starter, Redman knows all eyes are on him whenever North takes the field this year.

"When I first started, I was just a freshman and I could just go out there and do my thing and hopefully I’d get some goals and help the team out," he said. "Now everybody is looking up to me and I can’t make mistakes. People look at me, they need my help. They need me to be a leader out there."

It's been one of the few times since he started playing lacrosse that Redman has been one of the older players on the field. When his older brother, Jake, started playing, Todd was just seven, and his father, Rod, would bring his younger son along to practices.

"I knew nothing about the sport at the time," said Rod Redman, who is in his second year as the Titans' head coach. "I had to bring Todd with me. I said I’ll get him pads and let him run around and he’ll stay out of the way. Next thing I know, he was doing drills and he was better than some of the U11 kids."

Playing against kids who were older and bigger than him helped Todd Redman adjust quickly to playing varsity lacrosse as a freshman.

"I wanted to play with the big kids," Todd Redman said. "I’m not afraid of them. I’m faster, so I use that to my advantage. I’ve been playing against kids bigger than me my whole life, so I wasn’t afraid when I came out (for North). I just did what I could to make the team better and work on my game. I know there are some things about my game that other people don’t have and use that to my advantage."

During the preseason, the part of his game Redman had to use the most was his knowledge, as he has stepped in as a bit of a coach on the field for North.

"He takes care of the offensive plays," Rod Redman said. "The other coaches concentrate on the defense and the midfield. We are young in the midfield. We have some good leaders as far as the midfield, but have some kids who are playing varsity for the first time. We’re trying to get them to understand what’s going on. You can still see him talking to the other kids to make sure they’re in the right spots."

Todd Redman is hoping what he's picked up, and accomplished, on the field can carry over to the next level, as he'll continue playing next season at Mercyhurst University in Erie, Pa.

"I know I can play at that level," he said. "I’ve worked hard in the offseason so that when I get to the next level, I can make a difference when I get there. I want to play as a freshman and I think I can. That’s the goal for me. I want to make an impact as soon as I get there."