Windham's LeVine always had an eye on Syracuse when planning lacrosse future

The list of things disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic seems infinite.

In high school sports, not only did it wipe out the 2020 spring season, leaving many athletes with one less collection of highlights to showcase to college coaches, but it also meant many of them wouldn't be able to visit the schools they were deciding on attending.

Fortunately for Nate LeVine, he was already familiar with the school that was at the top of his list.

"I think since I first heard of Syracuse, I wanted to go there," LeVine said. "It was a dream of mine. I was going to the (Carrier) Dome my whole life with my dad. He grew up in Syracuse, so I’ve been going there my whole life."

There were moments when LeVine, who is a senior and plays for the Windham High School boys lacrosse team, thought about the possibility of going somewhere else. But he always ended up coming back to the Orange.

"I was seriously considering Navy for a while," he said. "It came to the point, do I want to give a lot into that, or do I want to go to Syracuse. It was really stressful at some points, but it came down to my love (of Syracuse)."

With his final high school season coming up, LeVine has turned himself into the type of athlete that will fit in playing in Division I and the Atlantic Coast Conference.

But that wasn't always the case.

"He was always a little bit raw, but he was a physical specimen," said Chris Cameron, director of the New Hampshire Tomahawks, where LeVine plays club lacrosse. "He’s got the ACC body and that’s jumped out and ultimately got him recruited.

"He’s big, but his skills were not at the level of some of the other players, so he accepted the role of defensive middie. He accepted it being the team player that he is, and he excelled at it."

While LeVine was recruited by Syracuse as a defensive midfielder, and he's played there throughout his time with the Tomahawks, he's seen his fair share of time on offense while playing for Windham. As a sophomore, LeVine finished with 24 goals in helping the Jaguars reach the Division II playoffs.

"Coaches really like that, when you’re a d-middie, you can run up and play offense as well," he said. "It’s nice to have the skill set to go down the field and be a threat, have people have to slide to you."

LeVine started playing lacrosse in Pomfret, Conn., before his family move to New Hampshire when he was in seventh grade. He tried playing other sports, like basketball, soccer and football, but decided lacrosse was where he wanted to put all of his focus.

And as he kept improving on his skills, he also kept growing, and the combination of the two helped him standout.

"When you play in the ACC, you need to matchup physically, but you also need to have good skill level," Cameron said. "He’s a great team guy. (Defensive middie) is a position where you don’t get a lot of glory. He got better and better at it. He does all the little things. He gets ground balls, he plays defense, he clears the ball, he does all those things. His skill level, he got his game raised up to where he got some goals."

After missing out on last spring and losing a talented senior class, LeVine knows the Jaguars will have their work cut out for them in 2021. But he's encouraged by what he's seen from his teammates so far this offseason.

"Our offense is set, we have a very talented offense," he said. "I’m just working on stick skills. You always have to have those. Mainly, speed and strength, and I’m trying to do a lot more with balance."

The NHIAA spring season is scheduled to begin with practices and tryouts on March 29, with the lacrosse regular season starting on April 12.