A recruitment process normally is drawn out throughout an athlete’s high school years, but for freshman Carter Parlette, the process took two months.

Parlette verbally committed to Syracuse University on Aug. 10, his first day of high school. Syracuse is a Division I lacrosse school and Parlette is the first lacrosse player of the 2020 class at the school that has made any type of verbal commitment.

Parlette started playing for the Jokers Lacrosse club team when he was 8. He was playing Pop Warner football at the time, but one of his former coaches, John McCarthy, encouraged him to try it out.

“I went to one practice and just fell in love with the game,” Parlette said.

There are 16 Division I schools for men’s lacrosse, including John Hopkins University, North Carolina University and University of Maryland. Parlette received verbal offers from all three. Parlette’s recruiting process took two months, and it all began with a phone call introducing himself to the coach of Syracuse. As the coach began to watch Parlette play, more phone calls were made.

“Later, I was asked to visit. On the visit, it just felt like home,” Parlette said. “I knew that was where I wanted to play college lacrosse.”

Student-athletes do not officially commit to a school until signing day of their senior year, so there is a lot on the line for Parlette. At any time, either Parlette or the school can back out.

To get to this point, Parlette has already put in significant time to lacrosse. With 10 to 12 hours of his week being spent playing the sport, social life and time for school work lacks, and besides family and school, Parlette’s life revolves around lacrosse. The sport has not only impacted his life, but his family’s lives as well.

“[Carter and I] live very separate lives because his lacrosse schedule is always crazy and I’m all over the place with different things. But him playing lacrosse has brought me and my family great relationships with his teammates and their families,” Parlette’s sister Haley Parlette said.

Traveling has become a big part of their family as well. In the past years, they would travel within the state for tournaments and only go to one out-of-state event. This summer was different because the family made several trips in and out of state for tournaments, showcases and college visits.

“We try to do a lot together as a family, so we all are pretty close. Traveling throughout Florida and out-of-state for several lacrosse events has been nice because it allows Carter and I to spend quality time together,” Parlette’s mother Teresa Parlette said.

Parlette has played under many coaches, including John McCarthy, Kevin Farrington, Tony Moreshi and Trey Gordon.

“I owe every bit of my lacrosse success to my coaches I had growing up. They taught me everything I needed to play the game, starting with the fundamentals,” Parlette said.

Parlette’s coaches are not the only one guiding him though. His mom, teammates and friends have played large roles in his life to assist him in achieving his goals.

“My mom has played a huge role in my lacrosse life and I really appreciate her support. She has always taken time out of her day to drop me off at practice or come to my tournaments,” Parlette said.

With success comes sacrifice and troubles, but Parlette has yet to experience much of that.

“I don’t feel, at this point, there are any negatives [from Carter having lacrosse as such a big part of his life] because he takes breaks from it, but if he were to play on an additional team or league it could come to a point of burn out,” Parlette’s mother said.

For many athletes, including Parlette, success does not only come from the work and training put in on the field. He does many things to better himself as a player including studying moves of well-known players, working on his footwork with ladders, running long distances to build stamina and spending time in the weight room.

With fall lacrosse starting soon, Parlette has more to look forward to. The school has an offense including junior Jarrett Prachel, senior Jordan Collins and sophomore Davis Cox, and a defense led by junior Connor Purcell.

“Carter’s a good player with a good lax IQ who should benefit a lot this season to our team. He is capable of following in Granite Porche’s footsteps,” Purcell said.

Although Parlette has made a verbal commitment, his mindset has not shifted.

“My verbal commitment to Syracuse has just brought me to my next goal,” Parlette said. “My work ethic doesn’t change at all; I will still work to be the best player I can be.”