Culbertson finds ways to fine-tune his game
MERIDIAN — When Alex Culbertson gets bored, he goes outside to work on his lacrosse skills. A lot of the things he does, like work on his one-hand behind the back shot, Culbertson wouldn’t try in a game.
But being prepared for a variety of situations helped Culbertson fit in with the Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic boys lacrosse team last spring.
Finding ways out of different situations is something he’s continued to work on with the Apex Lacrosse Orange team, which is open to freshmen and sophomores.
“During club I focus on my weaknesses that I know I have to fix,” said Culbertson, who is an incoming sophomore and Meridian resident. “I’m right-handed and my left hand isn’t as strong. I’ll use my left hand for one quarter straight. I also focus on my shots on the run.”
Culbertson, who is a 5-foot-11, 160-pound midfielder, joined the Apex team last season.
Culbertson’s Apex team finished the season 12-2, including winning a tournament at Ohio State University and finishing second at the Lacrosse Roads Classic in Indianapolis.
“It was a little challenging, but since I’ve been playing with the club kids for awhile, so I know them,” Culbertson said. “I think the challenge there was playing the next game because it was so hot in the heat. To stay hydrated and stuff.”
The number of different skills required to play lacrosse was a big selling point for Culbertson. He’s been playing lacrosse since he was around 8.
The sport not being popular in Western Pennsylvania — and being able to help lacrosse grow — was a big selling point.
“It has a bunch of sports mixed into one,” said Culbertson, who has played hockey, basketball and baseball in the past. “You could hit like hockey and shoot like soccer.”
As a freshman for the Trojans, Culbertson led the program with 40 goals, 12 assists and 62 ground balls. Culbertson earned first-team all-section honors.
North Catholic finished 6-10 overall, 1-5 in Division II Section 4 play in its first full season as a varsity program. Due to weather problems, the Trojans didn’t get onto the field for the first time until their first game.
North Catholic prepared for the season by practicing in the parking lot.
Trojans coach Don Bryant was happy with how Culbertson contributed to their offense.
“Alex was Mr. Offensive everything for us,” Bryant said. “When we needed to score a goal, he delivered. When we needed somebody to score, he got them the ball.”
Culbertson is continuing to work toward improving his skills.
Bryant is excited to see what Culbertson can do as a sophomore.
He’s planning to move Culbertson around to put him in better position to create offense.
“What I want Alex to do, he’s going to stay on the field more,” Bryant said. “My plan is to move Alex from midfield to attack position. Alex doesn’t have to come off the field, he can play offense the whole time. Hurts team because he’s one of our better defensive players. It’ll let him stay on the field and not get as tired.”
