Lacrosse
Favorite athlete: Claude Giroux
Favorite team: Philadelphia Eagles
Favorite memory competing in sports: The comraderie with my teammates after big wins, that’s the best
Most embarrassing/funniest thing that has happened while competing in sports: I went to take a shot. The Sidewall string broke and the ball ended up hitting a golf cart.
Music on iPod: Pretty much anything. I am all over the place
Future plans: Elizabethtown College, to study engineering
Words to live by: Never give up
One goal before turning 30: Have a steady career and a family.
One thing people don’t know about me: I actually enjoy reading.
By GORDON GLANTZ
It’s all good right now for Chris Jordan.
He is playing lacrosse, the game he fell in love with in sixth grade, and will continue doing so on the collegiate level at Elizabethtown College in Hershey.
The second-year captain and four-year varsity performer for Upper Merion coach Brady McCormick, is one of the team’s leading scorers after moving from midfield to attack.
A season ago, though, a lot was in doubt.
Jordan has his proverbial “bell rung,” during a game. Initially cleared of a concussion, he wasn’t himself – neither on the field nor in the classroom.
“It went on for about two weeks,” recalled the Univest Male Featured Athlete. “I played about five games but something wasn’t right. My grades were also dropping.”
Upon further review, he did suffer a concussion and needed to jump through a lot of medical hoops and “red tape” to be cleared again for takeoff.
“Once we found out, I was relieved,” he said, admitting that he and his family were concerned that something more serious was going on.
Nonetheless, protocol dictated a long recovery.
“I was completely shut down,” he said. “Basically, all I was allowed to do was sleep. But my season was over before I was cleared to play. Because of the concussion, I missed most of the year and into the summer.
“I’m proud of the way I battled back.”
Sense of Urgency
Jordan’s greatest strength – not wanting to let people down – can also be his greatest weakness.
Despite being “basically shut down,” he bent some of the rules and went to watch his teammates try to scratch and claw without him in the mix as a vital cog.
“It killed me,” he said. “I went to games, even though I probably wasn’t really supposed to, and I knew I could help if I could be out there.
“I felt I let people down.”
But he came back to the fold this year stronger from the experience and with the ability to stare down adversity with the eye of the tiger.
“Yeah, I do feel that way sometimes,” he confirmed.
He is a self-admitted man on a mission for the Vikings, as they struggle to shake the stigma of a perpetual .500-level team.
“I have more of a sense of urgency,” he said. “I felt like last year was taken away from me, and this is all that I have left.”
Engineering a Future
Although he is desperate to end his Upper Merion career with a statement, Jordan’s lacrosse journey is only reaching the halfway point.
Many standout student-athletes with an eye toward the future face a tough decision about whether or not to compete at the college level.
Some choose a bigger school, opting to maybe scratch their itch by playing their beloved sport at the club or intramural level, while others go the small-school route and balance studies and athletics.
Jordan fell into the latter group.
He approached the process like the budding engineer that he is, whittling his list from the schools recruiting him for lacrosse to the ones that met his academic needs – namely a quality engineering program -- and his desire to be close to home.
As such, the search for the “win-win” scenario commenced.
“I was recruited by about 20 schools, but I only talked to four,” he said. “First and foremost, they had to have my major. I knew I wanted a small-school atmosphere. If l could play lacrosse also, it was the icing on the cake.”
He noticed that Andrew Delaney, who had pursued him while coaching at Arcadia University, was at Elizabethtown and sent him an e-mail.
“He had already recruited me, and I liked him,” said Jordan. “I said, ‘I’m going to e-mail him and tell him that I’m interested.’”
The interest was mutual, and the deal was sealed after the 90-minute ride to visit the Hershey campus.
“You know how you get that feeling about a place the second you walk onto a campus?” he said. “Well, that’s what happened to me at Elizabethtown.”
While the part of him that hates letting people down kicked in when he had to call the coaches from the other schools he was seriously considering, he is looking forward to making an impact on the Division III level.
Jordan admits that being a college athlete while holding down a demanding major is a “big concern,” but he has had plenty of training in that area.
“I would like to think so,” he said, with a chuckle.
On the field, he plans to continue making up for lost time.
A natural midfielder currently playing attack, he’ll play goalie if he is asked.
“In college, I’ll play wherever they need me to play,” he said.
Making an Impression
What impresses coach Brady McCormick about Jordan is his maturity, embodied in his willingness to give back to the community.
“(Jordan) helps out in coaching the 3rd and 4th grade club team and really does embody the ‘Grow the game’ spirit,” said McCormick.
Jordan – who credits his parents, Mike and Debbie – for making him the person he is, explained that most of the time with youngsters is spent working on the basics.
“I like them,” he said. “I’m all over the place. I have done every age level, at some point, except high school. I mostly help run practices, working on the basic skills, like catching and throwing.”
Jordan had tried every sport available but was not completely satisfied until the middle school lacrosse coach announced that more players were needed.
“I decided to go for it,” he said. “I just fell in love with it. I never looked back.”
Before he knew it, he found himself diving deep into the game, playing year-round.
“I don’t regret any second of it,” he said. “It’s awesome.”
The enthusiasm was infectious. When he first picked his lacrosse gear, his heard his younger brother Ryan’s approval.
“He said, ‘Chris looks so cool,’” said Jordan.
Now, Ryan is in the program as an Upper Merion freshman.
“He is on junior varsity, and he starts,” said Jordan. “That’s pretty good.”
A Coach’s Dream
If high school graduation ceremonies were like weddings, where an opportunity was granted for someone in attendance for speak or forever hold his or her peace, coaches would likely be the ones most tempted to object.
A case in point is McCormick, who is going to have a hard time bidding farewell to Jordan.
The reasoning is that he is, more or less, a coach’s dream.
“He is always positive, willing to help anyone out and just overall a real joy to coach,” said McCormick. “He's what you would call a grinder--not flashy, per se; but a lot of grit. His motor is always running and he plays with heart and determination that’s hard to beat. Chris will never give up and never stop working.
“This season, as one of the senior captains, he has led the team well.”
Jordan, who says lacrosse “takes the best from every sport,” said he has adopted a simple but effective approach.
“I’m not always the best player, but I’m going to outwork everybody,” he said. “I’m not really a vocal leader. I’m more laidback about it. Don’t tell anyone they need to hustle up if I’m not giving 100 percent myself.”
In the eyes of his coach, there is no issue there. Jordan’s playing style is merely a reflection of who he is in the game of life.
“Chris is a fantastic student and is a great overall kid,” said McCormick. “His attitude and approach to learning is the kind that you wish you could inject into every player on your roster.”
“I wish him nothing but continued success.”
With the past behind him, and the future already set, Jordan has a mission to accomplish in the present.
“Absolutely,” he said, without hesitation. “I love this team. It’s been my life for four years.
“It’s definitely going to be tough moving on.”
