On Tuesday, May 6, 2014, Upper Moreland seniors Chris Fleming and Torin Grumm were recognized at a special news conference for committing to play lacrosse at the collegiate level. To view photos of the signing, please visit the Photo Gallery.
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Chris Fleming – Misericordia University (Lacrosse)
Major: Chemistry
Final list of colleges: Misericordia, Elizabethtown, Delaware Valley
Reasons for choosing Elizabethtown: “I really enjoyed the campus, the chemistry program they offered and the coach.”
What was the progression that led you to playing collegiate lacrosse? “I knew I wanted to play college lacrosse ever since I started playing in third grade.”
Coach Mike Liberona: “Chris was an attackman for us. He broke the school (single season) record for goals and overall points with 61 goals and 93 points. When Chris was a freshman, I saw the skill level, and I thought he would be pretty good. It was during his junior year that I realized he was going to be the guy for us offensively and also a leader. We were playing Springfield-Montco, and it was a real tight game. There was a mistake made at the end of the game - we turned the ball over right in front of the net, they picked it up and scored, and we were going into overtime. I’m trying to think about how to keep the guys up, how to keep momentum from going to the other team and figure out how to win this game. Before I could say anything, Chris pulled them all together. He told the kid that made the mistake, ‘Don’t worry about it. This is what’s going to happen – our faceoff guy is going to win the faceoff and draw it to you. You’re going to scoop it up, run down the sidelines and give me the ball. I’ll fake high, shoot low, and we’ll all go to the bench and celebrate.’ Basically, that’s exactly how it happened except the part about going to the bench because they tackled him before he got there. It was awesome. To a man, everyone believed that’s exactly how it would happen. After that, whatever he said was pretty much gospel. They all believed everything he said. He was a leader. He was the alpha captain. It was one of those things as a coach – you’re very proud to see something like that happen. A lot of kids say a lot of stuff, but he put in the work, and he was always gung-ho about everything. It was a pleasure to coach him.
“He’s not a big kid, and he’s not a fast guy, but he’s very smart. He knows how to adjust during games. He knows what his skill set is, and he’s a very good player. He called our plays for us on offense. He’s relentless in all phases. You’ll get guys who like to score but won’t like to ride. He’ll do that. He just wanted to get to the playoffs this year. It was our first time ever getting to the playoffs, and he and Torin Grumm were two of the biggest factors why we got there.”
About Chris:
Favorite food: Spaghetti & Meatballs
Favorite movie: Billy Madison
Favorite music: Alternative
Torin Grumm – Albright College (Lacrosse)
Major: Business/Sales
Final list of colleges: Albright, Shippensburg, West Chester, Delaware Valley
What was the progression that led you to playing collegiate lacrosse? “I started thinking about it when I started a few games my freshman year, and I also played club during the summer. That really helped out.”
Coach Mike Liberona says: “As important as Chris was to the offense, Torin was to the defense. I needed both of those guys. We’re not working without either of them. Defensively, Torin is intense. I remember his sophomore year – every kid does it a little differently to get themselves ready for a game. He would get very heated. He would be on the sidelines yelling and telling guys where they needed to be. At first, guys took it the wrong way. They thought he was a hothead. You realized that was just his way of getting up for the game. He’s a football player too, and that’s his thing. It wasn’t like he was being disrespectful to anyone, and he wasn’t saying anything disrespectful. This is what he needs to do be effective, and I let him go. He didn’t take a lot of penalties, and people were shocked when they saw how many penalty minutes he had – he didn’t have very many.
“I gave him a lot of leeway defensively, and he would change up calls on the fly and adjust his defensive partners. He was always on the other team’s best player, so he never caught a break. He’s a big kid, and sometimes kids were quicker, but he plays within himself where I didn’t have to worry about him.
“This year he scored a couple of goals in transition. He’s got an underrated stick. His stick skills are good, and in the offseason, I said, ‘We need to take advantage of this a little more.’ A lot of teams get in transition and get into the offensive end, and the defenseman gives it to the offensive player and then takes off and goes back to where he’s supposed to go. For us, I would send him to the crease. More than a couple of times, teams would get confused and lose him because you don’t expect a defenseman on the crease. We’d dump it into him, and he would get a shot off. He was very composed for a guy who doesn’t play offense. It was fun to watch him progress as a player over the four years.”
About Torin:
Favorite food: Cheesesteaks
Favorite movie: Forest Gump
Favorite music: All kinds
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