by David James
North Attleboro High School Lacrosse Captain Dan MacDonald is a unique case at NAHS. He doesn’t care what anyone thinks, and one could say that he marches to the beat of his own drum.
Before school, he gets up at 5 AM to run a mile or two around his neighborhood. During the school day, you can hear him from the other side of the hallway talking about lacrosse, Clash Royale, or his dominance in North Attleboro’s most intense fantasy football league (LAFFL). After school you can find the Sun Chronicle and Hockomock League All-Star sporting a fedora, playing catch with himself against a brick wall with his one-of-a-kind pink stick, occasionally breaking to casually do 50 push-ups in a row.
The four-year starter’s journey to where he is today wasn’t a typical one. Dan started high
school at Bishop Feehan, planning on starting at goalie as a freshman. However, the private school life isn’t for everyone. Dan spent only one semester at Feehan before he was done being told to dress and cut his hair a certain way.
Dan came back to NAHS in time for lacrosse season and was immediately thrust into the spotlight, but not at his current position of goaltender. Although it was clear Dan was the most talented goalie the school had seen, there was a vacancy in the offense and an above-average junior already in net.
“I prefer playing goalie, but that’s not where they needed me. I just love playing any part of the game so I learned to love attack too,” MacDonald said.
As a freshman, Dan started at attack and tallied 27 goals and 18 assists. As a sophomore,
he was a crucial part of the offense, drawing most of the defense’s attention with his pink stick, rainbow mesh and loud comments before, during and after the game. He opened up the defense for others to score, accounting 43 assists to go along with his 32 goals.
During junior year, Dan was back in his home position, in the net. Although he’ll tell you it’s not nearly as fun, it’s clearly where he thrives, as he lead the Hockomock league with a 71% save percentage.
As a reward for his excellence on the field and leading the team, and because NAHS does not have Junior Captains, Coach Kevin Young unofficially named him as a third captain alongside Seniors Anthony Bauingo and Andrew Casson.
“It made sense to add him,” said teammate Jack Dakin. “We were struggling to stay motivated and he was the best player, and the heart and soul of the team. Everyone really rallied around him.”
It was well known that Dan was the best player on the team, and arguably in the program’s history for years to come. Following his outstanding junior year, Dan was voted by his teammates as the defensive as well as team MVP, and in addition, (official) captain.
Although lacrosse season won’t start up again until March, Dan is already in training for the upcoming season, citing last year’s final loss against Sharon as his motivation. In the past, “Captains Practice” has started three weeks before tryouts started, but Dan has taken a proactive approach towards preparing the team.
The majority of the lacrosse team not playing a fall sport follow Dan into the weight room after school, pushing each other to become bigger, faster, and stronger.
People are expecting big things from the lacrosse team this year as it is returning 7 of 10 starters from last year’s team. Dan doesn’t shy away from these big expectations. “We will be the best team in this program’s history.”
The First Launch 