Photos courtesy of Evan James
Dressed in green and white Dublin Coffman High School gear, fans and family gathered in the Ohio Wesleyan University stands for the lacrosse state championships. The Coffman fans were confident and fired up, having won the semi-finals the week before. Captain Evan James was a huge part of that win, having scored eight of the 15 goals, and many people came to the finals in hopes of seeing more spectacular lacrosse. Twelve seconds into the state championships against St. Xavier High School, the crowd wasn’t disappointed. James ran down the field, spun around his opponents and scored the first goal. Less than a minute later, he flawlessly moved from side to side and scored the second goal. The game continued with James scoring three more goals and Coffman maintained the lead with a final score of 13-8.
The essential components of lacrosse are good footwork, being able to use either hand and changing direction easily. Fortunately for James, these are his strengths and some of the reasons he was recruited as a sophomore by Loyola University Maryland.
“I have played basketball for a long time, including four years at Coffman, and it has helped my lacrosse game tremendously with speed, vision and changing direction,” says James.
As for James’ father, Mike, he couldn’t be more proud – especially since he’s a former college lacrosse star and coach.
“He is very unpredictable and hard to contain. I wouldn’t want to coach against him,” he says.
The fact that the state championships were held at Mike’s alma mater and the same college field where he became a two-time All American and Hall of Famer made the win extra exciting. Mike was also the Coffman booster president for the last seven years and urges others to get involved in any booster program.
“Volunteering for the organization with the other parents was half the fun,” Mike says.
James is part of a lacrosse-obsessed family, with big sister, Mackenzie, having played for Bishop Watterson High School and his brother, Bryson, having played for Coffman.
“I went to the state championships with 15 buddies,” says Bryson. “There were tons of alumni and teachers there to watch the game.”
All three of the siblings started in the Dublin Youth Athletics program, which Mike headed up from 2005-2012.
“Most of our Coffman team has been together since first grade when we learned how to pick the ball up from the ground and throw it,” says James. “We played for the DYA, Ohio Cup and Columbus Saints teams before reaching high school. Then, last year, we lost in the semi-finals in overtime. That’s why the state championship title meant so much to us.”
James and many of his teammates also played club lacrosse for Resolute during the last four summers. They traveled out east to Baltimore, Philadelphia and Long Island quite a bit and that’s where Loyola noticed James. After several visits to Loyola, he committed to a four-year Division I scholarship.
“I like the size of the school, the smaller classes, the coach and the guys on the team,” says James.
His records and statistics speak for themselves. Some of his highlighting awards are two-time U.S. Lacrosse All-American, Ohio Player of the Year Division I, Conference Player of the Year (OCC), OHSAA Region One Player of the Year and Midwest Player of the Year by U.S. Lacrosse Magazine. His Coffman stats are equally incredible, as he holds the career points record of 301, career goals record of 199, single season points record of 120 and single season goals record of 85. With all of these athletic honors, it’s no surprise that James is in the National Honor Society and was awarded the Agonis Club Scholarship for Lacrosse Student Athlete of the Year.
Even with all the successful statistics and records, James notes something that makes him prouder.
“Winning the state championship with this group of guys and I was honored to be the captain.”
As for the future, James is excited about lacrosse at Loyola and having his parents continue to support him and travel to his games. James plans to major in business and hopes to give back to the sport by coaching someday.
As for advice to young athletes?
“Play multiple sports. If you only focus on one, you can burn out,” he says. “The variety in sports will make you a better athlete.”
Colleen D’Angelo is a freelancer writer who lives in Dublin with her husband, three children and several small animals. She enjoys playing tennis, walking the Dublin bike paths and traveling.
