Peak picks Hampden-Sydney
Published 8:34 pm Saturday, October 18, 2014
Lacrosse is the favorite sport of Nansemond-Suffolk Academy senior Addison Peak, due to its quality of non-stop action. This week, he made public his arrangement to continue his lacrosse career non-stop after high school.
On Oct. 10, Peak announced a verbal commitment to play for and attend Hampden-Sydney College.
“I’m definitely excited,” he said. “I can’t wait to play college ball.”
He will be reunited with former NSA teammate Zach Leitner, who begins his freshman season for H-SC in the spring, and Peak also follows in the footsteps of Saints boys’ lacrosse coach and athletic director T.W. Johnson, who starred for the Tigers in the 1990s.
When Johnson heard of Peak’s commitment, he said, “I was thrilled for him.” Though he was clear he would have supported his standout midfielder no matter what school he went with, Johnson said, “I’m thrilled he’s going to be a Tiger next year.”
Despite Peak’s love for the sport, playing college lacrosse was not a matter of serious determination for him before this summer.
“But I joined this travel team called Amped (Lax),” he said.
Amped is a talented summer travel team that included more than a few Division I commits and gave its players still seeking college interest several opportunities to showcase their abilities before scouts.
After playing travel lacrosse, Peak said, “I got a bunch of emails from colleges across the country. I narrowed down the list to three schools.”
Liking the idea of staying in Virginia, he considered Hampden-Sydney, Randolph-Macon College and Christopher Newport University.
Johnson said he had detailed conversations with all the schools that Peak was considering, promoting him to them.
“Addison’s a great kid, and he’s a really great student, and he’s gifted athletically, so these are very easy conversations to have,” Johnson said.
He said all three institutions were interested in Peak, based on his play in the spring season, when NSA reached the Virginia Independent Schools Athletic Association Division II state championship game.
For the 2014 season, Peak produced 23 goals and 11 assists, and Johnson noted he continued to improve in the summer with Amped Lax.
Both Johnson and Peak figured what primarily drew college interest was Peak’s speed, a trait that helped him become a 2013 second team all-conference selection as a running back in football.
Also, “he’s just got a really good competitive drive,” Johnson said. “Everybody’s good at the next level, but those guys that have a competitive drive and a desire to get better are usually the ones that get most of the playing time.”
Peak said what won him over about H-SC was “definitely the atmosphere, and Hampden-Sydney is one of those colleges that I could see myself at if I didn’t play lacrosse there.”
Peak plans to apply early action and is still contemplating his major.
“I’m thinking business and economics, but I’m not 100 percent sure,” he said.