Cathy Wright, bound and determined not to raise a rough-and-tumble athlete, signed her son John up for anything she could think of that didn’t involve a ball or stick or field.

Piano lessons. Art class. Swim instruction. Anything to take a 10-year-old’s mind off of tackling, hitting or throwing.

It worked. John starred in the elementary school play as Huckleberry Finn. He played the trumpet in middle school. Cathy Wright’s son – a regular Renaissance boy.

So yeah, it worked. For a while.

Then Wright arrived in sixth grade and picked up a lacrosse stick. He hasn’t put it down since.

‘I signed him up for all these sweet things, and what do I get?’ Cathy asked playfully, a Midwestern politeness in her voice. ‘A lacrosse player.’

And a pretty good one, too. After learning the Syracuse men’s lacrosse team’s system as a freshman from Michigan, Wright started every game at defense during the Orange’s national title run a year ago. Now a junior, Wright is the steadiest, if not flashiest, piece of an Orange defense that will play Brown on Saturday at 4 p.m. at the Carrier Dome.

As Wright has transformed into one of the nation’s most sound defenders, he hasn’t lost the creative side his mother tried so hard to instill. He’s dedicated himself to the drums since age 13 and actually enjoys writing the philosophy papers he crafts to fulfill his major.

‘He’s not your typical type of lacrosse player,’ said Syracuse midfielder Steven Brooks.

After all, plenty of lacrosse players have been lucky enough to line up beside Mike Powell on a lacrosse field. But not many play in a band with him.

But first, before he could meet Powell, Wright had to find his way from the lacrosse-deprived Midwest to Syracuse, practically the capital for the sport.

The journey began with a letter, the one Wright sent to Syracuse coaches that began ‘Hi, my name is John, and I play lacrosse.’

Actually, it began long before that, when Wright’s parents lifted their ban on aggressive sports when he made it to the sixth grade. The lacrosse program had just started in Birmingham, Mich., a couple years before John became old enough to play.

Randy Wright, John’s father, didn’t know the first thing about lacrosse, couldn’t tell a dodge from a doughnut. He thought, ‘That’s a nice alternative to football.’

Then Randy drove to pick up Wright from his first middle school practice. He was greeted by a muddy field on a rainy day and an older boy cross-checking Wright into a ditch in front of his car.

‘That was my first visual experience with the sport,’ he said.

But Wright gained a passion for lacrosse, and it didn’t take long to tell he had a knack for it. Within a year, several local coaches started telling Randy what a natural ability his son had for defense. By his freshman season, Wright was starting on the Birmingham-Seaholm High varsity team.

During summers, he ventured east and attended camps in Maryland, where he competed against the best players in the nation in his age group. It offered him a stage to prove himself and to get noticed by elite programs, something not usually afforded to players from the Midwest.

He was recruited by several schools, most heavily by Loyola, Navy and especially Notre Dame. But Wright wanted to leave the Midwest, and he became enamored with SU’s tradition.

So, he fired off the letter.

Roy Simmons III, the SU assistant coach who recruited Wright to Syracuse, doesn’t remember the missive (‘I get a lot of freakin’ letters,’ he said). But he does recall a tip from Navy coach John Tillman, and he liked the versatility he saw from Wright, who also showed his athleticism by playing football in high school. (Sorry, Cathy.)

‘We knew we had an athletic kid, not knowing if he could make the transition from Michigan to Division I,’ Simmons said. ‘He’s come in here and he’s done a really nice job.’

He adapted off the field well, too. When Wright arrived at Syracuse, he had no idea that Powell played guitar. But once Powell discovered Wright was a drummer, the star invited the freshman over to his apartment to work on a song he’d been writing.

From there, Wright began heading to Powell’s place to jam for hours on end to Jack Johnson or Dave Matthews Band, joined by backup goalie Nick Donatelli on bass. The trio played a couple shows at Harry’s bar, showcasing a few of Powell’s originals and a Barenaked Ladies cover.

‘I’ve always had my drums around, but they’ve always kind of had to take second place to lacrosse,’ said Wright, who minors in music industry and dabbles in computer music. ‘I think after I graduate, it’s something I’m going to pursue more seriously.’

With Donatelli and Powell graduated, Wright no longer plays in a band, just practicing on his own when he finds the time or jamming with some friends not on the team.

‘I’ll probably put up a classified ad,’ Wright said. ‘Or if someone reads this, maybe they’ll contact me.’

If you ask his teammates, he shouldn’t have any trouble getting along with new band members. They describe him as laid-back. Quiet. The easy-going dude with shoulder-length hair and a scruffy beard whose lax game – conservative but reliable – fits his personality to a T. Amongst friends, he blends in.

At the same time, Wright has a desire to perform. His senior year of high school, he joined an Improv acting group. He played shows whenever he could find a gig in high school, including at his church.

‘He’s not shy,’ Cathy said. ‘Sometimes he just likes to go it alone and spend time on his creative side.’

‘He’s always observing and engaging other people,’ Randy said. ‘It’s an important part of who he is. He’s able to pay attention to people, listen to it and appreciate it.’

Wright tends to become quickly absorbed in whatever he does. Cathy had to buy countless packs of earplugs as John spent day after day banging on his drums until sweat soaked through his shirt. After his junior-year English teacher allowed him to write papers on whatever he wanted to write about, he turned a failing grade into an A.

Once in high school, Wright took training in teaching autistic children. After, he was paired with the autistic son of a neighbor. After hours of talking and playing with the boy, he was able to break him of the trance autism casts, delighting the boys’ parents.

So sure, John Wright plays lacrosse. But Cathy Wright’s son is not just a lacrosse player.

‘That’s his intention, not to fall into any basket or box,’ Randy said. ‘We’ve always encouraged that.’

Published on March 30, 2005 at 12:00 pm