Overcoming the middle-child syndrome, Ryan Powell has earned recognition sandwiched between a brother who is a pro lacrosse league’s top scorer and another who is college lacrosse’s most decorated player.
There are studies that suggest a middle child can get lost in the shuffle. Yet the Denver Outlaws attacker has found an identity between big brother Casey, the all-time Major League Lacrosse scoring leader, and little brother Mikey, who set records while at Syracuse.
Tonight, Ryan Powell will stand alone at Invesco Field at Mile High and lead the West squad in the MLL All-Star Game. Mikey, 25, is recovering from a hamstring injury and was taken off the East squad, while Casey, 32, was left off the East roster.
But without his brothers, Ryan, 30, wouldn’t be an all-star tonight. Their friendship and competitiveness forged an incredible brotherhood in the sport’s history.
“Winning is very important to them,” their mother Sue said. “They love to win, so you always know if they lose, someone is going to be heartbroken.
“It doesn’t fade as they’ve gotten older. I’m not saying they are bad sports and it is immaturity. They just want to be successful.”
Raised in West Carthage, N.Y., Ryan remains stunned by his ascent. He is an all-star, on the heels of being the first lacrosse spokesman for Nike.
“I’ll think about that when I’m out there, from where we grew up in such a small town,” he said, “to have the opportunity to play in Mile High Stadium and represent your team and your conference.”
As intermediate school students, Ryan and Casey were introduced to lacrosse by their physical education teacher.
“Nobody played the sport, it was nothing anyone had ever heard of,” Sue said. “They played baseball at the time and my husband, Larry, was the coach. But they kept talking about lacrosse.”
Larry sold two hunting rifles to pay for a pair of sticks.
“They just loved it,” Sue said. “They played with each other. They played until it was so dark you couldn’t see the ball.”
With Syracuse winning NCAA titles, the brothers adopted the twin stars of the Orangemen as role models. Casey imitated Gary Gait; Ryan pretended to be Paul Gait.
Eventually, summer teams were formed and the brothers attended camps. By the time Casey enrolled at Carthage Central High School, a lacrosse team had been formed and he became a three-sport athlete.
As a freshman at Syracuse, Casey gained the first of four All-America honors and helped clinch the 1995 NCAA title.
Ryan, who backed up Casey at quarterback and point guard in high school, followed Casey to Syracuse.
“I knew I’d be in his shadow,” Ryan said. “I learned to accept it very well.”
In the late stages of a 13-7 victory over Princeton in the national championship game his senior year, Ryan tied Casey’s school record for career scoring with 287 points. Then he left the field, not wanting to break his brother’s mark.
“He was saying, ‘There’s a slight chance I could have beat him, but I am satisfied,’ ” Sue said. “That always meant a lot to everyone.”
Ryan and Casey predicted Mikey would break the mark.
Mikey, who started lacrosse as a kindergartner and developed a quick, acrobatic style, scored 307 points at Syracuse and captured two national championships.
With Mikey in Boston, Casey in Rochester and Ryan a first-year Outlaw, the brothers try to get together for camps and “Powell Hour,” a Globetrotter-esque stick show appealing to the skateboarder and surfer tweens and teens, like their brother Mason.
“It’s important for all young kids to find their strengths,” Ryan said. “I’m not the quickest guy, but I am able to be successful through knowledge and stick skills, playing a totally different game than my brothers.”
The Powells
A look at the Powell brothers — Casey, 32, Ryan, 30, and Mikey, 25 — who were all four-time All-Americans at Syracuse:
Theresa Smith
