If you ask Jim Soran, the Regis Jesuit boys lacrosse coach, to give you one characteristic that best describes junior goaltender Rhody Heller, you’re likely to instead get a laundry list of positives.
“His greatest assets are that he’s coachable, which is nice,” Soran said. “He is extremely athletic. Sometimes goalies will have quick hands or great vision and quickness, but he has all that, and that athleticism has separated him from most of the goalies. I’m sure that’s what the college coaches saw in him.”
University of Virginia coaches received a verbal commitment from the 16-year-old Heller in October. That would be the same Heller who, until this season, had started just one varsity game. (That start came only because regular Dom Poletto sat out with an injury.)
But here he is, four games into his first full season as Regis Jesuit’s goalie, and the junior already knows where he’s attending college. Which isn’t that unusual in the lacrosse world.
“The whole thing about college lacrosse recruiting is in the summer stuff,” Heller said. “That’s where a lot of the recruiting happens. The big events are where the coaches go to.
“I went to the Nike Blue-Chip camp, and that really helped.”
That camp, at the University of Maryland-Baltimore County, was where Virginia coaches first scouted the 6-foot-1, 180-pound Heller. He was also a member of the Denver Elite summer lacrosse team and participated at the Nike Elite Lacrosse Camp in Denver, where he earned MVP honors at the goaltending position.
And even though teammate Tanner Otten-breit, also a junior and Nike Elite camp MVP, will be joining Heller in Charlottesville, Va., the simple fact that both players have agreed on their college destination so early can be a double-edged sword. It’s a weight off their shoulders but also some added pressure to perform well and prove they are deserving.
“The whole process has changed quite a bit in the past five years. You didn’t used to see people verbally commit their junior year. It’s more their senior year,” Soran said. “You have to understand how it affects kids, how they focus. It’s hard to say. It’s different with each player. I think both of these players have pretty level heads.
“They understand they have that opportunity, but they also have a whole lot of work before they get to that level.”
That work includes getting the Raiders (0-4) back on track. Regis Jesuit was 11-6 last year before losing in the state semifinals. Heller hopes he can help spark a turnaround to not only start winning games, but make a run at state.
That all starts, though, with being a leader.
“I try to lead by example,” he said. “My mind-set is to save every shot. You’re not going to, but that’s my mind-set.”
He certainly has the support of his coaches, who say they trust Heller to do things in the defensive backfield that they wouldn’t be as comfortable with someone else doing.
That’s probably what the Virginia coaches are hoping for as well.
