Chaparral's Colton McCaffrey (4) always is in the middle of the action for the Wolverines. The state's leading scorer, McCaffrey will take his talents to the University of Denver.
File photos by Paul DiSalvo
could have gone the follower route and no one would have blamed him.
He could have transferred to a lacrosse powerhouse his sophomore season and people would have understood. He could have signed with a high-profile lacrosse school in the east and been met with hugs and handshakes.
But, like his on-field lacrosse prowess, the
Chaparral (Parker) senior prefers to be unique. He prefers to blaze his own trail with loyalty a large part of the equation. Some say never to let your heart interfere with large-scale life decisions.
McCaffrey doesn't subscribe to that theory.
That's why he decided to remain at Chaparral after a stellar freshman season instead of bolting to a prominent program. That's why, despite several visits to prominent schools in the east, he signed with one of the west's most on-the-rise programs – the University of Denver.
"After my freshman year, I thought really hard about going to a Regis (Jesuit), a Kent (Denver), a school like that," McCaffrey said. "I narrowed it down to those two schools and got really close, actually, to going to Regis. But towards the end of that summer I realized I wanted to do my own thing at Chap."
A team captain since his freshman season, McCaffrey realized that he could still receive overtures from big-time college programs while at Chaparral. Staying with the Wolverines also allowed him to remain with his buddies, take on more of a leadership role and essentially carve his own path.
Has he ever.
Colton McCaffrey, Chaparral.
The Wolverines won their first two Douglas County League championships in his first three seasons, and the numbers for the 6-foot-1, 185-pound attackman speak loudly. He registered 43 goals and 25 assists as a freshman, 34 and 17 as a sophomore and 42 and 29 last season.
In nine games for the Wolverines (5-4) this spring, he is obliterating his previous pace. He is tops in the state in both goals (35) and assists (21).
"He's a dynamic player, and Colton's the type of kid that does the right thing the right way for the right reasons, on the field and off the field," Chaparral coach Michael Magrin said. "Within the building in our school he's a leader, and on the field he's a leader."
Now a four-time captain, McCaffrey has garnered all-league status his first three seasons and only some sort of unforeseen ballot revolt will prevent him from a fourth. He also earned all-state honors last season.
East Coast lacrosse was calling, but similar to the decision to remain with the Wolverines, McCaffrey allowed loyalty and his heart to help steer his path.
"I took my visits to Virginia, North Carolina, Duke and High Point," McCaffrey said. "After coming back from those visits, I then talked to the DU coaches quite a bit, and I just realized I was the kid that wanted to stay closer to home and Denver was more of a place for me."
McCaffrey credits Chaparral's offensive system for providing him with an abundance of offensive looks, but make no mistake, he can create them himself. An adept dodger, McCaffrey isn't necessarily covered simply because two defenders are draped to him. He can compose a shot with the slightest of daylight.
He grew up watching the Colorado Mammoth and Denver Outlaws lacrosse teams, listing former Mammoth legend Gary Gait among his favorites. An astute follower of the game, he has taken slivers of everything he has witnessed and molded them into one wicked skill set.
"Most teams know where Colton is on the field and they try to defend us by trying to lock him off," Magrin said. "He gives our staff that extra dimension of, when teams try to lock him off, he's still able to get the ball and either get that assist or put the ball in the back of the net."
