"It Means the World to Me": Nick Loring Elected Captain of Harvard Men's Lacrosse

“IT MEANS THE WORLD TO ME”

NICK LORING SPEAKS ON HIS EXPERIENCES WITH THE HARVARD MEN'S LACROSSE TEAM AND WHAT IT MEANS TO BE ELECTED CAPTAIN IN A PIVOTAL SEASON FOR THE PROGRAM

Nick Loring has pretty much seen it all in his time at Harvard. As a member of the Harvard men's lacrosse team, he saw the team go 5-8 before a coaching change brought Gerry Byrne, The Frisbie Family Head Coach for Harvard Men's Lacrosse, to Cambridge. Loring was excited to be a part of the rebuild, to help bring new energy into a locker room that had been up and down for some time. The COVID-19 pandemic had other plans for Loring and Coach Byrne, who would have to wait two more years to finally put thier plans in place. 

Now a senior, Loring has helped reintroduce the Harvard Lacrosse program to success under Byrne's guidance. The team posted an 8-5 record in 2022 and the Crimson received a bid to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2014. In his final year wearing Crimson and White, Loring has been tasked with leading the team as captain, the first solo captain the program has seen since the 2013 season. Loring spoke on what the nomination means to him and how he will help guide the team as it looks to continue moving forward after an unforgettable 2022 season. 

Where did your lacrosse journey begin? How did it prepare you to eventually get into Harvard?

My lacrosse journey began when I was five years old. My dad played in college, so the sport was introduced to me at a really young age. It’s funny because I wanted to play basketball forever. I fell in love with the game of basketball and slowly started to realize that I just wasn't gifted enough to play basketball at a high level. 

Because of that, I slowly started to work harder and harder on my lacrosse game. In middle school the game took over my life. I was really lucky that I had an older brother - who was two years older than me – that paved the way for me every single step of the journey from middle school to high school and then into college.

He was kind of the trailblazer for me. He brought me along with him to training sessions and practices with his teams. Whenever I was looking for an excuse to not go, he made sure I was there. Then when I was a sophomore in high school, my brother committed to Harvard to play lacrosse. That was always a dream come true for him, and for myself, because our Dad grew up in Cambridge. Always being around the area and near Harvard, it became my goal and my dream to play here and play with my older brother. When it came time to decide where I was going it was a no-brainer. 

What does your relationship with your older brother mean to you? 

I mean, he's my best friend and has always been such an amazing motivator for me. Playing alongside him was incredible but especially since he's graduated Harvard, he's been my biggest fan. He was always guiding me to success on the field and off. Having someone like that in your corner that you trust and can give you advice is really an incredible blessing. I wouldn't trade that time on the field with him for anything but also transitioning into this role where he's now out of college and can advise me on things and share his perspective has also been extremely helpful. 

Nick and his older brother, George Loring [Depicted in the left image below], played together during the 2019 and 2020 Harvard Lacrosse seasons.

How has your relationship with Coach Byrne helped you in your personal growth and how is it going to help the team be successful this year?

Coach Byrne from the jump has been extremely clear about his objectives and his expectations for the program, and he's had a clear line of communication from the start with all of us about the goals and success he wants our team to have. And the goal is now to win a national championship.  

Individually, my relationship with Coach Byrne has really grown since sophomore year. He's a total player's coach and he realizes the importance of building relationships, strong relationships, with his players.

More so, I think the captain-coach relationship plays a strong role in the entire locker room. If the coach and the captain have a strong relationship, it allows for a clear line of communication between the players and the coaching staff. So, in my eyes, it starts Coach Byrne and I. And we've been able to really build our relationship, especially over the last two months. Sitting down and talking about the adversity that we face as a team, the positives in our group and the things that we need to work on has really helped us all get on the same page. 

I feel lucky to have a communicative coach like Coach Byrne. He gives it to you straight, whether it's good or bad. And, you know, I've tried to be that way with the rest of our locker room as well, giving it to everyone straight and being as clear as I possibly can. 

You were elected by your teammates and your peers. What did that mean to you, to be elected as the sole captain of this group and to lead a team of 56? 

It means the world. There were a ton of guys that could have been captain. Being elected to lead us into this really pivotal year, where our expectations are through the roof, means everything to me. Having the respect of your peers and them giving you the responsibility to take on that leadership role is something that is really special to me and something I am really looking forward to as we get ready for the season. 

What do you credit as being the most formative experience for you that prepared you to take on this role?

I think the most formative experience that I had was senior year of high school. I was co-captains with my current teammate and one of my best friends in the world - Hayden Cheek -and the fall of my senior year, Hayden, myself, and our team lost a really close friend, McCrae Williams, who at the time was a freshman at Lafayette. That changed the course of our lacrosse team that year. It changed the energy around it. And it was something that could have hindered us. And obviously it did at first, but it could have held us back. 

After that Hayden and I met a bunch and realized that this was something that had to propel us forward and had to motivate us going into that year. So, we found ways to energize our guys and lead them through that difficult time in all our lives to turn it into something bigger than ourselves.  

We won a league championship that that year and it ended up being one of the most incredible lacrosse experiences of my life. But, leading with Hayden and being able to lead during adversity was something that I think has been really formative and something that really attracted me to being a captain and a leader in college as well. 

Why do you think you fit this position and why do you think you're going to excel as the captain of this team? 

My experiences in this program so far have molded me for this position and have gotten me to a place where I couldn't be more ready to lead this team. I've seen a lot in my time here and I think I can use all those experiences to propel us forward and to get us where we need to go. I've got a ton of help, too, with a lot of great seniors and underclassmen that also have great leadership skills, and who are going to are going to help me.

Mostly, I am really trying to act as the bridge between our younger guys and some of our upperclassmen. More than anything else, I want to bring us all together so we can work towards one common goal.  

What mentality is the team taking with them into the season? 

We’re not afraid of anyone. The expectations are what they are. We’re just focused on taking the mindset of not being afraid and being the best team we can be, building off of the success that we had last year with a really great and strong new group.