Even as a young athlete, Richie Connell began his lacrosse career by defying the odds. The local Coloradan from Evergreen made the Colorado Select youth team for 12-year-olds at the age of eight.
“My mom was annoyed ‘cause I was annoying her on the sidelines, and she like, begged the coaches to let me try out,” he laughed. “So, I tried out, and I actually made it. They weren’t expecting me to make it.” He still has his jersey from those days.
Connell is now 23 years old and a teammate, a leader and a brother on DU’s men’s lacrosse team, currently competing in their 2023 spring season. Striving to make the most of his college lacrosse student-athlete status, Connell remains humble in a position of leadership.
At home, Connell was influenced by two older brothers who played lacrosse with him and his mother who is a doctor. She ignored those who doubted her and attended many years of higher education at esteemed schools to achieve her dreams. Her success was inspiring to a young Connell who “wants to make her proud.”
He played his way through Mullen High School, a year at Hill Academy — a Canadian University ranked as one of the top lacrosse schools in North America — and the University of Richmond before finally landing at the University of Denver. His experience on the field makes him well-versed in being a strong influence and a good teammate.
“What drives me to achieve is the feeling and the reward,” he said. “Knowing that I’m competing for my teammates and playing for somebody other than yourself and competing for something that’s bigger than you.”
Connell is part of a cohesive unit, and he emphasized how working well with others and getting along with the entire team helps them succeed when “going to battle.”
As a senior, he considers himself a role model for the team. “The young guys come up to me and ask me a lot of questions like, what they’re doing and asking if it’s wrong. And none of it’s wrong,” he said. “I just tell them what I did and [guide] them from the potholes that I hit.”
In turn, Connell had strong role models growing up too. “The lacrosse coaches were invested in developing [me] as a man and preparing [me] for the future,” he explained. Between his mother and coaches, Connell has learned how to create impactful relationships as an energetic leader.
As a student who values education, he has learned how to manage his time with a rigorous schedule between balancing practice, traveling for games, classes and social life. As someone who wants to go into marketing when he enters the professional world, he knows he has to put in the work. He’s dedicated to his goals but not at the cost of his social life. “I’m a chatter,” he said. Connell’s people skills and charisma are honed both on and off the field.
Due to COVID-19, athletes were granted an extra year of eligibility, and Connell will be playing a fifth lacrosse season in 2024.
“If I have another year of eligibility to do something I love, and I don’t know if I’ll be able to [play lacrosse] after college, so I want to take advantage of that,” he said.
Driven by the will to win, the wish to become a leader in whatever force he goes into and pure grit, there’s so much more to expect from Richie Connell’s impact in his fifth year.
