The season ended for St. Edward’s varsity boys lacrosse team April 27 with a 15-3 loss at home to Jupiter in a regional quarterfinal match. The Pirates finished 12-6 and advanced to regional play after winning the district championship for the second year in a row.
This program is clearly on the rise since head coach Doug Bailey took over three seasons ago. The team this year was extremely young and has a lot of room to grow. Only three seniors will depart from a roster of 25.
One of those seniors is Logan Reimsnyder. Despite the bitter loss to Jupiter, his lacrosse career will also be on the rise after graduation by virtue of his commitment to attend Keiser University in West Palm Beach. The ceremony celebrating the official signing was held the day before the district championship game.
“I had been in the college recruiting process for a while when I received an email from (Keiser) coach (Patrick) Johnston,” Reimsnyder said. “He reached out to me and expressed interest in my highlights and what coach Bailey had to say about me. He was willing to come out and watch me play in a game vs. St. Andrew’s. We talked after the game and he was quite impressed. He wanted to schedule a visit for me to come down (to West Palm Beach).”
That St. Andrew’s game turned out to be a 15-7 St. Ed’s defeat, but these coaches know what they are seeing. Doug Bailey saw the same thing at practice during the season when he observed that Reimsnyder had passed a “threshold” into a higher realm of proficiency.
“The campus is beautiful,” Reimsnyder continued. “I met the coaching staff, the players, and loved the whole environment. The biggest thing was that I wanted to be near my family and Keiser is just an hour-and-a-half away from home. That just drew me in even more.”
At the urging of friends and family, Reimsnyder transferred from Sebastian River High to St. Ed’s as a sophomore – and found the move to his liking. He has always been an honor roll student, but athletics immediately went sideways when he broke his collarbone as a sophomore. Then painful shin splints developed during his junior year. He didn’t let any of that stop him, and even managed to play football for two years.
“When I came here as a sophomore I went out for football for the first time,” Reimsnyder told us. “I enjoyed it but wanted to make sure that I could focus on lacrosse as a junior, so I took a year off. As a senior I really wanted to step up and help the football program. I was made a team captain, led the team in tackles, and became an all-area linebacker. It really opened my mindset as to what I could do.
“I am thankful for what coach (Bill) Motta has done for me. I won’t be playing football in college, but playing football at St. Ed’s has definitely made me a better athlete and person.”
The transfer from a large public school suited Reimsnyder to a tee. Downsizing helped tremendously, and the timing was pure serendipity when it coincided with the arrival of his new lacrosse coach. “Being such a small school, friendships at St. Ed’s last forever,” Reimsnyder explained. “The teachers here want to make sure that you succeed in life.
“And of course there was the lacrosse program. Coach Bailey came here when I did and he has developed me as the player that I am now. I couldn’t have gotten here without him and his great coaching ability. He has brought be further along in life.”
Reimsnyder said he will study criminology, probably go into forensics, and maybe even creative design technology. He has aspirations for a career in law enforcement – following in the footsteps of his father, a canine unit officer.
He would obviously prefer to have those injury concerns fade into the past. “It was a struggle here and there throughout the season, but we have a great trainer here (Jeremy Gillan) who has been keeping me on ice. I was able to play in every game.
“The coaches from Keiser came out to watch the district championship game (10-5 over Martin County), so I’m getting some big support right there. I’m super excited for what is going to be coming next with this.”