Sachem North senior Mike Licata will stay local and play college lacrosse at LIU Post. The multi-sport athlete grabbed the spotlight last year on the gridiron as a quarterback with the defending Long Island champion football team at Sachem. He is now a senior leader on both the football and lacrosse teams with a full year left to leave his mark in Lake Ronkonkoma.
“The number one goal is to obviously win another Long Island Championship for football, and a state championship for lacrosse,” he said.
Beyond that, Licata said he hopes to be a strong leader in both sports and, “take advantage of the opportunity that is presented to me in my senior year.”
“With the pressure of the college search behind me, I intend to enjoy the great programs offered to athletes in Sachem,” he said. “I am surrounded by so many fantastic athletes on two great teams in both sports. I have played with these guys my entire life and I consider all of them my second family. The experience of playing at Sachem has been great thus far, and it has been even more special because I have always been surrounded by such amazing teammates and coaches.”
Licata said he chose Post because of its proximity to home and its engineering program. He was also considering Manhattan College, Pace, Assumption, University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth and Clark.
“He’s tough, athletic and a great kid,” said Sachem lacrosse coach Jay Mauro. “He played an important role for us last year and had an excellent summer really developing into a team leader and a warrior for us.”
Mauro said Licata will play offense, defense, face-off, on face-offs in certain situations and play man down. He’s a jack of all trades on the lacrosse field. Licata said he will play offensive midfield in college. Post’s coaches like his versatility.
Most Sachem athletes will tell you about how dedicated their program is; the coaches and players. Over the last few years, the lacrosse program at Sachem has produced more college athletes than any in the school district. Every time one of those student-athletes comment about his experience, the eventual talk about their growing success and rise to the ultimate goal of winning a championship sounds contagious.
“It is due to the hard work and dedication everyone puts into the lacrosse program at North,” said Licata, who also praised the Sachem North Lacrosse Club as a driving factor of consistency and diligence towards the program’s journey to a championship. “Everyone on the team puts so much time into lacrosse, not only on the field but off the field as well. Whether it is doing wall ball, jumping rope, shooting with each other on the weekends, or staying after practice to get some extra shots on our goalies, the team is very dedicated to the sport and the program.”
While Licata still has a full season of lacrosse and ultimately a full college career ahead of him, he has just one fall of football remaining. As a senior quarterback and captain of the defending champions, he has a tall order on his task list: to repeat.
“Being quarterback certainly puts a ton of pressure on me,” he said. “Not only do I have to know what I am doing every play, but I also have to know what everyone else is doing each play at the same time.”
Speaking like a leader far beyond his years, Licata was quick to mention a trait he’ll harness this fall is staying calm under pressure so his peers also remain calm.
“If my teammates see me uncomfortable they get uncomfortable as well, but as long as I stay cool, calm, and confident, they will play that way as well,” he said.
Spoken like a true leader.
-Words by Chris R. Vaccaro