Three-sport athlete excelled on and off field, embarks on college basketball career
Many kids dream about playing the sport they love in high school, and excelling in athletics and academics. Sachem has prided itself on having many scholar-athletes.
This past year, recent Sachem North graduate Bradley Anacreon was a three-sport athlete with a 94.20 GPA. He is committed to play basketball at Wilkes University. Anacreon dominated in football, basketball, and lacrosse. His performance on and off the field won him the Richard Van Norr Award as the top male athlete at Sachem North.
“It took a lot of time and dedication, but I was able to balance out everything with my schoolwork and my athletic lifestyle and I was happy with the end result,” said Anacreon.
His brother, known as “Supah Steve,” played the same sports and also won the Van Norr in 2016. He is now a starting defenseman for Molloy lacrosse.
“Bradley is someone that brings up the energy of the people around him,” said Sachem basketball coach Matt Candemeres. “He works so hard on his game that the stats and skills speak for themselves but Bradley’s greatest skillset is the ability to build the work ethic and mindset of his teammates around him simply by demonstrating how hard he works day in and day out.”
Sachem lacrosse coach Alex Grimm, a fellow Van Norr recipient in 2005, said Anacreon is extremely coachable and that has helped with his development.
“He possesses natural leadership skills not found in most high school kids,” said Grimm. “I can’t tell you how many times Bradley has played a full lacrosse game for us, then traveled to a basketball game where he drops 20-plus points.”
It’s become rarer to see a highly skilled three-sport athlete in today’s high school sports environment. So many student-athletes are becoming specialized in one sport.
“Bradley is a special breed of athlete,” said Sachem football coach Dave Caputo. “Bradley would be put through a basketball workout after school and then be at football practice on time. His competitive drive was contagious amongst our football team. Bradley’s career should be the model for future multi-sport athletes at Sachem.”
While he enjoyed football and lacrosse he’s anxious to begin his college basketball career at Wilkes.
“I was looking for a good program, a coach that would have my back and education wise it would work around my basketball schedule, which made it a no brainer,” he said.
He will use his Sachem experience as a model for setting expectations at the next level.
“I can’t explain how great of a vibe it was to be around all the guys,” he said. “Whether it be football, basketball, or lacrosse, I will always miss it. That really motivated me to come to school each day and work hard. Sachem means so much to me and I am so grateful for those opportunities. On and off the field, I hope kids will look up to me and try to achieve their goals like I was able to.”
The Anacreon Notebook
- Football: 18 total tackles senior year, Touchdown Club Scholarship
- Basketball: 17.1 ppg, 4.5 apg, 1.9 spg, 5 rpg, All-League, All-Conference
- Lacrosse: 15 ground balls, 5 caused turnovers, three-year letter winner, Coaches Award
-Words by Tino Pattigno
