This athlete has been using a love for lacrosse to teach the next generation

Lacrosse has been one of the fastest-growing sports in the country for quite some time. It’s still not up to the level of other major sports like football and baseball, but it’s making progress.

New York and Long Island are some of, if not the biggest, lacrosse-played areas in the country. They’re up there with Massachusetts, Maryland, Illinois and California. One state that’s not listed is Ohio. But that’s exactly where Adam Osika got his start.

Osika, 27, grew up in Mason, Ohio, a small suburb just north of Cincinnati. He became interested and began playing lacrosse in third grade as part of the local, community team. He remembers his first role model in the sport, Gary Gait, and his first lacrosse camp he attended back home. It was hosted by Gait.

He fell even more in love with the sport and ended up playing all throughout childhood and even in high school, at William Mason High School. He played so well that he got the attention of some colleges, one of which was SUNY Albany.

“Growing up, as a kid, I just always wanted to go to college out on the east coast and play division one lacrosse,” he said. “Then, one of my high school midfield linemates who went to Albany came back, he was saying how much he loved the college, the coaches and the team. So, already knowing someone from my town that was already there was big, too.”

After graduating in 2017, Osika moved back home to Mason and was soon after drafted to play professional lacrosse for the Atlanta Blaze. He was the 21st pick. Only 32 college players get drafted each year. He played in the league for about four years, playing for a couple of teams, also spending time with the Philadelphia Wings and New York Lizards. He even played for the United States indoor team in Vancouver in 2018. Regardless of the drafting, he wasn’t highly touted out of high school.

“I think my case was unique since I wasn’t in a lacrosse hotbed area like Long Island or Baltimore, and because of that not many coaches were coming out to Cincinnati to watch me or my teammates play,” Osika said. “If you’re not in a location that’s well known for strong lacrosse players, I’d definitely say to do more private showcases instead of playing on your traditional travel team.”

While in college, Osika had two teammates that lived on Long Island. One lived in Levittown and one in Dix Hills. After college they both moved to Long Beach and he would visit them while playing professionally. He began to love the city and decided he too wanted to move out east and live in a little beach town.

So, he did. He’s now been in Long Beach for almost 3 years.

Since his playing career came to an end, he’s been working as a national account manager for Ampersand, a television advertising sales firm. He’s enjoyed his post-playing career, but he still had an itch for lacrosse.

He was playing in a casual summer league nearby and one of his friends he played with introduced him to a company called Vantage Sports. The company offers young, future athletes the chance to train and learn from current, or recent, ones.

Osika checked out the website and was extremely optimistic about it. He got in contact with the company, made a profile and began giving lessons.

“It feels really great to give back and help younger kids,” he said. “Growing up as a kid, I would always watch the college lacrosse games, and watch a lot of the pro lacrosse games. Just being able to give back now and help these kids growing up and the future generations of kids is just very great. It’s a humbling experience.”

He now teaches people of all ages to play lacrosse, not just very young kids. He has coached kids all the way from age six up to the high school and early college levels. He doesn’t plan on stopping and hopes one day to coach.