This week, Back Of The CAGE caught up with the #12 ranked senior on Long Island and from Shoreham Wading River High School, Francisco Cortes for our weekly Senior Spotlight series interviewing a new senior each week.
Francisco Cortes, has proven himself playing as one of the top Midfielders no only on Long Island but the entire country and the Wildcat now has chosen to play and earn a phenomenal education from Harvard University. Let's see what he has to say in our weekly Senior Spotlights Q&A series.
Q&A w/ Francisco Cortes
BOTC: What is your favorite saying from your Coach Mike? Francisco Cortes: Something Coach Taylor has always preached is that our biggest opponent is ourselves. Since I first heard this saying I've realized that you can only play as well as you allow yourself to play which has helped me to really increase my success in lacrosse.
BOTC: How much extra motivation (if any) does it give to you personally and to your teammates in the short amount of time that you guys have been practicing together? FC: The team has had a lot of motivation from the start of the season with the one goal in common, to win a state championship.
BOTC: How much more will you treasure this season as this will be the last time that you will be playing high school lacrosse before going on to play at the collegiate level? FC: It's difficult to process that after this spring I won't be playing High School lacrosse again, but at the same it makes memories and laughs I have with the team that much sweeter.
BOTC: What made you choose to attend Harvard and what other colleges were you considering? FC: For me Harvard was a no brainer when presented with the opportunity to commit there. The idea that I am able to get the best education in the country along with playing against the best teams in the country is something very hard to find. Another thing I love is that I will be a part of furthermore building Harvard's lacrosse program to make it a top D1 team in the future.
BOTC: Are you superstitious and do you have any pre-game rituals?FC: I have one superstition which is I play the same song before every game right before we either get off the bus or leave the locker room. For some reason this song has always got me going so I stuck with it.
BOTC: What's on your playlist before games?FC: I have one playlist that I have for pre-game which has some rap music and classical music because I've learned it helps keep me calm before big games.
BOTC: Aside from the trainings, what are other hobbies you usually like to-do?FC: I have always liked to cook and travel since a young age.
Rapid Fire Q & A's:
- Favorite Food & Drink? Bone in ribeye steak and fresh ice tea
- Favorite Color? Don't have one
- Favorite Movie? Interstellar
- Favorite Sports Team? Jets, sadly.
- Favorite Athlete? Gervonta Tank Davis
- Favorite Season? Fall
See some of Francisco's career athletic accomplishments: 3x Under Armor Underclassmen All-American; 2021: All Long Island Selection, All-County Selection; 2x Newsday Top 100 Players, 4 star recruit by inside lacrosse, 4 year varsity player; 2019 New York High School State Champion; USA U-16 Team Selection.
