Jacob "Rocco" Dameo '19 Recruiting Profile

Dear Coaches,

My name is Jacob Rocco Dameo. I mostly go by Rocco (named after my Great Grandfather) especially on the field to avoid confusion with all the other Jacobs. I am 6'4" and weight 165 pounds. Although I am now right hand dominant, after being forced from left in kindergarten, I am ambidextrous. My goals for college are to find a home away from home, where I can play competitive lacrosse, attain a degree, and make some lifelong friends along the way. My more recent acknowledgements as a lacrosse player have been as an All-Star Team Member at the Southern States Elite Lacrosse Camp at Washington College (June 2018), an All-Star Team Member at the Go Fight Win Showcase in New Jersey (June 2018), an MVP Towson All Star Player (Summer 2017) in Maryland and received the Hustle Award & Team Player Award at the Nike Futures Showcase (November 2017) hosted by Randolph Macon and Roanoke Colleges. The rest of my statement might be a little long, but I wanted to take this opportunity to explain how I have evolved into a strong and coachable player who truly respects the hard work and commitment required to be a successful college athlete.

Although I have played structured lacrosse since I was 8 years old, I have had a stick in my hands since I was able to hold one. My Dad was a high school and college lacrosse player, played in the Grand Masters level at Lake Placid, and was my coach for the first 5 years of my team play. I have strived to consistently be a valuable and contributing player on my club, school, and summer/winter teams, and my speed and "rippin" shot have been gifts that allowed me to perform well offensively as a midfielder. For a while I played both midfielder and LSM as needed, but now I primarily play LSM and love it! Of course, I do whatever is asked of me by my coach, but I do love being able to see the play, eyeball my target, chase them down, take the ball, and then use my speed to get it back in our favor and into the opponent's net. I do believe in hard work paying off and being necessary for meaningful success, and when I'm not on the field I am in the gym, when I'm not in the gym training I am physical in my extracurricular activities like basketball, surfing, TRX Training and boxing. Recognizing that my natural athleticism and speed are gifts and not be taken for granted, I continue to work hard on and off the field in order to stay strong, get stronger, and strive to be unbeatable. The saying that, "hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work", is one I take very seriously.

As a student I do like to learn, and I work hard at getting good grades. I do struggle from time to time depending on content, but work with tutors to overcome it. I am as they say, "gifted" with Dyslexia (thanks Dad) and ADD (thanks Mom), which at times can make certain coursework more challenging than others, but they also help in my ability to think "outside the box". I never liked the expression being "gifted" with Dyslexia since I felt it was a curse, but as I worked with my parents and tutors to become a stronger student, I realized that my creativity, curiosity, and strategic thinking were stronger and more keen than a lot of kids my age. When I was younger, my parents said that I would grow to be the next Steven Spielberg (who is also dyslexic) because of my imagination and ability to spontaneously create amazing storylines and scenarios. They exposed me to influential people who were successful despite or because of their learning differences. Paul Rabil is one of these people. Paul is one of my favorite lacrosse players, and I was fortunate enough to participate in a couple of his camps when I was younger, as well as subscribe to his Paul Rabil Experience. Learning from him personally at camp, as well as hearing about his struggles as a student and how he used his academic struggles to help strengthen his skills as a player were very motivating for me.

Coach Tambroni from Penn State was also another influential person for me in regards to building leadership skills. I attended a couple of his Leadership Lacrosse camps when I was young enough, and not only did we learn about lacrosse from a top DI coach and his players, but we learned about how its important to step outside of our comfort zones in order to grow. Whether its as a player or just as a person, we need to try the things that test our courage and knowledge in order to know how far we can go in anything. We focused on leadership skills and qualities and about how we can be better leaders in life by using the skills we learn as a teammate, and vice versa. I took a lot away from both of these professionals and experiences. Basically learning that hard work pays off in the classroom just like on the field and in life, but you have to be willing to do the work and to step outside your comfort zone.

My creativity and strategic thinking have also come in handy on the field and in life. I love reading the field, my opponents, and being able to quickly compensate to make a play, just as much as I like to strategize what might be the best way to handle real life situations. These strengths are beneficial to being a supportive teammate and competitive player. Although these gifts display better on the field than they do in the classroom, I continue to work hard with my teachers in tutorials and with my private tutor for SAT and ACT preparations. I know my success in the classroom is important, and although I may need to work harder than some to attain it, I am up for the task and will continue to do the hard work.

Aside from who I am as a player and a student, I am kid from New Jersey who loves to play sports and spend time with my family and friends. I have an older sister (20) who attends the University of Alabama (Roll Tide), and a younger sister (11) who will probably become president some day. Seriously.

As a family we love to travel and be adventurous. We enjoy doing things together like zip lining, deep sea fishing, and surfing. My parents have always instilled in me the need to give back and volunteer my time, and we do this regularly through various organizations like Rotary, Surfrider, and CASA.

All in all, I have been raised to believe that hard work, patience and tolerance, integrity, and character are what really define who we are, how we are received, and how well we handle adversity and success in our own lives. I'm grateful for these values and I look forward to carrying them with me as I enter the next chapter of my life as a college athlete.

I will be visiting several campuses for prospect days and participating in various tournaments over the next 6 months. I would really appreciate the opportunity to play for you as well and learn more about your program and school.

Thank you for taking the time to read about me, my love of lacrosse, and my determination to succeed as a student.

Sincerely,

Jacob Rocco Dameo