Waltham's Oran Gelinas Attracting National Lacrosse Attention

WALTHAM, MA— Oran Gelinas admits he was not the most active budding lacrosse star while he was in middle school. The Waltham athlete had some natural instincts between the pipes, and enjoyed the sport his father coached. But when he was not on the field, he allowed he was often on the couch.

"In sixth grade I did a lot of sitting around doing nothing," he said. "It was pretty bad. I would play video games all day when I got home from school, eat a lot of junk food."

He said it was over the next two years that he began to see his potential as a goaltender in the sport. And it was during that time that he became determined to turn to an active lifestyle that would allow him to reach that potential.

This summer, Gelinas has spent time striving toward just that as he was chosen as one of the top five goaltenders in his class across the United States and Canada at the prestigious Goaliesmith Experience training camp held in Goucher, Maryland, and where he was chosen out of more than 1,300 players who participated in 21 regional tryouts to attend the National Team Development Program Combine at the US Lacrosse campus in Sparks, Maryland.

"I always thought that I could play at the highest level," he said. "I thought I had the skill for it. I wasn't putting in the work I needed to put into it. Once I did that, I noticed the difference."

Gelinas said this past school year as a sophomore at Waltham High he arrived at school at 6:30 a.m. most days and went through footwork and hand-eye coordination drills in the school's Elizabeth Brady Fitness Room. He was also a standout on his Laxachusetts club squad.

"I knew that's what I had to do to get the level I want to get to," he said.

The effort paid off in the spring as he earned a starting spot on the Waltham varsity team and made an average of 15.61 saves per game with a .656 save percentage and an 8.22 goals-against average in being named a Dual County League All-Star. He also put in a strong effort in the classroom with a 3.9 grade-point average.

This fall, he is enrolled at The Middlesex School in Concord where he will repeat his sophomore year and play both football and lacrosse.

"I wanted to be at a place where everyone set goals and will do anything it takes to get to them," he said of his decision to transfer. "That's developed with me as I've gotten older. I was lazy. But now as I've gotten older I've started to set defined goals and have worked to get the results and get better."

Gelinas said one of his big long-term goals is to play Division I college lacrosse.

"There are some good seniors at Middlesex so there is going to be a lot of competition for playing time," he said. "But I think being here will help me achieve that."