lacrosse

In between St. Christopher’s competitions, Miles Harvey, who is Black in an overwhelmingly white sport, sharpens his lacrosse skills with travel teams such as Next Level Richmond Hawks, Next Level Spartans and Nation’s United, an all-minority outfit.

Asked about Black role models, he struggled to come up with two: former pros Myles Jones and Kyle Harrison.

He concedes he attracts stares for his skin color as well as his superlative play.

“I think I’m held to a higher standing,” he said. “My mistakes, my bad plays are more scrutinized.

“But that only motivates me to play better.”

When he tells new acquaintances that he plays lacrosse, Jones is aware of the funny looks.

“At family gatherings, people would say, ‘You gotta play football, basketball, run track,’” he said.

“I respond, ‘Why not lacrosse?’” squad captain. play in the NBA, and Rodriguez and Lamb, NCAA tournament stars.

He makes a good point. Why not?

“This season, as a senior, I feel I’ll be more of a go-to player … asked to do more ball handling,” he said.

After that, the Glen Allen resident will continue swinging his stick with scholarship assistance at High Point (N.C.) University of the NCAA Division I Big South Conference.

Now about those coats.

As president of St. Chris’ Missionary Society, Harvey coordinated a “Coat Drive” that resulted in some 80 winter wraps for the area’s needy, as well as food and other supplies.

Harvey worked together with the school chaplain and with 5Lobes.org, a community service group.

The son of Rodney and Sonya MillsHarvey has been attending St. Chris since sixth grade.

While he dabbled in other sports, he fell in love with lacrosse around fourth grade with a private club called Geronimo.

As a ninth-grader, he made the St. Chris varsity team and has been a regular since then.

The Rams finish their regular season Saturday (4:30) at George Washington. Then it’s off to the Big Apple for the NCAA-qualifying A-10 event. VCU likely will start Thursday, March 9, at 11:30 a.m. against the winner of the 8-9 seed play-in game.

With “Ace” the main man, the Rams could go a long way if they play their cards right.