GUILDERLAND — Lacrosse is Scott Raffensperger’s life.

He has put a lot of work into the sport and it has gotten him to the highest pinnacle a high-school athlete can reach. He’s been named an All-American.

Raffensperger was honored by US Lacrosse, the governing organization of the sport, for his play with the Guilderland lacrosse team. He was also chosen to play in the Under Armour All-American Lacrosse Classic — a senior all-star game put on by the apparel company — but did not play because it conflicted with his graduation ceremony.

Raffensperger will also take his talents to one of the top college programs in the country at the University at Albany.
"I was pretty pumped up about it," Raffensperger said of the awards. "It’s one of those things you hope for at the end of the season. It’s very exciting."

The honors are the culmination of the work Raffensperger put in when he fell in love with of the sport in the sixth grade.
"My social studies teacher, Mr. Woolsey, got me into it," Raffensperger said. "I started doing it in a Friday-night league at the middle school. After the first night, it was go time. I wanted to play every day and be around it all the time."

Raffensperger then played in the town league run by local coaches and then played on the modified team for the first time in seventh grade.
"I played middie and it was fun," Raffensperger said. "I was switched to long pole by Coach [Sean] McConaghy. Sophomore year was the first time I started trying it — halfway through the season. It’s something that stuck. It was natural. I didn’t care about scoring; I wanted to stop people from scoring goals."

Raffensperger played mainly as a long-stick midfielder for the Dutchmen his sophomore year, but dropped back to play close defense the next two years. On faceoffs, he continued to play on the wings at the midfielder slot.

He credited his coaches — McConaghy as well as Kris Bremer and Dan Depersis for helping him along the way.

New terrain

Raffensperger’s family moved from Philadelphia when he was a young kid and knew nothing of the sport that he would come to love.
"I got up here, and I never knew what it was," he said of lacrosse. "I had never heard of it. Guilderland was a hotbed of lacrosse"I was always into sports and I had never heard of it at all."

The successful teams Guilderland had when Raffensperger was growing up inspired him.
"They had a run of good teams," he said. "The 1998 team won the section title and I remember watching that game. It gave me a lot of motivation and pushed me to want to accomplish what we did the past couple of years."

Raffensperger didn’t win a sectional title like that 1998 Dutchmen team. But he was close.

He played in three sectional championship games but the Dutchmen couldn’t overcome a tough Niskayuna team. This past spring, Guilderland came the closest, losing, 11-9.
"We went 0-3 and a lot of people talk about how that doesn’t look good," Raffensperger said. "The thing is, those three times, we accomplished a lot. We did lose three times to Niskayuna, and that kills me."

Raffensperger is proud of the fact that the Dutch beat Niskayuna for the first time in his tenure during the regular season and were co-champions of the Suburban Council.
"I’ll definitely miss it," Raffensperger said. "I’m moving on to bigger and better things, but it was a fun ride. I’ll always remember Guilderland and I’ll come back and help out in the future."

New horizons

Those bigger and better things include the opportunity to play for the University at Albany, which this year was one of the top teams in the country, with a trip to the NCAA quarterfinals.
"Since Coach [Scott] Marr took over five years ago, the program has done an absolute U-turn," Raffensperger said. "They’ve won four America East titles. When I went to visit — they were the first college I went to — I knew that was where I wanted to go.
"Their attitude towards playing was about building a family. They are family-oriented and that makes it fun and enjoyable," he added. "I also like Coach Marr’s and Coach [John] Svec’s coaching style. At Empires, he was very helpful and he is a defensive guy. That is what drew me there."

Raffensperger played at the Empire State Games last summer in Rochester.
"No other coach I talked to had as much attitude and drive and was as intense about the game," Raffensperger said. "They had, if not more, the same intensity as me."

Raffensperger also received letters from Siena College as well as powerful teams like Syracuse, LeMoyne, Loyola College in Baltimore, and Johns Hopkins.

But he chose Albany early and is looking forward to the challenge that major college lacrosse presents.
"I’m going from the top dog in high school to the bottom of the pool in college," Raffensperger said. "That’s part of the game. I’ll probably get the crap beat out of me. In high school, you’re a better player than most everyone, but everyone is good at this level," he said of college play. "There are no slouches, or they wouldn’t be there. It’s definitely a challenge and we’ll see how it goes."

Raffensperger will play defense for the Great Danes and could see some time at the defensive midfield spot in the future.
"I’ll play anywhere they need me," Raffensperger said. "I’ll play goalie if they need me to."

Raffensperger is also looking forward to playing close to home.
"A lot of old teammates and younger kids can see me play," he said. "They can say, ‘He coached me or I played with him.’
"I definitely want to win a championship during my stay at Albany," Raffensperger added. "This is one of their best recruiting classes ever. I’ll make a few new buddies, have a good time, and hopefully win a championship."

He is also looking forward to playing against former Guilderland teammate Mike Camardo, who was a high school All-American last year. Camardo now plays for Albany’s America East rival, University of Maryland-Baltimore County.

"The best of the best"

Raffensperger wanted to make his mark in the sport of lacrosse.
"I wanted to accomplish it," Raffensperger said of being an All-American. "When I was a kid, all I wanted to do was play at the top of the game and be the best of the best. My junior year, I thought it was a possibility. But people don’t care if you have a really good junior year and not do anything your senior year. Then I wouldn’t get it. I had to work my butt off."

As for the Under Armour game, Raffensperger said that accomplishment is just as big, and he was disappointed that he couldn’t play in the game.
"But I put the letter on my wall," he said.

Raffensperger would still play lacrosse, even if the awards and accolades did not come his way.
"It’s hard to get away from it," he said. "It’s so addictive. When I’m playing lacrosse, I don’t want to think of anything else. I love working with younger kids and playing on a team. You get so close to them; you feel like they’re your brothers. They got your back and you got theirs."