Senior Spotlight: Patrick Kowalski

Saucon Valley senior lacrosse player Patrick Kowalski began playing lacrosse in the Easton/Forks Township Youth Program as a fourth-grader. Through the efforts of his father, Pete, and several other interested individuals, planning for a Saucon Valley lacrosse youth program began in the summer of 2005. 

The Saucon Valley Youth Lacrosse Program was officially organized and began competition as a club program in 2006. Patrick was in seventh grade at the time and participated in the new Saucon Valley program from the outset. The club program would be instrumental in the development of the Saucon Valley High School varsity lacrosse program not long afterward.

When Patrick was 14 years old, lacrosse became a PIAA high school sport and he played on the Saucon Valley varsity team as a freshman. Patrick is one of the first lacrosse players to advance through this area's lacrosse program from its nascent stages all the way to the present day.

First year boys lacrosse head coach Luis "Gonzo" Gonzalez, who was a three-time NCAA All-American and World Lacrosse player, has encouraged a more aggressive style of play, and Patrick said he believes Saucon's future will be bright, as more experienced players continue to arrive at the high school level to play under Gonzalez.

A career highlight for Patrick happened at home on May 1, 2010, when with 20 seconds remaining in a game against Nazareth and Saucon clinging to a one goal lead (8-7), Patrick was able to score an empty net goal and secure a big win over the Blue Eagles, 9-7. He recalls how he came around to the front of the empty net, scored, and fell to the ground, as the thrill and emotion of pulling off such a win hit him like a wave. 

Patrick credits both his father, who played defense and coached lacrosse at Penn State, and his uncle Stan, who played attack and was an assistant lacrosse coach at Long Island University C.W. Post Campus, with helping him develop as a lacrosse player. Coincidentally, his current coach also played for his uncle Stan while he (Gonzalez) was a student at C.W. Post.

At the annual Colonial League All Star Breakfast April 29, Patrick was honored by the league as Saucon Valley High School's Male Academic All Star. 

Academically, Patrick likes the sciences, and he has taken Latin and political science courses at Lehigh University during his senior year. He is President of Saucon Valley's chapter of the National Honor Society, is a member of the Model UN, and also enjoys being a part of the Panthers' school spirit club, Slip and Slide. During the winter the club sponsored a snow tubing outing, and on Friday, June 3, it will sponser a water slide event at the school district campus.

In addition to lacrosse, other fun activities enjoyed by Patrick are golf and disc golf. He lists no favorite foods, as he said he likes pretty much everything. Patrick is a member of St. Michael's (Colesville) Guardians, whose goal is to help provide relief for the less fortunate, both internationally and locally. Recent activities the group has been involved with include providing solar cookers for residents of Haiti, providing backpacks for students at Broughal Middle School in Bethlehem, and visiting the elderly at Sacred Heart Senior Living in Center Valley. 

Patrick will enroll at Penn State and expects to major in team sports medicine and journalism. He said he would like to build up his strength before playing lacrosse at Penn State.

He has a younger brother, Sean, and is the son of Peter Kowalski and his wife, Sandra.