Scott Vancil first Fallbrook High lacrosse player to sign letter of intent for college play

On April 29 Scott Vancil became the first Fallbrook High School senior to sign a letter of intent to play college lacrosse.

Vancil will play for Dominican University, which is located in San Rafael.

“This whole experience is incredible,” Vancil said.

“It’s amazing,” Vancil said of his scholarship. “It’s very exciting. I’ve had that dream of being able to sign, play college lacrosse, and to reach that goal is awesome.”

Reaching his goal of a college scholarship also made him Fallbrook’s first lacrosse scholarship recipient. “Just being the first, it kind of puts the cherry on top so to speak because it kind of gives me all the more recognition in a way,” he said.

Dominican is in Division II of the National Collegiate Athletic Association. The Penguins play in the Western Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association.

“The thing that first strikes you about Scott is what a great person he is,” said Dominican coach Ned Webster.

While character was also a prerequisite in Dominican’s scholarship offer, Webster added compliments of Vancil’s on-field skills. “He’s incredibly fast and quick, he’s able to beat his man, and he’s really getting to the point where he’s becoming a complete player,” Webster said.

Webster saw a lacrosse showcase in which Vancil participated and sent Vancil a letter about Dominican. “He pretty much wanted to stay in touch with me,” Vancil said.

Webster cited several attributes which made Vancil attractive to the program. “I think it’s his speed, his quickness, and his ability to play offense and defense,” Webster said. “He just does so many good things.”

Vancil took his visit to Dominican late last summer. “Dominican was my choice pretty early,” he said.

“I love the school. It’s small and it’s just a really good fit,” Vancil said. “The level of lacrosse Dominican plays is a very high level.”

The 2013 season was Dominican’s ninth. The Penguins were undefeated in Western Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association play while setting school records for wins and goals. The 2013 Dominican team included seven seniors.

Vancil has not yet declared a major, nor has he determined his post-college career preference. “Kind of waiting for the lightning to strike,” he said.

Vancil’s family lived in Oceanside when he was born and moved from Oceanside to Fallbrook in 2003. After spending kindergarten through second grade at Empressa Elementary School in Oceanside, Vancil spent third through sixth grades at Live Oak Elementary School before two years at Potter Junior High School and four years at Fallbrook High School.

Vancil’s father, Greg, played tennis at Glendora High School and Citrus College. Vancil’s mother, Molly, was a cheerleader at Glendora High School but was not on an athletics team. His sister, Lauren, graduated from Fallbrook High School in 2007 and played softball for the Warriors.

Prior to focusing on lacrosse, Vancil played in youth baseball and soccer programs. He took up lacrosse in seventh grade. Vancil had attended a YMCA camp whose activities included mountain biking, hiking, soccer, Frisbee – and lacrosse. “I had never heard of it, never seen it, nothing,” he said.

Vancil experimented with lacrosse at the YMCA camp. “It just really caught me,” he said. “It was just a lot of fun, so that kind of hooked me.”

When Vancil was on campus at Potter Junior High School, he saw two boys with lacrosse sticks and asked if he could check one out. The lacrosse players allowed him that opportunity and informed him of the upcoming middle school season. “Just went out for the first practice and just said goodbye to baseball and hello to lacrosse,” Vancil said.

Vancil has played lacrosse year-round since seventh grade. Current Fallbrook High School head coach Chas Mudie previously coached the mid-high program for fifth-grade through eighth-grade players and was Vancil’s coach when Vancil was in seventh and eighth grades.

“He lived up to everything we thought he was capable of,” Mudie said. “It’s really good to watch it happen.”

Mudie became Fallbrook High School’s assistant coach during Vancil’s junior season before taking over as head coach for Vancil’s senior year.

“He just loves the game, extremely dedicated,” Mudie said of Vancil. “He’s just a good little kid. He took our advice and his parents came on board.”

When Vancil was in seventh grade, Mudie told him that he had the potential to play in college. “I really just took that to heart and just really practiced hard,” Vancil said. “It actually got me there, so it’s really incredible.”

Vancil spent four years on Fallbrook’s varsity lacrosse team. The only other high school sport in which he participated was cross-country, which he ran only as a freshman. “I pretty much did that just to get in shape for lacrosse,” he said.

Vancil’s first travel team was the SD Shredderz. He then joined the LaxDawgs, where he was coached by Dan Meehan.

“Our team was very successful while he was on it, and so was he,” Meehan said.

“Scott, I think in my opinion, is a product of his hard work. He loves the sport and dedicated himself to that,” Meehan said. “Scott was a perfect example of a kid with great positive energy, a very positive attitude, doing everything he could to help himself and his teammates.”

The LaxDawgs are based in Coronado, but that didn’t deter Vancil from regular trips from Fallbrook. “I don’t think he ever missed a practice,” Meehan said.

Vancil played midfield while at Potter Junior High School. He was primarily a midfielder and saw some time as an attacker during his first three Fallbrook High School seasons. As a senior he was primarily an attacker for the Warriors while occasionally playing midfield. Vancil was a midfielder with the LaxDawgs.

“He really, really worked at it,” Mudie said. “His parents got him the exposure and he did the rest.”

Vancil is naturally right-handed but has learned to pass and shoot from either the left or the right side. “When you can go both left and right they don’t know which way you’re going to go,” Mudie said.

Vancil is 5’8” and 150 pounds. “He’s extremely quick,” Mudie said. “He’s a pretty magical little defensive player.”

“He’s just got a real positive attitude,” Webster said. “I think another great attribute about Scott is that he’s coming from an area that’s growing competitively.”

Vancil’s favorite high school memory was this year’s March 12 game against Great Oak, even though – if not because – Fallbrook lost by an 8-7 score. “We played the best that we have ever played against them,” he said. “It was such a close game, but we were really proud to have almost beaten them.”

The Wolf Pack defeated Fallbrook by a 16-0 score in 2012, by a 12-6 margin in 2011, and by a 13-7 result in 2010.

“It’s really neat, very rewarding, to have watched him,” Mudie said of Vancil.

“I just can’t say enough about how much of a pleasure it was to coach Scott,” Meehan said. “Just couldn’t be more proud of him and where he’s going.”

“He loves the game as much or more than anybody, and he’s going to work real hard and great things are going to happen for him,” Webster said.