Back to the Future (Aces): Chase Strupp

Chase Strupp had his first Trilogy experience ten years ago at the 2013 Middle School Aces (a predecessor to Future Aces) at Rider University in Lawrence Township, NJ. He attended the Middle School Aces again in 2014 before joining Trilogy’s ICE program in 2015.

Chase continued his highly successful career at New Canaan High School where he was a 2X All-State selection, earned Under Armour All-American honors and helped lead the program to 3 Connecticut state titles. He was also a captain his senior season. Excelling in the classroom as well as on the field, Chase followed his brother David’s footsteps and headed to Harvard upon graduating in 2018.

We checked in with Chase ahead of the 2022 season to see how his time at Trilogy helped prepare him for where he is today:

What was your favorite memory from the Future Aces?

Chase: My favorite memory of Aces were the games, since a lot of the camp is structured in a highly-competitive game format. My fondest memories were the tiebreakers where we would either go into sudden death overtime or a braveheart. In the instances where we won, I can remember the entire team (including the coaches) rushing out on the field and jumping up and down. I am still friends with a lot of players who attended the camp and now play at the collegiate level. It’s really cool to recognize all of the guys around the sport that started off at Aces, and to see them grow into the players they are now.

How do you think the Future Aces helped prepare you as a lacrosse player?

CS: The camp not only brings together top talent from across the country, but you also get the special opportunity to work with professional players on a day-to-day basis. Working with college and professional players helped me to improve my game and gave me the tools to continue to grow once I left. I vividly remember receiving specific footwork and stickwork drills that I could do by myself that I still use to this day.

Why did you choose Harvard?

CS: I chose Harvard because I really wanted to compete at the highest competitive level while being able to study at the best academic institution I could. I love the coaching staff and head coach Gerry Byrne is an incredible coach  who is building a strong program. Additionally, Harvard has the most collegiate sports across any school in the country, so it has a really strong culture for scholar-athletes and making them feel at home.

I am studying economics and have really enjoyed the courses I have taken so far. In terms of my career, I recently accepted an offer to do a summer internship as an investment banking analyst at Bank of America. I am not sure what I want to do long-term, but I thought this analyst program would give me a great platform early in my career to learn about business and finance.

What is a piece of advice you would have for anyone going through the college recruiting process and/or choosing to play in college?

CS: I think a great development in the college recruiting process since I was in high school is not allowing schools to recruit before the start of a player’s junior year. I think it is important to know what you want in your future school. As much as you want to impress potential future coaches, I think it is important to do your homework on these schools and ask them questions you really care about. The two most important factors, in my opinion, are the academic opportunities and the team culture. These two aspects will be the most applicable to you on a day-to-day basis. For example, if you want to pursue computer science, make sure the schools you are looking at have a good computer science program. On the other hand, ask questions to the players at these schools and ask for an honest opinion – they will be the most honest in terms of what the coaches are like, what practices are like and what they think are the differentiating aspects of the teams’ culture.

You should make sure you are doing everything that you can to separate yourself from the pack during the process. You must make sure that college lacrosse is something you are passionate about because it is a full-time commitment once you join the team. So, make sure you are keeping your grades up in high school and working hard in your free time to work on your stick skills and footwork.

What do you do when you aren’t playing lacrosse?

CS: Outside of lacrosse, I love to stay active whether that’s biking, hiking or skiing. I also really like to play chess and do crossword puzzles (Monday’s only) in my spare time.

Thanks Chase, after another semester in Boston, we’re sure you’ll be crushing the Tuesday crosswords with ease!