Junior All-Inter-Ac soccer player Lucas Hammond loves his MP footy, art, and his pet duck Bubba.

Hammond is from Newtown Square and went to Sugartown Elementary and then Great Valley Middle School before attending Malvern. He wasn’t initially thinking of coming to Malvern but his mother first proposed the idea.

“She always wanted me to get a Catholic education and Malvern seemed like the perfect option,” Hammond said.

Along with the school’s religious values, Hammond also notes how the overall community here is different compared to Great Valley middle school.

“As a freshman I kept hearing about the idea of the brotherhood here and never really gave it much thought,” Hammond said. “As a junior, I can say that this idea holds true and that there is a great sense of unity here.”

Outside of the classroom, you can find Lucas playing right-back for multiple soccer teams, hitting the squash courts, or caring for his pet duck, Bubba.

Hammond has been playing soccer for as long as he can remember and plays both for his club team, Liverpool SC Celtic, and for Malvern, also known as “MP Footy.” He is a returning starter at right-back and received All-Inter-Ac recognition last fall. His teammates have recognized his devotion to the sport.

“He’s a hard-worker and comes with the same great attitude each day whether it’s just practice or a cup final,” junior Philip Kramer said, longtime teammate of Lucas.

Speaking of important games, Lucas scored the game-winning-goal against Haverford last year in a 1-0 victory.

“It was a corner kick and I was at the top of the box it popped out and I took a touch up and hit it,” Hammond said. “I wasn’t even worried about placing it as much as I was worried about just hitting frame.”

Along with playing soccer, Hammond decided to join the squash program in freshman year and has become a valuable member of the Varsity team.

“I played basketball all the way up until eighth grade and realized I didn’t really like it anymore. I wanted to pursue a different winter sport and originally was thinking of doing winter track but then I heard of this other sport called squash,” Hammond said. “I didn’t even know what it was but decided to give it a try and liked it which led me to continue to play”

Another event that happened in eighth grade was that Lucas received a pet duck named Bubba for his 14th birthday.

“I’ve always liked ducks and they’ve always been my favorite animal,” said Lucas. “I have a big pond in my backyard so I thought it would be a good pet to have and my parents used to have ducks when I was younger.”

Another thing Lucas liked to partake in when he was younger was art. Lucas is currently in Sculpture II and is a member of the National Art Honors Society.

Junior Nathan Belisario has been good friends with Lucas since first grade and sees Lucas’ successes as no surprise to him.

“I’ve known him for a while and I can honestly say that he’s a good, well-rounded kid who’s fun to be around,” he said.

Hammond currently has no set plans for the future regarding college sports or fields of study he’s interested in pursuing.

“I’m weighing my options and just going with the flow right now,” he said.