After Senior Kyle Anderson battled through an ACL injury during his junior year, he looks to end his Malvern career strong.

Kyle Anderson was only seven years old when he first picked up a lacrosse stick – a sport that he has now known his whole life.

“I started playing in the first grade,” Anderson said. “I grew up with the sport because my mom used to play and all my other siblings played it too.”

Currently, Kyle is an essential part of the Malvern Prep Lacrosse team, playing as an attackman for the offense.

“He brings a million goals to the team,” head lacrosse coach Mr. John McEvoy said with a smile. “He truly loves lacrosse just as much as I do, and there are not that many that do.”

[perfectpullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]“I go out everyday playing as hard as I can because I know how quickly something can be taken away.”

-Kyle Anderson ’16[/perfectpullquote]

Kyle transferred into Malvern during his Sophomore year and his presence was instantly felt. He led the team in goals enroute to a perfect 24-0 record that was capped with an Inter-Ac Championship over Haverford.

“It is something that I will truly never forget,” Anderson said. “To go undefeated is a great accomplishment and I was just glad I could contribute to it.”

While on the field, Kyle has one of the toughest jobs – being the scorer. They usually take the most shots on the field, but also have to retrieve loose balls, play defense when the other team is trying to clear on offense, and also feed other teammates for goal opportunities.

But, it is what Kyle does off the field which is impressive.

“He is dependable, reliable and smart – all the traits you need to be successful in life,” McEvoy said. “He’s a great role model for everyone to see. If you want to achieve something great, you don’t have to look too far.”

These traits were put to the test when during the fall of his junior year, Kyle suffered a torn ACL, sidelining him for the lacrosse season. It was one of the toughest points of Kyle’s career here at Malvern.

“There was one night just after I got hurt I felt sorry for myself and was pretty mad,” Anderson said. “After that, I just sucked it up and realized there are much worse things in life than a knee injury, and made sure I focused myself on getting better as fast as I could.”

The team lost a great teammate and leader, but McEvoy still tried to make Kyle an integral part to the team.

“He helped steer me into the direction of a coaching role on the team, which helped me gain a different perspective of the game,” Kyle added.

Even though that this was a low point for Kyle, it served as a blessing in disguise.

“I think this was the best thing that ever happened to him,” McEvoy said. “He put everything into his rehab and trying to get himself better.”

Going into rehab allowed him to get in better shape, improve on the aspects of his game that needed help, and also become stronger.

But, being injured and being on the sidelines also provided a mental growth for Kyle.

“Watching from the sidelines gave me a much different perspective of the game,” Kyle said. “It has just given me a greater appreciation of playing the sport and I go out everyday playing as hard as I can because I know how quickly something can be taken away.”

Another additional silver lining the injury brought was that during this time, Kyle’s grades increased.

“School actually became easier during my injury,” Anderson said. “I wasn’t really worrying about lacrosse at that time, so all my focus went towards my grades.”

Grades have been a focal point of Kyle’s career here at Malvern, maintaining a high GPA throughout all his four years. His academics along with his athletic ability allowed him to be recruited to the Harvard University.

His injury did not affect his recruitment at all.

“I was recruited in my sophomore year, so the injury didn’t jeopardize my chances,” Kyle said. “The coaches wished me the best in my recovery and said that it did not change anything.”

Kyle has always been a kid of high standards, but that was personified at a practice during his sophomore year.

“We were a doing an easy drill that Kyle was great at,” McEvoy said. “The upperclassmen were razing him after he got stopped by the goalie a few times in a row.”

Clearly frustrated, Kyle retaliated to the upperclassmen.

“Kyle said something along the lines of ‘How many goals do you have?’,” said McEvoy. “All in good nature I responded ‘C’mon Kyle, don’t lower yourself to their standards.’”

Despite the joking demeanor and the good nature of the jokes being said, Kyle texted McEvoy to apologize for the way he acted.

“I felt really bad about what I had said and felt I made it seem like I was separating myself from the team,” Anderson said. “I wanted to own up to something I did wrong.”

This would make a lasting impression on McEvoy.

“Just the thought that it bothered him so much to text me about it impressed me more than I already had been,” he said.