Leadership runs in family for lacrosse captain

Patrick Kelly comes from a long line of leaders. So the only thing surprising about his promotion to captain of the Camden Catholic boys lacrosse team was the timing. Kelly received the honor during his junior year.

“It was a big honor,” said Kelly, who also plays soccer for the Irish. “It’s not something as a junior that you go into the season expecting. But I’m very flattered that Coach Joe [Baylouny] chose me as a captain. I’m just trying to set an example for the younger guys so that when they are juniors and seniors, they know how to act regardless of what’s going on on the field.”

Kelly has had great examples of leadership in his bloodlines. He’s the fourth of six children in his family, and two of his older brothers, Tom and John, played high school lacrosse. His other older brother, Denny, took a different path, which is also admired by Kelly. Denny is a military intelligence officer in the Army. It’s one of the reasons Kelly is considering attending college under the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps. 

“I’m hoping to go to college on ROTC for either the Army or Navy,” Kelly said. “My two grandfathers served. The military, it’s always been a part of our life.”

One of Kelly’s grandfathers was a helicopter evacuation medic in the Army during the Vietnam War. The other was a paratrooper in the Army. Both grandpops are role models, and so are his brothers. When oldest brother Tom was playing lacrosse at Cherokee High School, it sparked an interest in the younger siblings.  

“Me and John saw him playing out back, and he kind of took us in and taught us how to play the sport,” said Kelly, a Marlton resident. “He was a big part in making me the player that I’ve turned into. I’m grateful to have him as a supporter.”

And Kelly has turned into quite a player. In his first five games this season, he scored 15 goals, including an eight-goal outburst in an 18-5 victory over Millville on April 13. More importantly, the Irish appear to be on the way up, posting a 3-2 record after five games. Camden Catholic hasn’t enjoyed a winning season since 2015.

“I feel like we are at the first brick of building a house,” first-year coach Joe Baylouny said. “We have a ways to go. But we practice very, very hard. We don’t let up on them at all, and that is reflected in our games. We’re getting everything we can out of each player we have, and it’s only going to get better as we get further down the road.”

It takes a team buy-in for that to happen. And Kelly is at the center of it.

“He’s one of our leaders,” Baylouny said. “He keeps everybody in line and leads from the front. He practices what he preaches, so the younger kids look up to him and we have a very young team.”

Kelly admits practices have been tougher this year, but the talented and hard-working junior enjoys a challenge.

“Coach Joe is very tough but extremely fair,” Kelly said. “He compliments you on what you do well, and he takes you aside and talks to you about what you need to improve on. If I make a bad shot in practice or in a game, he’ll pull me aside and talk. He’s very positive, which is a big influence on the rest of the team.”

There will be big games down the stretch, and Kelly is hoping the team creates enough buzz to help his two passions combine. He is part of his school’s Grilling Society, which cooks food during big tailgates for school sporting events. It was a club started a few years ago.

“We’re big during football season,” Kelly said. “It was started by my brother John and his friends. The school said, ‘Go for it.’ I got involved because he was my older brother, and it’s still going today. It’s a lot of guys from all different sports and a lot of fun.”

If the Irish are in contention, maybe they’ll start pregame grilling at lacrosse games this spring. You couldn’t ask for a much better program to support, at least in Kelly’s opinion.

“It’s a great group of guys and there’s never a dull moment,” he said. “It’s been a lot of fun getting to come out here, and even if we lose, we’re still going to keep a positive attitude. That’s the most important thing.”