WS Chronicle

The game of lacrosse has been gaining more popularity over the last two decades. Kids from all demographics are now gravitating toward the sport. Kieran Sawyer of Atkins is one of those kids and this fall he will play his college lacrosse at Ferrum College in Virginia.

On January 18, Sawyer signed his letter of intent to play at Ferrum in front of his family, friends and coaches. This day was not only special for Sawyer, but also for his parents Kevan and Masonne.

“Today went very well, we had a good turnout, he (Kieran) was excited and the coaches, athletic director and principal came out to the event to wish him well,” said Mr. Sawyer about the signing.  “It turned out to be an awesome day.”

Sawyer had a unique introduction to the sport of lacrosse. He just happened to see a classmate with a hoodie on with the Kernersville Cannons logo. Sawyer began asking questions about the sport and eventually led to him picking up a lacrosse stick and watching videos on YouTube.  

Basketball and flag football were his sports’ interest before diving head-long into lacrosse. He said he wanted to “think outside of the box” and try something new with lacrosse. 

“When I found out what lacrosse was, I thought this is a pretty good combination of what I like, because it’s fast-paced and I liked the overall competition of the sport,” Sawyer said. “It stood out to me because it’s kind of like basketball with a soccer feel as well. It’s a lot of freedom in the sport.”

It was during his freshman year that Sawyer began to see some potential in his game. He had a chance encounter with a coach from a travel team that changed the way he thought about his future in the game.  

“I think I thought that lacrosse wasn’t meant for me at that time, I was more focused on basketball,” he said. “Then I realized that I do have potential and I realized what I was good in the sport.”

Athleticism is the key to Sawyer’s game, he said. At 6 foot 4 inches and 230 pounds, Sawyer has played nearly every position on the field, except for goalie, in his career. He says he feels he has a very high IQ for the sport and his field vision really helps him make plays.

Ferrum was the place for Sawyer not only because of their lacrosse team, but also because they have his major, which is graphic design. He also enjoyed the remote location of the campus.

“I have been a fan of the big city for a long time and Ferrum is in a remote area, but I realized that I liked that,” he went on to say. “The team energy and culture are very good and I respect that and wanted to be a part of that.”

Mr. and Mrs. Sawyer are very proud of their son for his achievements, on and off the field. They said they were a bit thrown off when their son approached them about the sport. Once they saw his love of the game, they were behind him 100 percent.

“What I told him at that time was that there are plenty of 6 foot 2 black guys playing basketball, but what there is not a lot of are 6-foot 2-inch black guys playing lacrosse,” said Mrs. Sawyer.

Mr. Sawyer says he is “old school” so basketball, football and baseball were the sports they played growing up. When his son approached him about lacrosse, he had no idea what it was.

He eventually learned the sport and bought into it once his son began to love the game.

The Sawyers say they liked what they saw and heard from the coaches and campus when they took Kieran to visit. From his initial visit, Kieran knew that was the school for him.

Mr. and Mrs. Sawyer stated that academics are paramount in their household, so young Kieran is expected to excel there, as well as on the field.  

As an African-American, in a sport where African-Americans are not very common, he says he would always talk about the sport to his friends and classmates in hopes of adding more diversity to the sport. He hopes his story inspires another young minority kid to pick up a stick and try the sport.