The word “tough” is tossed around a lot in sports these days, oftentimes quite loosely. However, no one embodies that term quite like the Seneca High School’s boys’ lacrosse goalie Tyler McCormack.
McCormack finished his sophomore season last year as one of the top goalies in South Jersey. He had huge implications going into his junior year, but they all came to a screeching halt on a summer day in August.
“I came from the beach. I figured it was just a misunderstanding, I’d be back by the ocean in no time,” McCormack said. “Once I got the news, it really took a couple days to set in.”
After complaining about a lump in his armpit, he went in for a standard chest X-ray.
“The results from the X-ray and the blood work that was done came back a little suspicious,” McCormack said.
It was Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, cancer of the part of the immune system called the lymphatic system.
Suddenly, a game that was such a big part of McCormack’s life since the third grade was now on the backburner, and his future was up in the air.
But the power of a positive attitude and the support of his peers took him a long way and the cancer was unable to keep him down for long.
“In the beginning, I focused more on my health, but as I learned more and more about the process, I was hoping that I would play lacrosse and I think I knew I would. That was the goal in the back of my mind,” McCormack said.
He could not say enough about the help and support he received, not only from his team but also from the entire community.
“Everyone around me made it so much easier. The community was great, especially my team. Anything I could ask for, they were there for me, and it made it so much easier on me,” McCormack said.
McCormack said the biggest obstacle he faced throughout the process was keeping his mental composure and a positive attitude. It can be pretty grueling for anyone to keep up with school, sports and everything in between while regularly going to the hospital for treatments.
The team rallied around him and did whatever it could to keep his spirits high.
In return, McCormack was able to make an incredible comeback and be in goal for his team for the opening game against Gloucester Catholic this spring.
The team has ridden that momentum to a scorching hot 6–1 start to the season.
Fresh off a shutout against Haddonfield, McCormack was still remarkably humbled and level headed about the outlook of a season that is still generally young.
“I’m happy with how the team looks thus far. A lot of hard work, a lot of focus. We have a goal in the back of our mind, and we’re not going to stop until we get there,” McCormack said.
When asked about that goal, McCormack emphasized the one-game-at-a-time mentality.
“We’re just looking to play every game to the best of our ability and then hopefully play for a championship at the end of the season,” McCormack said.
“T-Mac” is also a swimmer and a football player at Seneca. Though he is only a junior, a dream of his is to one day play at the collegiate level and potentially pay for some of his education.
He serves as a sense of inspiration for the entire community, recently being recognized by the Seneca Lacrosse Club, a program that is in charge of everything lacrosse related in Tabernacle and Shamong from pre-K to eighth grade.
The program has witnessed the growth of this young man from the third grade on and has some remarkable memories about McCormack on and off the field, memories McCormack himself had trouble picking a favorite from.
“It’s all a good time. I don’t know if I can pin down one memory in particular. Everyday that I am out here is a good memory. Just being out here with the guys having fun. I don’t take anything for granted anymore. Everything I have is a blessing,” McCormack said.
