David DiPiazza Jr. helps to lead his team on the field as a team captain and as the founder of the Southeastern Lacrosse Club. DiPiazza has played lacrosse since high school along with other sports and has overcome playing with one hand with his determination to succeed.
Courtesy of David DiPiazza Jr.
No matter the odds or what obstacles that get in the way, David DiPiazza Jr. has been determined to reach his goals as an athlete and as a student. As a lacrosse player and the co-founder of the Southeastern Louisiana University Men’s Lacrosse Club, DiPiazza manages to be successful as an attackman with only one hand.
“I forget I have one hand sometimes,” said DiPiazza. “I just do it however I need to do it. When I first started playing lacrosse, I tried to look up videos trying to find out what I could do, but with two hands it’s so much different than what I have to do. I decided to teach myself everything and now I can throw as good with my left as I can with my right.”
DiPiazza was born without his left hand and has played sports most of his life finding his own way to adapt.
“I was born with a syndrome called Amniotic Band Syndrome,” said DiPiazza. “The whole thing with my hand is that I don’t know any different. It’s just like everything else that I have done in my life. I don’t let myself be limited or tell myself that I can’t do anything. I played baseball, football. I ran track. I played soccer. I played paintball. I played anything that anyone else could play.”
DiPiazza played lacrosse for the North Shore Lacrosse Club for two years and at Mandeville High School for three years and simultaneously played for Team Louisiana Elite for two seasons. In his senior year, he was voted to the All-South District attack position.
“I started playing my sophomore year in high school,” said DiPiazza. “None of my friends really started playing until high school. They didn’t have a lot of lacrosse when I started playing five years ago. I wish I could have started playing when I was in junior high or elementary.”
In every game, DiPiazza proves his skills and shows that he should not be underestimated.
“During my first time playing lacrosse, it pissed me off that the kids on the sideline were yelling ‘Force him to his left because he can’t use it,’” said DiPiazza. “In all of the times that I have played, people have underestimated me and then I would score a goal on them. If you want to take it easy on me, go ahead. I will just play as hard as I can.”
DiPiazza started the lacrosse club along with his teammate and Vice President Chris Bourque last year. The team has now completed its first season in the Men’s Collegiate Lacrosse Association Lone Star Alliance Conference.
“I love lacrosse,” said DiPiazza. “I really do. I’m glad I started the team, it’s been fun. It’s been a good experience getting to meet new people and giving guys that are new to the sport and guys who have played before the opportunity to play college lacrosse. All of the stuff that has been created and that we have raised money for it’s all on us.”
Last week DiPiazza was given an honorable mention by the Lone Star Alliance Conference as an attackman.
“It’s pretty cool,” said DiPiazza. “For our conference, it means I was in the top ten in attack. It’s nice to have that honor I’m pretty grateful for that.”
DiPiazza is an Occupational Safety, Health and Environment major, and it took him a while to find what it was that he wanted to do and what career he was interested in.
“I went to LSU my freshman year and didn’t play lacrosse because I was involved with a fraternity,” said DiPiazza. “I was just a business major there and didn’t really know what I wanted to do and nothing at LSU interested me. So, I transferred here for the OSHE program. I want to work in oil and do safety or something relatively close to that. My dad works for Chevron. I’m not the best at science, so I didn’t want to be an engineer, but I wanted to work in oil.”
As a club, the team is completely run by the players but DiPiazza hopes that the team will keep going even after he graduates two years from now. After playing, DiPiazza hopes to coach lacrosse at a college or high school level.
“If I’m living around here after I graduate and if I can coach, I would love to do that,” said DiPiazza. “I would like to try to get a team in the next year or two started at St. Thomas Aquinas or Hammond High. They have athletes and it would be a club just like in Mandeville and St. Paul. As of right now, we are the only lacrosse anything in Tangipahoa Parish. I would like it start growing out of just the lacrosse team.”
David DiPiazza Jr. plays the position of attackman and was giving an honorable mention by the Lone Star Alliance Conference for his play this season.
Courtesy of David DiPiazza Jr.