Ryan Hynes is the only player from Illinois on the High Point roster, a source of pride for the former Stevenson High School star.

“In our locker room, we have our nameplates with where everyone is from on them. If you look around, a lot of the kids are from Maryland, New York, New Jersey, and Canada too,” said Hynes. “Having mine say Kildeer, Illinois, reminds you where you’re from and how much work you put in to get to this spot. Knowing you’re from a non-traditional hotbed, you had to put in the work and work a little harder to put yourself in this position for a reason. You worked your tail off; it wasn’t just handed to you because of where you’re from.”

Hynes understands that he and other players from Illinois share a unique bond and journey to the Division 1 level from Illinois. “I had a teammate from New Trier last year; he and I would always talk about our club and our high school days and how it’s so much different from what the other guys around us experienced.”

Hynes says it’s always a unique experience seeing another player from Illinois on a scout packet. He says his teammates will routinely play other players from their home state or even their home high school, but that when another player from Illinois is on the scout, he takes notice. “It’s pretty cool to see somebody on the scouting report from the same state,” Hynes said. “It perks up your attention, knowing that this kid knows what it takes to play Division 1 Lacrosse coming from Illinois.”

Hynes prides himself on the extra work it took for him to go Division 1 from Illinois, and after a sophomore year where he found himself playing with the second-line midfield at High Point, he returned home from the summer ready to improve his game and give back to the game in the state. Hynes spent the summer training at the Second City Lacrosse Club facility with a number of Illinois Division 1 products.

“It was a group of Illinois guys like me, Cade Faulkner from Utah, Ben Dale at Providence, the Eggebratton brothers playing defense from Maryland, and Luke Winger from Le Moyne and Dan Dorszewski from Bucknell,” Hynes said of his training group. “It’s great getting good live reps and then stepping off the field to communicate and be good friends, but to be honest about how we can improve and where we need to get better.” Hynes said, “We all play very differently; Cade is a super shifty lefty dodger, and Ben is an X-Attackman, so being able to collaborate with them and add different pieces to your game was extremely valuable.”

Hynes said the group also included Illinois products Jimmy Pisani from Michigan, Kyle Swanson from UMass, Dylan Groff from Rutgers, and Zach Claiborne from Johns Hopkins.

Hynes also spent the summer coaching for the Second City Lacrosse Club, giving back to the sport in Illinois, and having an experience that he feels has helped him as a player.

“It was my first time having a team to coach. I always did camps and stuff, but having an actual team to coach allowed me to see the game from a different perspective and kind of manipulate what different positions were doing at different times. Even though they were younger kids, it really helped me grow my knowledge of the game and understand some of the little things, like what the net play is on both sides of the ball, rather than just going out and playing… Shoutout Second City U12 Blue.”

Hynes feels that the sport in Illinois is unique, and prides himself on being the kind of player that will make the right play, even if it does not show up on the stat sheet but helps the team win.

“The Midwest circuit is a lot scrappier. Every guy I know coming out of the Midwest is always the guy who scraps for a GB, making the tough play, riding the ball back, always trying to make the right play. Not a flashy play, but something that says ‘I’m going to put my nose down and make a tough play.’ Hynes said, ‘Nose to the grindstone, grind-it-out type of players. And that helped me a ton this year.’”

Hynes credits his Midwest style of play as fitting in with how High Point wants to win games.

“Stopping a fast break is something that might not show up on the stat sheet but means a lot in terms of the flow of the game. Having the ball is something we preach and valuing possession, so being willing to get scrappy and pick up a ground ball goes a long way for us with possessions being so limited.”

Hynes’ nose to the grindstone play style and work over the summer have paid off early on for him. Hynes has 11 points in just four games and tallied a career-high eight points against Robert Morris. Despite his hot start, Hynes knows that his work is just getting started in order to keep growing the sport in Illinois and continue to make a name for players from Illinois.

“You worked super hard for it, so I try to go out every day and be proud of the work I have put in to get where I am, but understand that there’s still a ton of work left to do to show that lacrosse is not just an East Coast sport anymore. There’s talent from all over the country, including in Illinois.”

Having gone through the recruiting process as a player from Illinois, Hynes understands that players may not always hear from the school of their dreams, but that should be motivation.

“There’s hundreds of kids getting those calls on September 1st. If the schools you wanted don’t call, use that as fuel for your training, and if you ever get a chance to go up against that coach, use the opportunity to show them that just because I’m from Illinois, doesn’t mean I’m not a damn good player.”

As for the players lucky enough to earn an opportunity at the Division 1 level, don’t think your journey is complete.

“I was dropping off a group of Illinois kids on a visit who had just committed to High Point, and I told them just because you’re committed doesn’t mean the work stops.”

Despite his great start on the stat sheet, Hynes is solely focused on doing whatever his team needs the rest of the season.

“A lot of what we preach at High Point is about team glory and team goals. I could go zero goals, zero assists, for the rest of the season, but if we win the A10 championship, I’ll be the happiest player in the world.” Hynes said, “Our goal is to get better today, get better tomorrow and to win each day. That way, at the end of the line we’re hoisting a trophy in May. That’s the ultimate goal, and we know if you don’t win today, you can’t wait in May. You gotta win every single day leading up to it.”

Ryan Hynes and High Point will be back in action February 28th at the University of Delaware.