Unable to play, Singh still important part of Benet's team

Sometimes life deals you an unfortunate hand.

It's Amar Singh's senior year, his last for the Benet boys lacrosse team.

Singh started in the sport as a freshman and worked his way up to varsity this season, as a defenseman.

But right before this season began, he noticed something.

"I just had a swelling lymph node," Singh said. "I had it for a month and I didn't say anything to my parents. About a month later, it was still there, and they gave me some antibiotics."

That led to PET and CT scans, which led to a cruel diagnosis - it was lymphoma, which meant he wouldn't be able to play his final season.

It stunned teammates like Jared Plummer.

"I was immediately devastated when he informed me of the news," said Plummer, a senior. "Amar brings life to our team. He is the missing puzzle piece the team needs."

Benet coach Rich Moran, too, was shocked, but he had a simple message for Singh.

"I think it was a couple of days before we started the season, and he said, I just got this diagnosis and I'm not going to be able to play," Moran said. "I told him, You're still part of the team."

Despite chemotherapy treatments, Singh has been able to make it on the sidelines for two of Benet's games this season, including a tough 14-13 loss to state powerhouse Wheaton Academy on March 23.

Fellow senior defenseman Carson Forney, an all-state player a year ago who is committed to Stony Brook, remembers that contest well.

"The energy before the game, the bench just feeds off him," Forney said. "He's always outgoing, he's telling a ton of jokes."

Lymphoma is obviously no joke, but when you talk about turning a negative into a positive, you might just see Singh's photo next to the latter definition.

"The way I look at it, there is nothing you can do, because you're already diagnosed with it, and if you have a bad attitude, it's going to be tough," he said. "It helps when you have people giving you that confidence boost and being by your side."

That includes Plummer, Forney and Moran.

"He's a great teammate and fun to have on the sidelines," Moran said. "He's enthusiastic every time he comes out for practice.

"We're playing for him this year."

Macko excels at lacrosse, hockey:

Naperville Central junior Brayden Macko is a whiz as a defenseman and long-stick midfielder.

Where does he get that acumen? From hockey.

He's a goalie for his Windy City Storm AAA hockey team and is trying out for a Juniors team, which would be a substantial step forward in his career in that sport.

What does he bring from hockey to lacrosse?

"The big thing that helps is the hand-eye coordination," Macko said. "When I play lacrosse, I feel like I'm watching every puck and I can see better. The stick skills, I can dodge and carry the ball a lot easier."

Redhawks coach Blake Zinn sees the same thing from the sidelines.

"In general, hockey kids are better at groundballs," Zinn said. "He's a natural righty, but he plays well with his left hand. Hockey is a game with constant motion, and we've seen a lot of hockey kids bring that to lacrosse. They know where the open space is and how to attack it."

Macko started in lacrosse in seventh grade with the New Wave club program, so he has the bona fides to be the player he is now.

It begs the question, though: Why not play goalie in lacrosse?

It makes logical sense. As a netminder, he said, "I don't have as much padding on, and that ball hurts."

Not everyone is thrilled that Macko is playing lacrosse, like his hockey coach, who doesn't want him to get injured. But there's more to it, he insists.

"The teammates and the brotherhood, I like that a lot," Macko said. "I also like learning the new things of lacrosse in the off-season of your main sport. I believe lacrosse is very creative."

Division I For Pakowski:

Downers Grove South senior midfielder Ysa Pakowski has an interesting bullet point on her sports resume.

She's the first player from the Downers Grove Co-op program that will play collegiate Division I lacrosse, next year at Detroit Mercy.

She's come a long way from fifth grade, when she injured her knee in gymnastics, which prompted her to try other sports, including basketball, tennis, track ... and lacrosse.

"My grandpa was an athletic director, and he talked to me about lacrosse and then I went to a camp," Pakowski said. "I liked how it was really fast, and I liked how it was a team sport, but also individualized."

Fast forward to high school, and Pakowski has been a four-year varsity starter for Downers Grove and does plenty of offensive damage to warrant her captainship both this year and last. For example, in the team's first two games, she had 11 goals.

Downers Grove coach Jon Gargiulo said Pakowski is one of those rare athletes that has a lot of athletic ability but was willing to put in the work over the years to get better. She'll now take those skills and leadership to Detroit Mercy, which is a dream come true.

"I knew I always wanted to be a collegiate athlete," she said, "whether it was in gymnastics or another sport."