By Kim J. Harmon

Crawling around in the mud – yep, that’s where Drew Narcum wants to be. And with his appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point, that is pretty much what he’s going to get.

Drew, 18, will report on Monday, July 1, for processing (signing in and, of course, getting that first military buzz cut) and his first day as a plebe in what will no doubt be six weeks of intensive basic training.

But, man, is he ever looking forward to it.

Oddly enough, it is a little bit of a relief for the Newtown High School graduate, too. See, it wasn’t until just last week (Tuesday, June 18, to be exact) that Drew – a star defenseman for the Newtown High School boys’ lacrosse team – knew which military academy he would be attending.

It was a whirlwind sort of thing.

Since his father, John, was a midshipman at Annapolis, Drew – who grew up in Baltimore – had always planned on going to Navy. But he applied to the Navy and Army (getting recommendations from Senator Chris Dodd and Representative Jim Maloney for the Navy and Senator Joseph Lieberman for the Army) to give himself more options.

Well, he was accepted into West Point in December and took his official visit in February.

“I didn’t know a lot about West Point until I got in,” said Drew, his older brother, Dave, will be entering his senior year at Virginia Military Institute. “I loved the overnight and I knew it was definitely more up my alley.”

Drew, figuring he would be entering the marines after his four years at Annapolis and knowing West Point would provide him with that land-based experience before he got to the marines, started leaning towards the Army.

Some time later, Drew was accepted into Annapolis and the lacrosse coach there (both academies recruited Drew for lacrosse) asked him if he would attend prep school for a year to work on lacrosse and to get some academic initiation.

“It was a good deal,” he said, “and I decided in May that that’s what I wanted to do. And in June, I sent my card of declination to West Point.”

It was a mistake.

“As each day went by,” Drew admitted, “I felt worse and worse about it. The more I thought about it, the most I loved West Point.”

Drew tried to call the admissions head at West Point to try and get his card back but the guy said, no dice, once the card was in it was automatic. Drew called again, but the answer still was no. It was explained that since the events of September 11, applications were up and slots needed to be filled from a long list of candidates.

Getting a little desperate, Drew called the Dean of Admissions (“I went over the guy’s head,” he said) and the secretary asked him to send a FAX explaining the reasons for his decision. Drew did that, but when he called he was told the FAX had never arrived. Getting a little more frantic, Drew sent another FAX on Monday, June 17.

The colonel called on Tuesday, June 18, and after talking with Drew for a few moments told him he was tearing up the card.

“This was awesome,” said Drew. “It is rare to get the opportunity – but to get the opportunity twice is amazing.”

Right before the colonel hung up the phone, though, he said, “Have a good two weeks.”

And that’s when it really dawned on Drew – and his mother and father.

During the whole process, Dad tried to stay hands off, telling Drew he would probably have more fun in Annapolis (“It’s a beautiful city,” said Drew, “with a lot to do”), but admitting he would get more of what he was looking for at West Point. Mom, meanwhile, was just trying to be brave and hoping Drew would do something that might not involve getting shot at (“she’s accepted the fact that this is what I’m going to do,” said Drew).

And it all starts next week.

Star Defenseman

That ordeal sounds a lot more difficult than anything Drew Narcum had to do on the lacrosse field – but only because he made whatever he did look easy.

While guys like Casey Kirch and Tom Ryan were just blistering the cage with one goal after another, Drew provided a steady influence on the defensive side of the field. They way he often poked the attackman and somehow stripped him of the ball all in one motion seemed almost magical.

Even as the ‘Hawks return nearly their entire offense for the 2003 season, they will sorely miss Drew.

The Narcum family moved to Newtown about six years ago and the first person Drew met in the seventh grade at the Newtown Middle School was Cameron Law. It was a precipitous meeting, because Cameron’s father – Ken – was running the Newtown Youth Lacrosse program.

As a freshman at Newtown High School (his brother – also a defenseman – transferred from Fairfield Prep that same year), Drew found a spot on the varsity team in the last year of coach Scott Stampp’s tenure.

“Scott was a good coach,” said Drew. “He just wasn’t a defensive coach. So, I learned a lot from my brother. I took what I could from him and soaked it up like a sponge.”

As a sophomore, Drew started to become a defensive leader under new coaches Brian Henricksen and Jason Hiruo. But Drew found he was pretty much left to his own devices that year, trying to figure things out for himself.

That changed last year, when Brian Micena became the new head coach.

“Coach Micena has been a godsend for the program,” said Drew, who admitted that a lot of players had to adjust to the transition from a program where there was little discipline to one which was heavy on discipline.

Last year, the ‘Hawks were pretty good.

This year they were great.

“Our first game,” said Drew, who scored his first career goal in 2002, “we beat New Fairfield and didn’t really do much. But when we destroyed Newington – this big Division I team – I think that set the tone.”

The ‘Hawks – who had played indoor lacrosse and did not lose a game while playing teams from Brookfield, Trumbull and Joel Barlow – quickly had the confidence they needed to win a South-West Conference championship and reach the CIAC Division II championship game (where they lost to Joel Barlow).

While a lacrosse player at heart, Drew was also a football player – and a captain. He did not letter until his junior year, when he played mostly on the defensive end. As a senior, he was moved to tight end in the absence of All-SWC tight end Matt McCarthy.

“The two are totally different experiences,” said Drew. “Lacrosse is more about executing on game day, and probably that’s what football should be about, but it seems as if it is more about what goes into the games. It was kind of a rough experience (this year), but I think I grew a little more from my experience with football.

When the Cadets of West Point and the Midshipmen of Annapolis meet on the football field on Saturday, December 7, for the 113th annual Army-Navy game, it will have some added significance in the Narcum household.

But no more significance, perhaps, than the three words Drew Narcum will have tattooed on his heart after six weeks of basic training.

Duty.

Honor.

Country.