By James Joseph
WSL Senior Features Writer

For all that attackman Trevor Ecton did for the Olathe lacrosse club on the field – scoring goals and dishing assists in bunches and leading the team to back-to-back state titles – he will be remembered for so much more.

When Ecton joined Olathe Lacrosse Club as a seventh grader, it was just that – a club, in every sense of the word.

As he leaves, however, Olathe can be defined as a program.

“What Trevor really was a catalyst for was changing the lacrosse culture,” Olathe head coach Joel Henning said.

According to Henning, there weren’t “a lot of serious lacrosse players that were really dedicating themselves,” when Ecton joined Olathe. But Ecton helped change that. With his work ethic and passion for the game, Ecton raised the level of commitment of others on the team.

“He led by example as far as training and working hard and all that stuff,” said Henning, who noted Ecton was a player who would always help – from moving goals to lining the field to organizing offseason workouts. “All the guys that he was buddies with on the team, they fed off that, and it snowballed from there.

“We were fortunate to have him come through at the time he did. And it really helped that he was a great athlete and great player as well.”

Yes, there was that too. In 2010, Ecton scored a team-high 51 goals on 131 shots, handed out a team-high 34 assists and scooped up 39 ground balls to guide Olathe to a second straight state crown. And for the second year in a row, Ecton is WSL’s Kansas Boys Player of the Year.

According to Henning, Ecton made a point to distribute the ball more in 2010. So while his goal production went down from the previous season, Olathe’s offense became that much better.

“He opened up more opportunities for other attackmen, specifically Logan Smith (50 goals, 12 assists), and they just fed off each other and formed a terrific one-two punch,” Henning said.

Ecton will play NCAA Division II lacrosse next season for Mesa State. But his imprint on Olathe will not be forgotten.

“Everyone just believed in Trevor, so they followed him and followed his example, and he helped change our culture from a losing culture to a winning culture, and that doesn’t happen overnight,” Henning said. “It wasn’t him alone, but he was a helpful catalyst for that.”