Duke Reeder’s mom Ali signed her son up for Matt Ogelsby’s (ADVNC North Bay’s Co-Director) Pre-K lacrosse clinic when Duke was just 4 years old. “I started playing with my core group of friends, and we all started playing on the exact same day,” said Duke, an ADVNC SF ‘21 Defenseman. “I liked lacrosse a lot right away and I still love playing lacrosse, and I still play with a lot of those same guys I started with that day, now at St Ignatius.”

Ogelsby recalled Duke’s first class, “Duke started in my All West Lacrosse Jumpstart program when he was 4, and he stood out from Day 1. He was a lefty athlete with a big personality. Throughout his career, he has always made an impression on me, cause he buys into the system, and more importantly, the RAE (Respect, Attitude, Effort) culture. Duke will represent NorCal well in DI lacrosse and make a positive impact in the Cornell lockerroom.”

A San Francisco native, Duke played on various club teams around the Bay Area before joining ADVNC in 7th grade. Duke was playing with another club against ADVNC in a tournament championship game one day, “and I looked over at the ADVNC guys, and they looked like they were having more fun, and I wanted to be a part of that,” Duke said.

Duke’s dad, Matt recalled, “Duke came home from that game and told me he wanted to switch to ADVNC. I asked why, and he said, ‘Those guys have great chemistry, they have great coaching, and their style fits my style.’”

It was right around the time that Duke started playing for ADVNC that his serious aspirations to play Division I college lacrosse started. “I was always playing lacrosse and also always watching college games on the weekends on TV. Then I started going to ADVNC Camps, and ADVNC always had some of the top college players coaching at their camps and I saw those guys playing and knew I wanted to do what they did, and play at the highest level in college,” said Duke.

Duke’s career took a turn in 7th grade, when he touched a defensive long pole for the first time.   “I remember the exact moment,” Duke said. “We were down at a tourney in Morgan Hill, and my coach, Greg Weigel (currently ADVNC”s Director of Training) decided to give me the long pole in a game. It was a completely different experience. I became the aggressor for the first time.”   

Greg Weigel recalled that game, “Rarely do you see a young player get better when they start playing with the long pole. But Duke didn’t just get a little better, he suddenly got a lot better. It was remarkable to see.”

Over the years, Duke has established himself as one of the top-rated defenseman prospects in the entire country. Many of the top college programs recruited him. September 1st of 2019 was the first day college coaches could formally make an offer to Duke, a current junior in High School. “I got a few calls on September 1, but none were as personalized to me as Cornell was,” Duke said. “Their coach said they were recruiting 15 guys that they knew will fit their culture, and they knew I would fit in well with their program. I thought that was really special.” 

Duke and his parents flew to Ithaca, NY shortly after that call for a formal visit. “The campus is amazing, their facilities are amazing and the team is really good,” Duke said. “But what sold me is the other guys on their team. 30 minutes into hanging with them, I thought, ‘this is it.’ I just knew I belonged there.”

Duke committed to Cornell while he was still on campus, and while he was sitting next to his parents. “I was probably crying, yeah, pretty sure I was,” said Matt Reeder. “I am enormously proud.”

“I am tremendously proud of him,” said Ali Reeder. “As a parent, you teach your kids that if they work hard, they will succeed. To see that come true with my son is a really special thing. Duke has always been an eye on the prize kind of kid. He sets a goal and then works hard to reach it. When he committed to Cornell, the sense of pride he had was amazing to see.”

“This has taken a lot of hard work,” said Duke. “I remember going back all the way to 7th and 8th grade, I’d hit the wall for an hour and a half every day.” Matt interjected, “You broke a lot of windows and fences!” Duke agreed, “yeah, lots of them. But you have to get your stick skills up, even as a defenseman. It takes thousands of hours of work both on the field and in the classroom.  But it’s all worth it.”  

Duke hasn’t done all of the hard work alone. His 2021 ADVNC SF team has six DI college commits, with more likely to come. Duke credits being around that level of talent for his success. “Just the practices alone have always been amazing,” Duke said. “With our great coaching, the practices are where it starts. Iron sharpens iron. Practices are always high level, high intensity, everyone going at it. Then, playing in tourneys is special with this group. Our ADVNC team has a special bond. Yes, we have talent, but we worked for this talent and we formed a bond as a team. We don’t treat each other like another club team, we treat each other like brothers.”