Jackson Kane is a dynamic attackman on the ADVNC SF ‘21 team who is committed to playing Division I lacrosse at Colgate University.
“I started playing for the Ross Valley Grizzlies when I was 6 years old,” said Jackson. “I was just holding the stick, not really knowing what I was doing.”
“He was playing both baseball and lacrosse at the same time,” said Jen Bonvechio, Jackson’s mom. “But with baseball, he’d complain, saying ‘baseball is so boring, all we do is stand around the whole time.’ He liked running around and being physical on the lacrosse field. I think that was the turning point that made him love lacrosse the most.”
“I started playing football and golf also,” said Jackson. “Lacrosse is a good mix of those two. It has the physicality of football and the hand/eye from golf. Those three sports are a good balance for me. I also just loved being on my lacrosse team.”
“He started carrying his lacrosse stick around with him everywhere,” said Jen. “Don’t tell anyone he slept with his stick!” (the cat is now out of the bag!)
During 7th grade Jackson tried out for the Outlaws, based near his home in Marin. That was a turning point in his lacrosse career. Upset at being cut, Jackson went to work. He worked hard, and with a chip on his shoulder.
“Getting cut that time was big for him,” said Jen. “To see him pick himself back up and work even harder was amazing.”
The next year, Jackson tried out again for the Outlaws, and also tried out for ADVNC, for the first time. He made both teams this time, and chose to play for the ADVNC SF ‘21 team.
Kane started playing for ADVNC in the 8th grade.
“I definitely made the right decision,” said Jackson. “I feel like I learned a lot more about what it took to play college lacrosse with ADVNC. I developed much more as a player through ADVNC. The competition ADVNC plays is unmatched. Traveling to the East Coast to play the best 16 club teams in the country in the summer was amazing.”
“Because of their performance on the East Coast in the summer, it became clear it was a very talented group on that team,” said Jen. “Each boy pushed the others to be better. The coaching was awesome, and the kids respect all the coaches at ADVNC. The parent group was amazing too. Everyone was working together to make sure the boys had all they needed. ADVNC was a really great experience.”
The ADVNC SF ‘21 team has more than a dozen players heading to play at DI or top DIII programs in the Fall of 2021. Many of those players committed to college soon after the window opened in September of ‘19. “For me, the college recruiting process was a slower process than for some of my friends,” said Jackson. “I didn't really make a decision till late summer going into my senior year. Colgate had seen me play a couple times, and eventually asked me to get on a call with them. I connected right away with their coaching staff. They clearly had a vision for their team. They want to build a team that can win a national championship. That inspired me to want to play for them.”
“ADVNC did a great job of educating us about the college recruiting process,” said Jen. “Chris Rotelli (ADVNC Founder & CEO) and Jack Huber (ADVNC SF ‘21 Head Coach) educated us on what to expect and they kept checking in and encouraging us. Jackson’s process was a little slower. He really wanted to play Division I. They said, if you want to play DI, stick to it and don’t give up. That was good to hear, because at some point you wonder if you should look elsewhere.”
“I have no older siblings or cousins or anything like that who went through the recruiting process,” said Jackson. “I didn’t know much about it. Coach Rotelli was huge in helping me understand what I was getting into.”
Kane has come up through the prestigious St Ignatius program.
Committing to play DI lacrosse is the culmination of many years of hard work for Jackson. A senior at St Ignatius, Jackson came up through the Wildcats program looking up to a bunch of guys who went on to play D1 lacrosse. “I would go watch local High School games all the way back in 7th grade,” said Jackson. “I would see guys that I knew were going on to play DI lacrosse and see them play super well in really big High School games, and see all the fans cheering. That looked super fun. I knew I wanted to do all that. I looked up to guys like Sam Parkinson (Villanova), Topher Bligh (Brown) and Mark Stevens (Harvard). I saw what they did and saw what I needed to do to play at the next level.”
Now having reached his goal of committing to a DI lacrosse program, Jackson is someone younger players now look up to. His advice to them? “The main thing is, you can’t just do the bare minimum. You have to do the extra work. Through COVID, I’ve been working a ton. I shoot 4-5 days a week in the morning on top of several days a week of team practices. You need to do everything you can, because there’s always someone out there doing more.”
COVID has also given Jackson some time to do things he loves, away from the lacrosse field. All of those activities revolve around being outdoors. “I love cooking. I’ve been grilling and smoking meats all the time. I got a Traeger for my birthday this year. I’ve been making ribs and stuff like that. I make my own beef jerky a couple times a month.”
“It’s been so fun to cook with my son,” said Jen. “We are constantly bouncing things off each other and tag teaming to get nice dinners made. We’ve ventured into trying out wild game. Things like duck, frog legs, bison and venison.”
“I also love being on the water. I love paddle boarding. I like surfing. I’m not a good surfer, but I love it. I also like fishing with my friends. I just love being outdoors.”