Max Sloat is an attackman on the ADVNC SF & NDP ‘22 squad committed to realizing his dream of playing lacrosse at Duke University.
Max has loved playing sports his entire life. He played baseball, lacrosse and soccer as a kid, often on the same day. “He’d have all 3 uniforms with him and change in the car on the way to the next game,” said Max’s mom, Michele Sloat. “Then, when he was in 6th grade, we were on a plane to Palm Springs for a tournament, and I said: Max, 3 sports in the same season is too much. You need to pick one to drop.”
“I was only in baseball for the burgers after the game,” said Max jokingly. “It was a tough decision. Most kids grow up playing baseball. Lacrosse just wasn’t that big back then. It was an iffy decision. But the year after I quit baseball, and focused on lacrosse and soccer, I fully saw how boring baseball was to me. I knew I made the right decision. Then later, I was like wow, thank goodness I made the right decision.”
Max says his entire lacrosse career changed when he was moved to attack at the WSYL.
Max started out in lacrosse as a midfielder. “At first I was a second team midfielder and I didn’t play very much,” said Max. “But everything changed for me in 7th grade at the World Series of Youth Lacrosse qualifying tournament. My coach said, you’re a lefty and you can shoot. I’m gonna try starting you at attack.”
“I was getting ready to fly down to see him play, and Tyler (Max’s dad) started texting me that Max was starting at attack, which was a big surprise,” said Michele Sloat. “Then he texted that Max was just ripping goals.”
“After that, I just fell in love with attack,” Max said. “I started working really hard right right after that tournament and I wanted it so much more.”
That hard work paid off. Max went on to become one of the top lacrosse attackmen in the nation. When September 1, 2020 came around, he was one of the most sought after recruits by all the top college programs. Committed to Duke, Max says it is truly a dream come true.
“In 8th grade, I played in a lacrosse tournament in North Carolina,” Max said. “We got to visit both the UNC and Duke campuses. When I got home, I told my parents: I want to play at Duke, and I am going to play there."
“Max came up with and managed this whole dream himself,” said Max’s dad, Tyler Sloat. “From the beginning, he was enamored with Duke.”
Max is a key member of the Sacred Heart Prep squad.
In Max’s mind, his official college recruiting process didn’t start on September 1, 2020. “It started the summer before. I knew from talking to players above me that going into the summer before my junior year, I needed to be at the top of my game. I knew it would be a packed summer, even during COVID. I knew I would have to work my tail off that entire summer. So I made a list of 7 schools, and thought… if I could go to any of these 7, I would be so incredibly happy. Then I started emailing those 7 coaches every single week.”
The 7 schools on Max’s list? Duke, UVa, UNC, Notre Dame, Princeton, Yale and Georgetown.
“I tried to really take control of my life,” said Max. I made as many little decisions as I could to help. I stripped away drinking all sugar drinks. I only drank water. I worked out a ton. I did a ton of physical therapy, cause I have a history of injuries.”
“He also knew that school is really important,” said Tyler Sloat. “Max has always focused on his grades, knowing that good grades would open up a lot more options for him when selecting a college. The best lacrosse programs are all incredible academic institutions.”
College coaches could formally start contacting Max at 9 o’clock pacific time. “I took a shower at 8:50 P.M.,” Max said. “At 9:03 P.M., I had gotten dressed, and checked my phone. I had gotten a ton of texts. I was just like, wow, this is actually happening. It was crazy. I couldn’t process it.”
When Max went into the official recruiting window, he thought he wanted to take things slowly. “But by the end of that first week, I had a feeling I needed to speed up my decision making process,” Max said. “On the one hand, I had the freedom to take my time. But on the other hand, a ton of top kids started committing, and I thought if I didn’t decide soon, I might lose my spot.”
Because of COVID, Max wasn’t able to make any official campus visits. By that point, he had narrowed his list down to Duke, UVa and Princeton. Princeton was the first to formally offer Max a spot on their team.
Sloat helped lead the ADVNC ‘22 NDP team to the finals at Naptown in 2020.
“Of those three, UVa is the one campus I had never been to,” Max said. “I’m friends with one of their players, Cole Kastner. So my mom and I flew to Washington D.C. and drove to Charlottesville so Cole could show us around. Coach (Lars) Tiffany (UVa’s Head Coach) said per COVID protocols, he and I couldn’t meet. But right before my plane from San Francisco to D.C. took off, Coach Tiffany texted me, officially offering me a spot on the team. I was like: wow, and that was the first moment I had a real choice to make and that was a reality check. Then when we landed in DC, I got a text from Coach (John) Danowski (Duke’s Head Coach) and he officially offered me a spot. So things were really heating up. We got to Charlottesville and toured the campus with Cole and a few of his friends. I enjoyed it. It’s beautiful there, but my mind was just racing the whole time. I knew I needed to make a quick decision. I wanted to get the whole thing over with.”
That night, Max said he could hardly sleep. “In the morning, I knew I wanted to go to Duke,” he said. “Before we boarded the flight back to the Bay Area, I called Coach Danowski and told him I was committed to Duke. When I got home, I called all my friends and family and told them my decision. Right after that, I got a call from Coach Tiffany at UVa. He told me that Cole Kastner had just tested positive for COVID. So amid all the excitement, I had to immediately start quarantine. I put my decision on Instagram publicly, but I couldn’t see anyone or celebrate.”
Max said he used the quarantine period to process everything that had just happened. “The players already on the Duke team as well as all the kids in my class all reached out during that time and congratulated me. We are all on a group text now. They are all amazing kids. I’ve also been communicating a lot with all the coaches. That has given me a sense of comfort that I made the right decision.”
Max added, “I wouldn’t be anywhere without ADVNC. I say that confidently. ADNVC was the team that made me fall in love with lacrosse. If it hadn’t been for those kids and those coaches … all the coaches I’ve had with ADVNC, I just love them. It’s such a fun and close environment. My ADVNC teammates are my best friends.”
Sloat (front row, right) says his ADVNC SF ‘22 team includes many of his best friends.
“ADVNC feels like a family,” said Michele Sloat. “COVID highlighted that for us. Everyone was isolated for so long. When we were finally able to hit some tournaments last summer with the same people as before, it was great. Just an incredible community.”
“When you look back on this journey, we’ve spent our summers with this same group for 7 years now,” said Tyler Sloat. “Chris Rotelli put the NDP team together to compete at the national level, and we’ve done that as a family with ADVNC. We have a great sense of community. We’d be lonely without them. They are now life long friends.”