Quinn Krammer is a premier Midfielder/Attack on the Seattle Starz/ADVNC NDP ‘22 squad who is committed to play lacrosse at Princeton University.
Quinn has duel citizenship in Canada and the U.S. as his mom, Mika Yamamato is Canadian and his dad, Ted Krammer, is American. Quinn was born in Minnesota, and moved to the Seattle area when he was 3 years old. His dad grew up playing ice hockey, but no one in Quinn’s family had ever played lacrosse.
Quinn Krammer started playing lacrosse at a young age in Seattle.
Quinn has an older brother, Jack, who attends Cal Poly where he plays club lacrosse, and a younger brother, Carson, a ‘23 on both the Seattle Starz and ADVNC NDP teams who is also a premier player and a highly touted college prospect.
“We were playing hockey when we were little, but my brothers and I were looking for another sport,” Quinn said. “We stumbled upon a lacrosse clinic and went out to the field. It was tricky at first. I wanted to quit, but my dad said ‘you need to stick with it.’ I ended up loving it and I sure am glad I stuck with it.”
“We are a hyper competitive family in general,” said Ted Krammer. “I coached my sons’ teams for many years. I grew up playing hockey in Minnesota. I knew that it sucks to ride the pine. You want to play. So I said to them, ‘let’s get good enough to be playing on the field.’ That was the goal. It wasn’t about playing in college. I just wanted them to be able to actually play.”
“Ever since I was young, I’ve wanted to achieve higher goals for myself,” Quinn said. “Since about middle school, I’ve had it in my mind that I wanted to play Division I lacrosse. I always believed I could do it. When I saw people around me do it, I knew I could do it too.”
One person Quinn looked up to is Tucker Dordevic who is now a rising redshirt junior at Syracuse. Dordevic was a highly touted recruit in the ‘17 class from Portland, Oregon. “I loved watching his highlight reels when he was coming up in Oregon,” Quinn said. “I started DMing him on social media. I would ask him how I could make elite travel teams like he did.”
When Quinn was 10 years old, he made his first elite travel team: the Seattle Starz. “That was a very big deal for me to make that team,” Quinn said. “We got to travel to California, which was crazy, cause I had never gotten to travel to play lacrosse before. Eventually we got to travel to the East Coast. From the beginning, we had a core group of kids who are now all going to play in college. Me, Bode Maurer, Vin Maxwell, Gage Adams and then Joe Azelby came in too. We’ve always had great chemistry.”
Quinn Krammer is a key member of the ADVNC NDP ‘22 squad. This picture was taken by Ted Krammer, one of the top youth lacrosse photographers in America.
In 2019, the Starz merged with ADVNC, and those Seattle players joined the ADVNC NDP team. “My Starz teams had played against ADVNC a lot,” said Quinn. “I was always playing against guys like Cooper Kistler and Luke Williams and they were coached by (ADVNC Founder & CEO) Chris Rotelli. Now, all of a sudden, I’m playing with those guys on the NDP team. The chemistry we have on ADVNC NDP is the best I’ve seen. Being on that team means a lot to me.”
Quinn kept getting better and better, and knew he better prepare for September 1, 2020, the day college coaches could officially recruit him. “I knew I had to do some research on schools so I could have interactive conversations with the coaches,” Quinn said. “I studied for months leading up. I wanted to be prepared with my questions.”
At 9pm PT on September 1st, Quinn’s phone was active. “I remember getting those first few texts right then and that was really awesome,” Quinn said. “Then I woke up early to go workout and I had a ton more texts from college coaches. It was surreal getting texts from coaches I grew up watching on TV.”
Quinn’s dream of playing college lacrosse started with the Seattle Starz.
“It was surreal,” Mika said. “You always hope for the best for your kids. But to see him being recognized by all these exceptional schools .. it was amazing to see his hard work pay off.”
“I was proud,” said Ted Krammer. “It was just like .. WOW, this is happening. We had seen some other families go through it and then all of a sudden you’re there and it’s pretty exciting.”
Quinn credits ADVNC and Coach Rotelli for helping him through the recruiting process. “There’s no doubt that Chris Rotelli helped me,” Quinn said. “Connecting me with coaches, reaching out to them on my behalf. Those college coaches trusted his word, especially through COVID. And his coaching is second to none. Having him beside me is incredible for me and my lacrosse career. I am super grateful.”
Eventually, Quinn narrowed his list down to 5 colleges: Princeton, Yale, Army, Navy and Denver. “All of them have exceptional academics and athletics. It came down to how I felt about the coaches and how I fit on each team. I also gave a lot of thought about the connections that I would have later in life. Princeton talked a lot about being part of a family. Princeton is an opportunity I just could not pass up.”
Quinn kept his decision very private the whole way. “Quinn just tells me one day he’s about to call the coach, and I said no, you need to tell us which coach you’re calling first,” Ted said.
The Krammer’s backyard, where a lot of lacrosse is played.
For Ted, it was the culmination of a long journey together with his middle son. Not only did Ted coach his boys for many years, but he’s been on the sideline taking photographs for many years as well. Ted is one of the top youth lacrosse photographers in the nation. “He’s always been there for me and my brothers,” Quinn said. “He learned lacrosse at the same time as us when we were little just so he could play with us and help us. He’s done everything he can to help us succeed. He built this whole training area for us in the backyard. He still puts on his hockey gear and lets us take shots on him. Then having him on the sideline taking photos for all these years is amazing. We always review the pics so we can see what happened during the game and learn from it. Whenever I walk on the field we make eye contact. We have little hand signals to communicate during games.”
Quinn also credits his two brothers for helping him along the way. “It’s amazing having people who live in your house with the same goals. Jack, Carson and I have always pushed each other on and off the field. I am super grateful for them.”
The Krammer brothers at a young age. (L-R: Carson, Jack and Quinn)
“I think back to when the 3 boys were on the floor and I was changing their diapers,” said Ted. “And watching them grow up together and now turning into men that I’m super proud of. We have a wonderful dynamic.”
“We had three kids in less than two and a half years,” said Mika. “We became a lacrosse family. Those boys are passionate about the sport. They push each other and they celebrate each other’s success. It’s exceptional as a parent to see your kids bond and connect in this way.”
Quinn was inspired by older players when he was developing into an elite player. His advice for young players coming up today? “Do the things that others aren't willing to do,” said Quinn. “Wake up early and go work out before school so that after school, you can go to practice, get your school work done and get to bed on time so you can wake up and do it again.”