Gavin Dallas is a standout midfielder on the ADVNC NDP ‘23 squad committed to play at the University of Denver, starting next Fall.
Dallas grew up in Seattle playing baseball at a young age. “I was so bored playing baseball,” said Gavin. “My mom’s friend ran a youth lacrosse league for K-2nd grade players. I went out to that first practice and fell in love with lacrosse right away. I didn’t know anyone who played lacrosse. It was a totally new experience and it stuck for me right away. I couldn’t throw or catch at all, so my dad and I would rip balls at each other until we both learned the right way to do it.”
“I remember my shins being all beat up, really well,” said Gavin’s dad, Eric Dallas. “We broke a lot of boards on the fence in our backyard. Soon, we started going down to the school field to play instead.”
Dallas started playing for Eastlake in Seattle when he was young.
“It was fun to see them spending so much time together,” said Carrie Dallas, Gavin’s mom and Eric’s wife. “They’d be outside every night playing and eventually got good at it. It was a great sport for Gavin because he’s always been very active and needs movement. Lacrosse is perfect for that.”
“I played for my local team when I was young, and then in 3rd grade, I saw some guys playing for the Seattle Starz,” Gavin said. ”Those helmets looked cool and I wanted to be on that team. I made my first travel team in 4th grade and started playing with Carson Krammer (ADNVC NDP ‘23, committed to Princeton). Playing for the Starz was great. It expanded my friends circle.”
After playing with the Starz for several years, Gavin found out that ADVNC was merging with the Starz. “Getting to play for ADVNC NDP is the best thing that has happened to me,” said Gavin. “ADVNC made me realize that lacrosse isn’t just for trying to go to college. It’s also for building relationships that I could have for the rest of my life.”
Dallas after one of many championships with Seattle Starz.
“All the kids on that ADVNC team are good friends,” said Eric Dallas. “That’s a huge thing, especially for us in Seattle, and having to travel back East a lot. It’s nice to travel with people you enjoy being with.”
“The first time I played with ADVNC NDP and I got to the hotel in Baltimore for Naptown,” said Gavin. “I remember seeing JP Underwood and Bruno Chapman. We played against each other over the years so much ... me with Seattle and them with ADVNC. I hated those guys. Now, all of a sudden, we are on the same team, and we walked up to each other and ever since then we’ve been best friends. We all of a sudden had the same goal and ADVNC brought us together.”
Gavin credits ADVNC Founder & CEO Chris Rotelli for making ADVNC NDP such a great organization. “The first time I saw Coach Rotelli, he was at a tournament and was talking to all these top college coaches,” Gavin said. “I was so impressed that he knew everyone. I thought it was crazy that this guy who won a national championship at UVA and was the ACC Male Athlete of the Year was gonna be my coach. Now, he’s interested in me and helping me?! I’m just a kid from Washington. But I never had to try to get along with him or any of the other ADVNC coaches. I could talk to them for hours. I could always tell how much they cared about me.”
Gavin said his goal, and the goal of all his ADVNC NDP teammates was to become great lacrosse players and go onto play DI lacrosse. “Playing at a high level in college has always been his goal,” said Carrie Dallas. “I’d frequently check in with him and ask if that was still something he wanted and he never wavered.”
When the college recruiting process began, Gavin started hearing from DI coaches. “It was surreal having a college coach reach out,” Gavin said. “That feeling of having a college coach want me, made all the hard work pay off.”
The Dallas’s relied on Coach Rotelli for advice through the process. “I was impressed with how open and honest he was with us,” said Eric Dallas. “We were flying blind and he really helped us through it all.”
Gavin visited several schools before making his final visit at the University of Denver. “I really wasn’t sure about Denver,” said Gavin. “But when I got there, I was just like, wow, I’m really here walking around with Coach Tierney. I fell in love with Denver. I got to meet Wesley Berg, who’s one of the best players to ever put that Pios jersey on. I’ve always looked up to him and remember him winning that Championship for Denver in 2015. Now, he’s trying to get me to commit. It was the coolest thing ever.”
When Gavin got back home, he sat down with his mom to talk things over. “We talked super late one night for at least two hours,” said Gavin. “I told her I was ready to commit to Denver. I called the coaches the next morning and it was amazing. I think back to being a little kid by myself shooting in the rain at the park. It was such a sense of relief for me and my parents.”
Gavin with his parents, Eric and Carrie.
“There aren’t many DI programs out West and we never thought Gavin would be able to play so close to us in Seattle,” said Eric Dallas. “We love it.”
“We are so excited he’s going to be so close to us so we can go to a lot of games,” said Carrie Dallas. “I’m excited to see him continue working hard and earning playing time and make his own destiny.”
“I owe a lot to Chris Rotelli and ADVNC,” said Gavin. “I could always tell he really cared about me and my ADVNC teammates. I knew ADVNC was my ticket to college lacrosse. Whenever I needed to talk with Chris or any other ADVNC coaches, they were available. They could have skimmed over the top but they always went deep. ADVNC always wanted me and my teammates to succeed and I really respect that about them.”
Having committed to realizing his dream, Gavin has this advice for younger players. “Don’t ever compare yourself to anyone else, because everyone develops differently,” Gavin said. “It comes down to being mentally tough because you can’t control a lot of things. There’s always going to be external factors, so just try and control how hard you work and how much you want it.”