Ian Dykes was a standout midfielder on the ADVNC SF & NDP ‘24 teams, committed to playing at Duke University, starting next Fall.

Ian first played lacrosse with makeshift sticks at recess with a good friend of his in the second grade. “My friend said he was going to start playing lacrosse for something called the Coyotes, and I had never really heard of that team or lacrosse before,” Ian said. “But I went and played along with him, and I didn’t like it at first. It was hard. I remember being really bad. I was used to being one of the better players in other sports, like flag football, soccer and baseball. I didn’t even make the Coyotes B team. I was a practice only player.”

“It was tough for him in the beginning,” said Ian’s dad, Robert Dykes. “A lot of the other kids had already played lacrosse. They put Ian on defense, because he was big and he was very physical. An enforcer.” 

“He didn’t want to go to a lot of the practices in those early days,” said Ian’s mom, Karina Dykes. “He was on the ‘taxi squad.’ But eventually, he was invited to play in a game in Napa, and started to get better and then started to really like it, and became a regular player on the Coyotes.”

Dykes got better as a defenseman, and started playing with ADVNC in the 4th grade. But he didn’t improve as much as he wanted, and decided to take a year-long break from ADVNC and lacrosse altogether.

“There was a period of time when we were wondering what he was going to do with lacrosse,” said Robert Dykes. “He took that year off because he was frustrated and wasn’t getting the kind of traction in the sport he thought he would. But after a year off, he came back to lacrosse, and then back to ADVNC. The turning point was when he made the World Series of Youth Lacrosse team as a defensive and LSM player in the 7th grade. Ian was 12 at the time and the youngest player on the team. He eventually switched to midfield in the Spring for Coyotes and ADVNC after WSYL.

“There were stretches where I was upset because I wasn’t that good,” said Ian. “I just couldn’t get it going. But I remember my first practice when I came back to ADVNC was a lot better. Coach Mo Ryan really inspired me. And I relied heavily on my ADVNC and now Sacred Heart Prep teammate, Blake Hetherington. I owe a lot to Blake for pushing me to become better. I wouldn’t be in the position I’m in now without him.”

Ian’s High School freshman season was in 2021, when the majority of the season was shut down due to covid restrictions. But Ian said that was a pivotal time in his career, because of the leadership of the older players on the team. “That group was really special. I really looked up to Ben Ramsey and Max Sloat. They were like gods. They were what I aspired to be. Working out with them, and being around them a lot when our season was shortened made me a much better player.”

When organized games re-started, Ian took his game to another level. “That summer, going into my sophomore year, I started to explode, playing on the East Coast with West Coast Starz and ADVNC,” said Ian. “In SHP practices, I was battling against Paul Barton, Cav Williams, and Beck Anderson (all ADVNC players who are currently playing DI lacrosse.) Then that summer, I started dominating. My confidence grew a lot.”

Ian had a terrific High School sophomore season for SHP, and worked out a ton with then teammate, and current redshirt freshman at Duke, Max Sloat. Heading into the summer where he would be recruited, the Dykes family leaned on ADVNC Founder & CEO Chris Rotelli, who is also Ian’s high school coach.

“Coach Rotelli was instrumental in providing the steps Ian needed to take,” said Karina Dykes. “He reviewed Ian’s list of target schools. He guided us through all the different showcases and tournaments Ian should play in. He gave us tons of feedback all summer. He was great.”

“Coach Rotelli knew exactly what to tell me every step of the process,” said Ian. “At the end of that summer, I was so worn out. I was toast. I played great at the start of the summer, but my energy level and play really fell off towards the end, and I lost confidence. But Coach Rotelli made me feel confident with the position I was in. He knew exactly what to tell me and how to make me perform better, and feel better. I wouldn’t be close to where I am without him.”

After September 1st of 2022, and his recruitment officially underway, Ian had five schools at the very top of his list: Notre Dame, Virginia, Harvard, Duke, and Princeton, which is both of his parents’ alma mater.

Ian and his mom planned a trip to visit all five schools. They went to Notre Dame first, which Ian said was fantastic. They went to Duke second. “Every single Duke player I met all seemed like they already knew me,” Ian said. “They made me feel super welcome and really included in their program. That was a big thing for me. At the end of the first day of my visit at Duke, I knew that’s where I belonged. That night, me and my parents talked, and then we called Coach Rotelli. I told him I said I think this is it, I want to go to Duke. We talked things out and all agreed: there’s no other place I would rather be, that Duke felt like home already. Coach Rotelli’s guidance that night really stands out. His supportiveness .. he always has my back and he made me feel like it was the right situation for me. I committed the next day.”

“When you look back at all the pictures from the summer tournaments of ‘22, Ian always had Duke gear on,” said Robert Dykes. “So it’s really no surprise that he chose the Blue Devils.”

Ian describes himself as a student of the game of lacrosse. “I watch college and pro. I watch old classic games and newer games. I watch lacrosse on TV almost every single night.  Watching so much lacrosse is a big reason why I improved. I don’t watch highlights. I want to watch the entire game. I find it super interesting getting to know the different college teams and their style. That’s what helped me narrow down my list of colleges. Johns Hopkins vs Penn St for the 2019 Big Ten Championship is my favorite game ever.”

“He has watched literally thousands of hours of lacrosse on TV,” said Karina Dykes. 

“Watching all these games, seeing all these great players and then going out in the backyard and trying to replicate what they did .. that’s what made me into the player I am today. I love watching guys like Brian Costabile (Notre Dame), Sergio Perkovic (Notre Dame), Myles Jones (Duke), and Ethan Walker (Denver). Just watching them play, then visualizing myself playing like them. That’s been a big thing for me.”

So what is it about Duke’s style of play that drew Ian in? “When they run 6 on 6, it’s less of a spot offense and much more motion,” Ian said. “They run a lot of invert. Their middies play high and do a lot of downhill dodging. I thrive in that offense and feel most comfortable in that kind of offense. When I was talking to Coach Danowksi (Duke Head Coach), he said he wants me to be a straight offensive middie and that’s exactly what I want to play. It was nice to have that transparency because now when I watch Duke games, I can see exactly where I will be on the field, and what I will be doing next season. A big deciding factor for me when I was choosing Duke was wanting to win. Being a west coast kid, we lost a lot of games throughout my career. Choosing a top tier program that has a history of success was definitely a factor for me. Duke's style of play suits my style of play the best.”

Ian also has his academic future in focus, saying he wants to study finance, and go into either investment banking or wealth management. 

With his youth lacrosse journey nearly complete, Ian has this advice for young players who aspire to follow in his footsteps. “Trust yourself and trust your hard work. When things are tough, work harder and trust that things will get better. Stick with it when you don’t get the results you want. Push yourself harder. And find a peer that will push you. For me, that was Blake Hetherington. But find someone to push you to make you into the best version of yourself on and off the field.”