Tristan Ghosh is a standout midfielder from the ADVNC San Francisco and NDP ‘23 squad committed to realizing his dream of playing DI lacrosse at Yale University, starting this Fall.
Tristan’s father Rono played lacrosse in high school, growing up in Pennsylvania. He introduced the sport to his oldest son, Sebastian at an early age. “He put a stick in my older brother’s hand at a very early age. Sebastian was playing on the Wolfpack lacrosse team, and I was the little kid on the sideline, hanging out and watching,” Tristan Ghosh said. “When I was old enough, I got my own stick and started playing. I loved it. Soon, my younger sister, Sophie started playing too. We would all play catch in the backyard and then be at the field playing games on Saturday all day.”
“Coaching my boys at an early age, I came to the realization that the early formative years are the most important to players, not only because of developing key skills and lacrosse IQ, but also fostering a true love of the game,” said Rono Ghosh. “Tristan was always excited for every game and practice and always wanted to be one of the first boys there to throw around and hang out with his friends.”
Sebastian currently plays soccer at Hamilton College where he is a captain on the team and Sophie plays lacrosse as a freshman at St. Ignatius in San Francisco, where Tristan currently stars as a senior.
Tristan along with his parents after a game with St. Ignatius
“I loved the speed of lacrosse right away,” said Tristan. “It was upbeat and fast paced, and the physical aspect made it super fun. It was a great competitive opportunity to play against other people.”
The Ghosh family moved from the Bay Area to Boston when Tristan was in 4th grade. He played for Boston Laxachusetts for 4 years, before the Ghosh family returned to the Bay Area when Tristan was in 8th grade.
“Before we left Boston, we asked the Laxachusetts coaches which Program we should pursue in the Bay Area,” said Sandrine Ghosh, Tristan’s mother. “ADVNC was highlighted as the top national program for boys operating in the Bay Area and was led by Chris Rotelli who is a well-respected coach nationally. It was an easy transition for Tristan, as the ADVNC coaches were incredibly welcoming and focused on taking his game to the next level.”
“I played for ADVNC for a couple of tournaments at first, and then worked my way onto the team full-time,” said Tristan. “Then I earned my spot on the NDP team.”
Tristan, playing at Crabeast in the summer of ‘22 for ADVNC NDP
Tristan is one of many players from St. Ignatius to play for ADVNC. “It was awesome coming to ADVNC and playing with guys from Sacred Heart Prep and other high schools around the Bay Area,” Tristan said. “I loved it. A bunch of those guys are my really good friends. It was awesome playing on ADVNC with them and then you get to the spring, and have different jerseys on, and we are all trying very hard to succeed and win championships. It makes it more competitive and energetic to play against guys you already know.”
Tristan injured his knee playing for St. Ignatius during his sophomore season. This forced him to miss playing in front of college coaches during the summer leading up to what would have been his official college recruiting window. “I was rehabbing that whole summer and trying to get my knee better,” Tristan said. “It was a tough point of the journey for me. I was coming into it all a step late. Coach Rotelli was great with helping me with talking to schools. I eventually committed to Middlebury and loved everything about it. I was very happy with my decision.”
Tristan’s health returned to full strength in the Fall of 2021. He played very well at several tournaments for ADVNC, West Coast Starz and Fog City. He started getting interest from DI schools. Yale, in particular, stood out to him. “I visited New Haven and fell in love with the program and the school,” Tristan said. “Head Coach Andy Shay is amazing. The way he leads and the culture he’s developed is one of a kind. All the players were super welcoming. Couple that with their academics and it seemed like the perfect fit. Everything was happening so fast and I was a little confused trying to navigate it all. I remember calling Coach Rotelli between classes and he helped me relax. He was a very helpful and calming advocate for me navigating that entire process.”
Ghosh is a star Sr. Midfielder on the St. Ignatius team.
“We had numerous calls and face to face discussions with Chris over the years regarding the overall recruiting process,” said Sandrine Ghosh. “Ultimately, when it came to the final discussions with Yale, Chris gave us good advice and together with Tristan's high school coach, Chris Packard, provided a critical line of communication with Coach Shay.”
Tristan soon committed to Yale and is extremely excited to join the Bulldogs after graduating from St. Ignatius. “I want to study computer science and combine that with economics,” Tristan said.
Looking back on his ADVNC career, Tristan has fond memories. “I loved playing at Crabfeast and Naptown,” he said. “Those two big tournaments in a short span in the summer is so much fun. Getting to bond with all my teammates from around the Bay Area as well as Seattle and Oregon. And getting to play against the other best players and teams from around the country. We went out there and proved that we were there to make a name for ourselves.”
Ghosh receiving coaching at Crabfeast in 2020.
“I had so many good coaches with ADVNC,” Tristan said. “They care so much about the kids and their development. They really want to see the kids succeed and they pushed me to always get my play up to a higher level. Their energy and spirit made playing more fun. They were all fantastic and insightful and helped me get better.”
Tristan relied on and looked up to his older St. Ignatius teammates when he was younger. Guys like Jackson Kane, Oliver Bligh, Garrett Hawthorne, Nils Barry, Luke Williams and Charlie Pyfer. Now that he is a senior, he has this advice for young players who want to follow in his footsteps. “The biggest thing is discipline,” Tristan said. “Everyone has the willingness to go out and shoot every once in a while. But you need to get in the routine of doing it every day. You need to push yourself to get better on your own, outside of practice. You need to be driven and disciplined and figure out what aspects of the game you excel at, and then figure out what you can do to work on the parts of your game that you’re struggling with.”