For Roy Colsey, A Hall of Fame Induction Isn’t About Him, It’s About The Barrage
By Nick Zoroya | Aug 3, 2023
A place in the Hall of Fame is one of the greatest individual honors a player can receive, but when asked about his journey Roy Colsey is quick to give credit to others. He speaks highly of his time with the Barrage, which included three MLL titles, and of the incredible teammates on those teams.
“I've been a part of a lot of teams throughout my career… you know, the chemistry that we had and the relationships that we've built over the years are incredible and we still have a Barrage text chain that we're all very active on. We've maintained the relationships that we've built all those years ago and that's been a lot of fun.”
Those 2004-2007 Barrage teams weren’t just built with chemistry; they had incredible talent. 2022 Hall of Fame inductees Nicky Polanco, Matt Streibel, and Brian Dougherty all won at least one championship with the team. This year's class includes teammates Ryan Boyle and Brian Spallina.
“To go in (the Hall of Fame) with Ryan Boyle and Brian Spallina, two of my all time favorite teammates. It just makes it that much more special.”
The journey wasn’t always easy, there were plenty of challenges along the way including a 2003 season that saw the team in last place with a 1-11 record. How did the Barrage go from the worst team in the league to winning the championship one season later?
“The reason that we got good, I don't think we became more talented, I just think we found more like-minded guys and we put together a group of guys that cared more about winning than they cared about themselves and and if there's a lesson that that the Barrage can teach is that all those pieces that come together are important, but when it when you have tremendous chemistry and you've got guys all pulling on the rope in the same direction, that's why we were we're so good.”
Colsey is too humble to talk about his own accomplishments, but there are plenty of people who are willing to do that for him. Former high school and college teammate Paul Carcaterra noted, “Roy's presence on the field was undeniable. He was a two handed force who could beat defenders with power, skill, and determination. His work ethic fueled his greatness, and his preparation gave him the confidence to dominate. Roy is one of the great midfielders the sport has seen and had a timeless game that would shine in any era.”
Part of that presence included Colsey’s ability to shoot the deep shot. Ranking fifth all-time he had 32 2-point goals in his career. When asked what gave him the confidence to take those shots, he chuckled and said, “When you're a goal scorer, I see it as a coach now, you know where you just know that a guy is on, right? You're just trying not to screw it up. You know he's gonna have a great game, he's got fire in his eyes. You score early with a couple of good plays and I think you know ultimately you just feel like you're in the zone”. With 167 career goals it’s safe to say that Colsey often found himself in the zone.
Colsey is often described as intense, competitive, driven, and when he describes himself it becomes easy to understand why. “What drove me was wanting to be brave and wanting to prove myself every minute of every day.”
The great Roy Simmons put it best, “Mediocrity is not in his language.”
A four-time college All-American, two-time college national champion, three-time MLL champion, and now a member of the Professional Lacrosse Hall of Fame, Colsey reflects on what his most recent accolade means to him and many of his MLL brethren.
“It's incredible anytime that you're remembered for whatever it is that you did right? Lacrosse is a huge part of my life… Playing professionally and now coaching it is a really big part of what I do. It's an incredible honor and you know the other thing that makes it really special is the way that the PLL do it first rate…You know when you look at it as an outsider everybody knows the PLL and and I think that the nice thing is that it kind of reminds people that there were players like myself and Brian Spallina and Greg Cattrano and Ryan Powell, that came before them that that were an important part of developing pro lacrosse”
With three lacrosse playing sons it might only be a matter of time before we see another Colsey playing professional lacrosse. I wouldn’t put it past Coach Colsey to be on the sideline either.
