St. John's University Athletics
Student-Athlete Blog: Between The Pipes With Gavin Buckley
6/30/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Lacrosse
June 30, 2009
QUEENS, N.Y. - STJ alumni, fans and friends have a new way to keep up with the latest St. John's sports news from the student-athlete's perspective. Check out the new Eye Of The Storm blog on RedStormSports.com, and get "inside the huddle" with some of your favorite Red Storm teams.
Men's lacrosse goaltender Gavin Buckley will be sharing his senior experiences on and off the field all season long in his personal blog: Between the Pipes.
Classmate Tom Manes will also be checking in all summer long from Oregon, where he is participating in the prestigious Nike Student-Athlete Internship program.
Check out all the other student-athlete blogs including men's basketball's Paris Horne and David Reed from men's soccer in the Eye of the Storm.
Between The Pipes (Aug. 5, 2009)
Hey what's up everybody? Summer is flying by and I can't believe its August already! With only a month left until the start of the first semester and the fall lacrosse season, I've been playing as much as possible. My summer team, the D.C. Bullets have gone 6 - 1 with one more game left to play in the regular season of league play. The D.C. Bullets are in the Tommy Joe's League. If we win this next game, we can get a bye in the first round of the summer league playoffs. Winning the league would be a great way to finish out the summer.
Aside from the D.C. Bullets, on Aug. 1 I participated in the 2nd Annual Millerstrong Lacrosse Classic. It's a great event that helps raise money and awareness for teens battling cancer. The game is named after my high school teammate and fellow goalie, Matt Miller. In his senior year at DeMatha, he was diagnosed with testicular cancer. Luckily, he detected it early and was able to beat it. Now, he has been remission for more than a year and plays lacrosse for Drexel University. The game helps raise money specifically for teens with cancer and each team in the event was paired with a local teen suffering from cancer as an honorary captain. The game was highly competitive and a lot fun.
It was great because I also got to play with, and against, many of my high school teammates. Most participants were current or former Division I players from teams like Drexel, Ohio State, UNC, Hofstra, Penn State, John's Hopkins, and more.
The game also had a deeper meaning for me because in my cousin Corey Gilger lost her battle with Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma at the young age of 14. It meant a lot to me to be able to help raise money for other teens in the area fighting for their lives. Each participant was also able to play in honor of a "Cancer Warrior" of their choosing, and of course, I played for Corey. Unfortunately, my team lost, but since it was for a good cause I didn't feel as bad. That's all I got for now, 'til next time.
- G. Buckley #36
Between The Pipes (July 15, 2009)
Hey everybody what's up? Since my last entry I've managed to stay busy, but also get some relaxation time during my family vacation to Oregon last week.
If you've been keeping up with Tom Manes' blog, you would know that I met up with him last week during my trip out there. I went with my entire family, all four siblings and my parents, across the country, to visit my aunt and uncle who live just outside Portland. My other aunts, uncles, and cousins on my mom's side who live in Massachusetts joined us while we were out there. We only stayed in Portland for a few days; then we went to stay at Black Butte Ranch in the mountains of central Oregon. It was an incredible experience. I went biking, hiking, swimming, golfing, and had plenty of time to relax and enjoy the great outdoors. We experienced a little bit of a scare because on our first night there was a big thunderstorm, and lightning struck the opposite side of Black Butte, causing a forest fire of more than 600 acres. Luckily, it was a mile or so from where we were staying and we never had to evacuate the area like some other places did. We didn't see any flames, but smoke constantly hung over the top of Black Butte the entire week. I also got to see the helicopters that dropped water over the fire up close, since they were getting water out of a lake on the ranch.
The best part of the trip was hiking on the mountains in the area. One hike was through a section of forest previously burned by a forest fire about six years ago. The remnants of the fire were still visible, and it was incredible to see how destructive a forest fire can be. We also went on a hike to Tam McArthur Rim which took us to more than 7,000 feet in elevation. From there we had spectacular views of the Three Sisters Mountains, Mount Jefferson, and Three Creek Lake. In the distance, you could even see Mount Hood.
The trip would've been complete with a stop at the Nike Employee store on Sunday, courtesy of Tom Manes! But unfortunately, we hit traffic coming back to Portland and the store had closed before we got back. I'm back in Maryland, which means it's back to reality. Waking up for work this morning was pretty difficult. At least I have a lacrosse game in the afternoon to look forward to. 'Til next time.
- G. Buckley #36
Between The Pipes (June 22, 2009)
Hey what's up? This is Gavin Buckley from the lacrosse team.
Since the season ended, I'm back home in Owings, Maryland and so far I've had a pretty busy summer. Since the end of the semester, I've been going back and forth between St. John's and Maryland on weekends for President's Society events. The most recent event honored alum Howard Rubenstein (St. John's School of Law, Class of '59). The "A-List" of New York's social elite attended, including Ivanka Trump, Jenny Steinbrenner-Swindal, daughter of New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, Al Roker, Governor Patterson, and others. That was an especially fun event and a great experience.
I also have a summer job, working at my dad's print shop. It is a family business that my granddad started in 1964. The job isn't too bad, except that sometimes your day starts pretty early. Last week, I had to go in a few times at 3 a.m.
Along with a summer job and President's Society responsibilities, I've been getting back into a good workout routine and been playing lacrosse a few nights a week in some pick-up leagues. I'm also planning to play in a few tournaments this summer.
That's all I got for now. Be sure to check back next week.
-- G. Buckley #36
