Crimson's Duboe Is 'Wild' For Lacrosse

In Long Grove, Ill., the spring historically belongs to the national pastime.

Fred Duboe and his wife Sue-Ellen are a part of the baseball-loving community. Their garage is lined wall-to-wall with old bat racks and cleats affectionately referred to as “spikes.” Fred also occasionally travels to Tucson, Ariz., where he revels in a Chicago White Sox fantasy baseball training camp.

Despite the deep-rooted familial interest, the Duboe sons, including sophomore midfielder Jason Duboe of the Harvard men’s lacrosse team, have long since traded in the proverbial communal interest for one of a different variety, one whose locus of popularity lies in an entirely different region of the country.

“Lacrosse is an up-and-coming sport here,” Fred Duboe says. “It’s nowhere near the level of the East Coast where kids grow up with lacrosse sticks in their hands. Jason grew up with a baseball bat in his hands.”

Until high school, the sophomore’s athletic interests stayed consistent with those of the community—baseball, football, and hockey. Playing on a variety of local and traveling teams as a youngster, he developed a range of skill sets, not to mention a reputation.

“He gave up 16 runs in one inning,” chuckles Eric Duboe, Jason’s younger brother, as he reminisced over a memorable Little League game. “‘Wild Thing.’ That’s always been his theme song.”

Despite the initially humorous reference, Jason’s nickname as the “Wild Thing” has since taken on a different, more respectful meaning in a different sport.

Straying from the traditional interests of his parents and the area at large, it was a fraternal influence that sparked an interest in lacrosse.

“My older brother Mike played [lacrosse] as a freshman, and we were always just messing around with sticks in the backyard,” Jason says. “I was always a baseball player, but I just fell in love with lacrosse.”

Although it was his brother who introduced him to the sport, it was Jason’s football coach who encouraged a deeper involvement.

“Initially I started playing lacrosse to just stay in shape for football,” Duboe says. “Lacrosse happened to combine a lot of the things I was pretty good at: hand-eye coordination from baseball, the moves from hockey, and the athleticism from football. It just came quick to me.”

Considering his late introduction to the sport—Jason did not even pick up a lacrosse stick until age 14—he faced a steep learning curve.

But it did not take long to merge skills from previous athletic endeavors into one relatively unknown to the community.

“He was the first player to ever get recruited [from his high school’s lacrosse program],” Sue-Ellen Duboe says. “That was a huge deal. He was also the first All-American player in our school for 10 years, and he was the first player to make Team Illinois.”

Realizing the potential behind what had been an unconventional backyard hobby, Duboe sought to continue pursuing his newfound passion into college—a prospect that would have been nothing short of questionable a few years prior.

“Going to play college lacrosse was definitely what you’d call a pipe dream when I was just two or three years [into the game],” Duboe says. “Fortunately, things worked out.”

As a sophomore in college, Duboe now helps lead a new community—Harvard’s rising Division I men’s lacrosse program. Harvard (4-1) beats its opponents by an average margin of six goals and easily knocked off then-No. 20 Fairfield (3-2) by a score of 12-3 on Saturday.

In that game, Duboe earned his third consecutive hat-trick and reason to reinstate the theme song “Wild Thing.” In the first five games of the season, Duboe has already garnered 11 goals to match his season total from last year.

Pipe dream, indeed.

“He had a baseline skill set and he’s really improved that,” Harvard coach John Tillman says. “He’s worked hard, watching film and gaining knowledge of the game. During the first few days [of practice], it was nine at night and I was working late at the office when there was a knock at the door. Jason and some teammates wanted to know if they could get some balls and the lights turned on at Jordan Field to work on their shooting. At that moment, I knew we were going to be just fine.”

This type of dedication is needed if Harvard hopes to maintain its hot streak. Duboe and the Crimson soon enter a gauntlet of games against the likes of Penn, Duke, Cornell, and Princeton as part of one of the most difficult midseason schedules in team history.

“A key part to our success is treating every game the same,” Jason says. “We definitely have to carry a blue collar to every game. We want to come out and show everyone including ourselves that we can play at the top level every time when we step on the field.”

As Tillman puts it, this sort of attitude defines Duboe and will be significant in the upcoming games.

“When we’re practicing he’s one of the guys that sets the standards and leads by example,” Tillman says. “He doesn’t really care about how many goals he scores. That doesn’t define him. He wants the team to win.”

Win or lose, Fred and Sue-Ellen Duboe will be there watching.

Although certainly proud of their children’s newfound passions, Fred and Sue-Ellen Duboe still keep the garage lined with dusty baseball bats, ever-hopeful.

Despite the growing local interest in lacrosse, baseball still serves as the epicenter of attention during the spring in Long Grove, Ill. And sometime soon, Fred just might dust off the bats and invite one of his sons to Tucson.