Men's Lacrosse

With rich lacrosse background, Jeff Teat has ‘ability to be one of the greatest to ever play’ at Cornell

Courtesy of Tim McKinney

Cornell's freshman attack is not brute, but he can get to the cage and score in bunches.

There was no goalie. No defenders. Just a constant stream of passes flowing from Jeff Teat’s stick into that of John Tavares. Most times, the ball found the back of the net. The then-11-year-old spent time after a Buffalo Bandits’ practice one day in 2008 helping Tavares, a box lacrosse legend, get some extra work in. Teat has since assisted on a lot of goals.

“Watching him shoot the ball is kind of the way I shoot the ball now,” said Teat, a freshman attack for Cornell. “That moment wasn’t a big deal (to him). He probably doesn’t remember it.”

Nearly a decade later, Teat leads the unranked Big Red (3-6, 2-2 Ivy) on offense. The son of Dan Teat, who played 14 years professionally in the National Lacrosse League, leads Cornell in assists (21) and goals (19) this season. The 5-foot-10, 160-pounder will make for a tough cover assignment on Tuesday night in the Carrier Dome, when the top-ranked Orange (8-1, 3-0 Atlantic Coast) hosts its central New York foe.

Cornell head coach Matt Kerwick said Teat is playing the best lacrosse of his young career. The foundation for such a hot start originated when Teat, at 3, first picked up a stick and played box lacrosse. A game much more popular in Canada than in the United States, box lacrosse involves a smaller playing area, usually on converted hockey rinks with fewer players. Teat said he didn’t play traditional lacrosse outside until he was 9 or 10 — and felt that suited him well.

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Courtesy of Darl Zehr

“I think it actually helps a lot,” Teat said. “Tight spaces, catching the ball. I think a lot of my IQ has come from the box game …  I just came in looking for a role to fill and I think I’ve found my spot right now.”

Being the son of a longtime professional added to the groundwork for Teat’s style. Teat’s father was his first coach and still offers pointers. Even when Dan was on the road, he called home and talked lacrosse with his son.

“The biggest thing we always said to them, ‘The more you have your stick in your hand, the better you’re going to be,’” Dan said.

Dan’s relationship with another lacrosse legend, Brodie Merrill, brought Teat one step closer to Cornell. Merrill’s father, Peter, founded The Hill Academy (Ontario). Brodie remembered Jeff from when he was a “rink rat,” hanging around while his father’s teams played. Merrill recalled Jeff displaying remarkable stick skills for his age.

When the time came for Jeff to pursue lacrosse further, The Hill Academy fit. There, Jeff received advice from a staff full of coaches and players from both the collegiate and professional ranks. Playing against tough competition further spurted his development as a player.

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Courtesy of Tim McKinney

Usually, Teat operates behind the goal. Both Kerwick and Merrill recognized that Jeff can pass. Kerwick believes Jeff’s passing ability is one reason he has fit in as quickly as he has. It allows him to keep all of his teammates involved, all while “quarterbacking” his offense from behind the net.

“He has the ability to be one of the greatest to ever play here at Cornell,” Kerwick said. “And that’s a long list, some tremendous players.”

Kerwick compared Teat to two-time All-American Tim Goldstein, who played at Cornell in the late 1980s. In 1987, Goldstein won the Raymond J. Enners Award as the nation’s most outstanding player and the Jack Turnbull award as the most outstanding attackman. Merrill thinks it could be attainable for Teat.

“He can be amongst some of the generational-type players,” Merrill said. “I believe he can progress to be an elite player in NCAA lacrosse, then go on to play professionally. Then on national teams. I believe that’s all really realistic for him.”





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