Kornacki: Chase Brown the Epitome of a Leader
4/25/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Lacrosse
April 25, 2016
By Steve Kornacki
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Chase Brown remembered the University of Michigan lacrosse banquet after his freshman season. The seniors told him time would fly over the next four years, but he didn't believe them.
"It's crazy," said Brown, now the senior team captain. "The seniors got up and said, 'Freshmen, this is going to be you one day. Time flies.' You hear that, but you take it for granted, and now, four years later, I'm in their shoes. Everything they said was correct. Time flies.
"But every experience and every opportunity I had here, I loved. I loved being part of the Michigan lacrosse family. I'll never regret coming here."
Wolverine head coach John Paul said Brown, a longstick midfielder from the lacrosse hot bed of Annapolis, Maryland, became a special player and student, a model for all to follow.
"He had incredible growth," said Paul. "He's turned into the best leader on this team. He's become such a confident player as well. He's so dialed into what we're doing and how we're doing it. In a lot of ways, he's the heartbeat of the team. He's just grown up a lot and has become such a great mentor for everybody."
The Wolverines lost the final game at Michigan Stadium for Brown and his dozen classmates when Johns Hopkins, a traditional power, beat them, 19-13, Saturday afternoon (April 23).
His final exam is Monday (April 25), and he'll graduate later this week before moving on to his first job. Brown, a political science major enrolled in the Program of Entrepreneurship, said an internship last summer resulted in the position with a software company in Charleston, South Carolina.
"This program really got me thinking on what I wanted to do," said Brown. "I landed a job with Team Phoria, and I'm very, very happy. I learned a lot there last summer and was surrounded by tremendous people. It's also a great city, great location and a great atmosphere.
"Down my career path, I definitely want to own my own business. That's what got me involved in the program, learning the basics of creating and developing a successful company. My dad taught me a very valuable lesson, and it was, 'You always want to be your own boss.'"
His father, James, is a State Farm Insurance agent who built his own business and also taught lacrosse, the family game, to his son and daughters. His father played lacrosse at the Naval Academy. Two of Chase's sisters also played or are playing the sport in college. Bridget, his older sister, played at William & Mary. Meredith, his younger sister, is a goalie at Harvard.
"My hometown of Annapolis eats, sleeps and breathes lacrosse," said Brown. "Lacrosse was the first sport I played, really since I could walk. One of my sisters was a goalie, and I could shoot on her, which was fun. The determination I had to beat my sisters in lacrosse really made me a better player.
"My stick skills were so good because I played every day with my friends and family. Sometimes my sisters and I would just go to the field to pass."
Brown came to Michigan after captaining both the lacrosse and football teams at Severn High and was a National Honor Society member and a three-time Academic All-American.
He brought plenty of talent to the Wolverines, but his academics, athletics and leadership all rose at Michigan.
"The teachers here expect you to develop and study a tremendous amount of time outside of the classroom," said Brown. "That was totally different from high school. There were a lot of late hours and nights at the library. Work ethic and learning not to procrastinate at Michigan was huge."
Brown won a Michigan Academic Achievement Award in 2015 and was All-Academic Eastern College Athletic Conference in 2013.
He's also excelled in a primarily defensive position, saying, "I love hitting people and playing physical."
Brown was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week April 4 for his performance against Maryland.
"My lacrosse IQ has improved because of the hours you put in," said Brown. "Going through the drills with your teammates and learning their tendencies is a huge thing. Game planning is much bigger in college compared to the little bit of scouting you do in high school."
Brown credited Bo Sandoval, an assistant director of strength and conditioning at Michigan, for his improvement.
"When times are tough some days," said Brown, "when you've been up all night studying and then you have practice, you're required to go lift. And Bo's a great motivational speaker. You get a talk from Bo, and he pumps you right back up. He is a tremendous asset to this program.
"I became so much stronger and faster because of what Bo put us through."
Paul developed Brown into an exemplary captain.
"Coach Paul's biggest impact on me was becoming a better leader," said Brown. "He knows how to coach each individual in different ways, and this year, as one of the captains, he pulled me aside and taught me the valuable lesson that everyone learns differently. That really sunk in and taught me how to lead. Some guys learn by getting in their face and yelling at them, and some guys you just have to put your arm around and guide them through the process."
Brown said it was special to have his uncle, Navy Capt. John Wade, address his teammates on the leadership topic earlier this season on a spring-break team road trip to California.
"He watched us play Delaware," said Brown. "I thought it would be a great opportunity for our team to have a great motivational speaker after the game, and so he spoke to us the next morning at breakfast about his observations of us before and after the game."
Wade, a Chief of Staff with the U.S. Pacific Fleet, has won numerous decorations for combat and meritorious service and received the Vice Admiral E.C. Waller and Vice Admiral John D. Bulkeley leadership awards.
"It was a really cool and unique experience to hear him talk about leadership and bonding and family," said Brown. "It made me appreciate even more what he's done and his service to our country. He said, 'These connections you make with your teammates will last forever.'"
Forever is about to begin for Brown and his 12 classmates.
"I'm going to miss the guys the most, my teammates" he said. "To have a hard day of classes and then go out on the field, sweating, bleeding and working for your brothers. I've been surrounded by these guys for four years, done everything together, lived together.
"Being elected captain by my teammates was one of my proudest moments. To be able to play four years of a varsity sport at a place like this, at the University of Michigan, is such an honor. Being able to lead the guys here, and lead by example, was special.
"Michigan will always have a place in my heart. It won't matter where I'm at, I'll always follow this program and root for them."
Paul said he'll miss Brown when his career concludes with a game Saturday (April 30) at Penn State.
"I know he's going to be successful in whatever path he chooses to take," said Paul. "In this job, honestly the best part of my job, is seeing these guys 10 years down the road and seeing what they become, what they've made of their lives, and I'm looking forward to seeing where Chase is 10 years from now.
"He'll be something special."
