By Andy Walter

DOVER — Maybe if Tyir Trott liked baseball a little more, he never would have found lacrosse.

But, looking for a new spring sport to play, he gave lacrosse a try as seventh-grader at Central Middle School.

Trott said he liked the new sport just fine. He just wasn’t particularly good at the catching and throwing part.

“We had a wall,” said Trott. “And he (Central’s coach) just kept us on the wall. My personality is like, once I start something, I’ve got to get good at it.”

Trott did get good at it. By the time he finished his Dover High playing career this spring, he was a first-team All-Henlopen North selection and a career 100-goal scorer for the Senators.

On Tuesday, Trott will play in the Senior All-Star Game at DE Turf Complex. The girls’ contest starts at 5 p.m. with the boys’ game slated to follow at about 7 p.m.

But now it looks like Trott’s lacrosse career will continue well beyond next Tuesday. After recently sending out recruiting tape, he has heard from as many as 30 colleges at all different levels this week.

Dover coach Mike Denman said it’s exciting to see all Trott’s hard work pay off.
Denman thought Trott was ready to show his ability as a sophomore when the season was canceled by the pandemic. But Trott hit the ground running as a junior midfielder, netting 49 goals and 24 assists.

By his senior year, Trott erupted for 62 goals and 15 assists.

“He’s the type of kid that’s always looking to get better,” said Denman. “We were lucky to have him when we did. He really carried this team to a 9-6 record.

“If Tyir Trott’s not on the field, we’re going to struggle offensively. He was just that explosive piece that we had on offense that made defenses have to stay true.”

With Trott leading the way on offense, the Senators won seven of their last eight games to just miss making the DIAA state tournament.

Also an all-district football player, Trott admits he never imagined this kind of success in lacrosse when he was younger. He credits teammate Zach Brown, a senior last year, with really teaching him a lot about the sport.

“I was really surprised,” Trott said about his junior season. “He (Brown) really showed me the way and helped me out. He was like a mentor to me so I wasn’t expecting to outscore him or get 100 career goals at all.

“Coming into it (this year), I was just thinking, I did great last year but now I’m going to have a target on my back. So I just wanted to be the best player I could be. I felt like I had to work a whole lot harder.”

“He was our anchor this year,” said Denman. “He’s just a leader on and off the field.”

Trott knows he’ll have to work even harder if he wants to continue to be successful in college. But he’s excited by the possibilities, too.

Former Dover football coach Carlton Brown is helping Trott with his recruiting.

“It really took me by surprise,” Trott said about the college interest. “It’s like almost every hour of the day he (Brown) is sending me a new school in an email. It’s very cool.

“It’s exciting. I don’t know where I want to go. I really can’t wait to get out and explore.”

Of course it was only a few years ago that Trott was just learning how to play the sport. He remembers being frustrated because kids on some of the other middle-school teams had better skills.

“It just made me want to better,” he said.

Trott said he often thinks about how far he’s come in a short span.

“All the time,” he said. “I never thought I would be in this type of position.”

Notes

Dover has three players in next week’s South all-star roster, including defenders ReSean Lemon-DeJesus and Tyere Dennis. ... State runner-up Cape Henlopen and state champion Salesianum have five players each in the contest. ... Mark D’Ambrogi (Cape Henlopen), Brooks Johnson (Caesar Rodney) and Blake Faulkner (Milford) are the South coaches.

Sports editor Andy Walter can be reached at 741-8227 or walter@iniusa.org.
Follow on Twitter at @DSNSports.