Rezendes hard work paid off as Merrimack boys lacrosse looks for more

When Brian Miller first met Ryan Rezendes six years ago, the Merrimack High School boys lacrosse coach had no idea he was meeting someone who would be a leading varsity player for the Tomahawks as a senior.

But Miller did learn a whole lot of other things about Rezendes.

The two crossed paths when Miller was a guidance counselor in Hudson and Rezendes was a sixth-grader, and the reason for their meeting was not a good one.

Rezendes’s father, Mark, had died the previous year, and while at school, Rezendes would take part in a grief group with other students and another counselor in her office. At times, Miller would also join them.

“When I was in Hudson, my guidance counselor, her office was right across from coach’s,” Rezendes said. “I was doing this little grief group with a couple other kids at my school who were in a similar situation as mine. One day a week, we’d meet, and coach was coming in and talking to us, and we were doing activities.”

The group eventually did more than just meet together.

“He was a part of a group that went around and did presentations around the school for all the classes,” Miller said. “He struck everyone as this confident little kid, who was super calm and really nice. He was not afraid to step out and take on a big responsibility. There’s not a lot of middle school kids who can go around and present to all their peers, in multiple grades.”

Then, in 2021, with spring sports about to return to fields across the state for the first time in two years due to COVID-19, Miller saw a familiar face show up for a preseason workout.

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“He was walking down the parking lot from one of our preseason skill sessions and I’m like ‘I think I know this kid from somewhere,'” the coach said.

Having recently moved to Merrimack, Rezendes was about to start his high school lacrosse career playing for a coach he already knew well enough.

“Coming into that season, I was a little more comfortable knowing who he was and knowing what he was about,” he said. “Coming into the whole program though, with the older guys, that’s a lot for any new player. Even just guys in my grade that I didn’t know too well, I always had coach to fall back on. There was some I can rely on and ask questions.”

Rezendes spent his sophomore season playing for the Merrimack junior varsity. Although he started playing lacrosse in second grade, he’d taken a couple of seasons off and was just getting back into it when he joined the Tomahawks.

While he’d played football and wrestled when he was younger, Rezendes decided to focus on lacrosse in high school with an eye on trying to play in college.

“I remember my JV coach at the time telling me a lot of conversations they were having about what you need to do to get to the next level,” Miller said. “He was in incredible shape and he did a great job to lead that team. The message was that you’ve really got to put in the time on the wall and play in the offseason.”

So Rezendes did that, playing throughout the offseason before his junior year, and almost to his detriment.

“Going into last year, it was all I wanted,” he said of playing in college. “I struggled early last season with some mental stuff because I was thinking I’ve got to put up all these numbers so I can go play somewhere. It was all I wanted.”

He eventually righted the ship, finished with 10 goals as Merrimack clinched the No. 5 seed in the Division I playoffs before falling to Londonderry in the quarterfinals.

The Tomahawks are back in the same spot in 2023, as they get ready for a quarterfinal game at 7 p.m. Saturday against Bedford. Rezendes has been right there, leading the charge for Merrimack.

“There’s a new level of confidence that’s been there, as opposed to last year, when I was a first-year varsity player,” he said. “I was on the second (middie) line, still kind of figuring out what my role was. Now I’m a senior, I’m a starter, and I have that confidence that I didn’t have last year, and it’s put me in a really good headspace.”

And it hasn’t hurt that Rezendes knows what he’ll be doing beyond high school. Last summer, he committed to continuing playing at Rockhurst University, a Division II program in Kansas City.

“To have that off my chest and know what is going on, it’s an amazing feeling,” he said. “I was doing a lot of visits with local schools, and I got an email from coach (Kevin) Kelly, and he said he was interested and would love to have me take a tour. We booked a flight to Kansas City, I went and toured it.

“It was an amazing time. It felt natural. It’s an amazing opportunity to come play.”

To Miller, it’s a success story that he’s happy to see get another chapter.

“It’s great to see a kid sort of be humble with where they’re at and then put in the time,” the coach said. “Some kids think they’re already there, that they’ve arrived, and they don’t have to work as hard. It’s nice to see for sure.”