At the age of 2, David Symmes “ran around the house,” being physical in any way possible.

He played catch with a foam football in the family living room with his father, Peter Symmes. David naturally threw the ball with a pronating motion, the typical form for quarterbacks, Peter said.

Growing older, the passion remained as Symmes played both football and lacrosse. Now a senior midfielder for Army, Symmes has developed into a star for No. 9 Army (3-0) as the Black Knights come to the Carrier Dome to face No. 16 Syracuse (1-1). After not playing much his first two years, Symmes tallied 25 goals and 35 points last season, including the game-winning goal against then-No. 6 Syracuse last season.

“My dad did not have the opportunity to play a lot of sports growing up,” Symmes said. “I think he just wanted to encourage me as much as he could to play.”

As Symmes grew up, he experimented with different sports. He initially tried tee-ball and soccer, but it was evident that he was not in love with either.

When his father, a lacrosse fan since his days in prep school, approached him with the idea of trying out for the local lacrosse team, Symmes wholeheartedly agreed.

“He went out for one of the youth league teams and he made the A-team,” Peter said. “I told him, ‘You do this as much as you want and as far as you want to take it.’”

In a few years, other sports began to fade away as Symmes started to solely focus on football and lacrosse. From fourth to ninth grade, he played for his local youth football team, competing against other kids in Fairfax County, Virginia.

Starting in the seventh grade, he began playing for the local club lacrosse team — Madlax — staying with the team throughout high school. Madlax played in a league that followed the same in-game rules as the NCAA, which helped Symmes learn more advanced skills and build a greater knowledge of the game, Peter said.

Once he arrived in high school, Symmes could have focused on either football or lacrosse. Instead, he became a star player for both teams. Symmes loved the physicality of both sports too much to pick one over the other.

He was the starting quarterback during his junior and senior season at South County High School in Lorton, Virginia, holding the school record for touchdowns scored. During his senior year, he was named Washington Post All-Met Honorable Mention for football and a Virginia High School All-American for Lacrosse. As an option quarterback, Symmes often ran the ball. With the ball in his hands, he learned to outrun defenders and use his size to his advantage, a necessary skill in lacrosse, Peter said.

“He seeks out that contact,” said Army head coach Joe Alberici. “He is a better lacrosse player based on the fact that he was a multi-sport athlete in high school.”

Yet, as college approached, Symmes knew he would have to choose either football or lacrosse.

Symmes opted to look at lacrosse programs. With both Navy and Army paying him close attention after his sophomore lacrosse season, he decided to take official visits to both schools.

“We saw the place and what it was all about and what it offered. He made it up his mind almost on the spot that it’s where we wanted to go,” Peter said. “Once he got a look at West Point, he called up the Navy coach and said, ‘Sorry I’m not going to make it up for a visit. I’ve decided to commit to West Point.’”

Last season’s breakout performance has led to higher expectations this season. Symmes has become a leader for the Black Knights. His passion and love for sports as a whole has turned into an intensity and drive to win, he said.

“Even though I’m a starter, I have that hard-working backup’s mentality,” Symmes said. “I can see in life you’re not going to be dropped into a scenario where you’re the top dog right away. … It’s just showing your grit.”

Published on February 23, 2018 at 6:59 pm

Contact Adam: adhillma@syr.edu | @_adamhillman