Jonathan Taylor Award Scholarship

Walking in the footsteps of Jonathan Taylor. You can tell that spring is in the air, not just by the rising temperatures, but also by the athletes out on the pool fields wielding lacrosse sticks. As the season draws closer, it’s easy to see more and more boys and girls warming up their rusty skills after a long and cold winter. Soon the first varsity boys' game will be played, and before the players take the field, they will come together and a loud “48-11” will be heard. Those two apparently simple numbers have a deep meaning. Especially the #11 that stands for the jersey number Jonathan Taylor wore during his lacrosse career at Duxbury High school and at Gettysburg College.

While Jon’s life was cut tragically short by an accident soon after graduating, his legacy lives on in the generations of lacrosse players who have followed in his footsteps. Along with his best friend, Steve Sepeta,Taylor started playing lacrosse after the 8th grade with Adam Ochs, Justin Walker, Jeremy Smith and Tayven Hike, along with others. Burke Walker, Justin’s father, had a passion for the game that inspired these students, and shortly thereafter lacrosse became a DHS sport.The group played as a JV squad for two years, and by the time they graduated in 1995 they had transformed lacrosse into a varsity sport for their remaining two years.

Taylor’s death was hard for his teammates and friends to accept. However, they have rallied to honor his life in so many ways. After taking a year off to recover from losing Taylor, Sepeta returned to San Diego and spread his love for lacrosse throughout Southern California by starting South Swell Sports. Off-season playing opportunities and quality lacrosse stores were few, and South Swell Sports filled that gap with leagues and camps in seven locations including Texas. In their second year Sepeta and his partner launched a lifestyle apparel label called Adrenaline, and now this company’s products are seen all over Duxbury.

Adrenaline has been known for its quality sportswear and is offering its only custom-made product specifically for Duxbury. The company now offers unique sports socks with the numbers “48-11” at the top in green,white and black. For Steve, it is a way to remind the next team to remember that they should always be kind and respectful, because life is short.

If you are left wondering what the #48 stands for, that would be for the 48 minutes that comprise a lacrosse game.