Cherry Hill East lacrosse goalie, Josh Hammer (‘26), is not your typical lacrosse goalie who relies on size for an advantage. Rather, he distinguishes himself through resilience, speed and hard work.
As a result of his diligence, he reached a new milestone on April 9: a total of 600 saves in his high school career.
“[600 saves] represents all the hard work I’ve put in finally paying off. The long nights in the cage, the extra reps, and the dedication when no one was watching,” said Hammer.
Even though 600 is a tremendous number of saves; the statistic is not the most impressive takeaway from Hammer’s career. Hammer has dedicated his life to the sport and to his individual growth.
“There were countless times I felt frustrated because I didn’t see the results from my work, but I stuck with it,” said Hammer.
To improve and rack up more saves, Hammers’ coaches worked with him individually. After practice, they worked together, one on one, to enhance his skills and tune his craft. The coaches’ commitment to his development was crucial to improving his reflexes, footwork and positioning in goal.
The work hasn’t gone unnoticed. During his freshman season, he recorded 115 saves–an average of 8.21 saves per game. Sophomore year, he improved to 146 saves, with an average of 10.4 saves per game. Last year, he tallied 265 saves with a whopping average of 13.9 saves per game. Each year, he has ratcheted up his game and continued to elevate his skills as keeper.
In addition to Hammer’s strong work ethic, being a goalie also requires mental tenacity. It takes nerves of steel to handle the pressure of saving shots, and to remain confident when one flies by.
Hammer broke his hand freshman year, forcing him to step away from lacrosse for an entire summer. When he was able to return to the game, he worked harder than ever to get back to where he was and to become stronger than before.
“I’ve worked on staying mentally strong and pushing through adversity, ultimately making me a better player,” Hammer said.
Hammer holds Easts’ single-game save record of 29 saves in a single game. Although Hammer has already accounted for a fierce, successful lacrosse career with 600 saves, he is far from done.
Hammer wants his legacy to be “more than just the records.”
“I want to leave a lasting impact on the program. I want people at East to remember the level of effort, skill and dedication I brought every day, and set a standard for future players to follow,” Hammer said.
