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trip down a small hill from Jackson Birtwistle’s childhood home took him into the “coolest” backyard imaginable. At Eastern University, Birtwistle lived in the residence hall where his mom, Heidi, served as the resident director. The location happened to be closest to the athletic complex, where Heidi and Mark, Birtwistle’s dad and EU’s volleyball coach, worked.

Birtwistle took advantage of all the facilities, from the soccer, lacrosse and baseball fields to the tennis and basketball courts. He joined students in pickup games and eventually knew more students than his parents around campus, Heidi said. 

“That’s definitely why I became an athlete and have always wanted to be an athlete because I had that right there,” Birtwistle said about growing up on EU’s campus. 

Birtwistle’s skill-level didn’t waver from the field, court or diamond he walked onto. Most people in his suburban-Philadelphia community had at least one story about his childhood athletic feats, said Mark Petrone, Radnor High School’s assistant men’s lacrosse coach. When Birtwistle was 11, he threw a perfect game. In eighth grade, he could kick a 30-yard field goal. 

“Everyone around here in this area knows exactly who he is,” Petrone said. “It’s honestly too bad that you have to pick one sport in a season.”

The handful of sports Birtwistle played eventually reduced to one, lacrosse. He was vital to Syracuse’s attack late last season, recording 13 points in its last four games. Birtwistle said the constant training for multiple activities in a given year eventually paid off once he put all his effort into a single sport. 

“Understanding the work ethic, the dedication and all that within a sport every single season helped me, especially at this level,” Birtwistle said.

Birtwistle competed in soccer and baseball leagues first, Mark said. In eighth grade, he began football under Radnor Middle School coach Ed McCallion. 

Birtwistle learned the ability to “sling it” because of his experience as a lefty pitcher, allowing him to step right into the role as the starting quarterback. He played defensive end and outside linebacker as well, directing both sides of the ball. Birtwistle was immediately the best player on the team, McCallion said. 

Birtwistle could read the field as a quarterback, take hits and deliver them. He enjoyed the contact, something that baseball lacked and was not yet an integral part of lacrosse. It would help though, McCallion said, since collegiate lacrosse is a heavy collision sport. 

“When it comes down to the 50/50 ground balls or coming across the crease, that’s where football really helps in your lacrosse game,” McCallion said. 

McCallion also witnessed Birtwistle’s soccer ability translate to the gridiron when he made a 37-yard field goal for his team. McCallion suggested Birtwistle give football a try a year later in high school, where he could have easily gone all-league, McCallion said. He didn’t, but Birtwistle tried out for the soccer team in the winter of his freshman year. 

Birtwistle went out for the ninth-grade team, but he was starting on varsity two weeks later, McCallion said. Birtwistle said his soccer skills came from Mark, who played at Messiah College, a Division-III school in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. 

Birtwistle scored a crucial goal against North Penn High School in the state playoffs, tracking down a goal kick three-quarters down the field before scoring with a minute left. Birtwistle said soccer mostly helped his fitness, allowing him to excel in lacrosse throughout the remaining months of the year.  

Peter Samson, who built the town of Radnor’s youth lacrosse programs, encouraged Birtwistle to pick up a lacrosse stick because of his athletic ability at around 10. He did, shooting over 70 mph in a contest at an EU camp held in seventh grade. Birtwistle juggled baseball and lacrosse during the spring seasons throughout middle school, but he had to make a choice before high school. 

Birtwistle said he loved baseball and lacrosse the most and dropping one was one of the toughest decisions he’s had to make. Birtwistle decided on keeping lacrosse because he had some recruiting interest, was a more talented lacrosse player and preferred running around to standing on the mound. 

The success Radnor found on the soccer field was even better on the lacrosse field. In 2019, Birtwistle’s junior campaign was vital to the team’s playoff run, as he finished with 76 goals and 42 assists. 

Like in every other sport, Birtwistle was the main focus for the opposition. Petrone said teams worried about having someone who could guard Birtwistle at least half the time. His ability to dodge, simply run by defenders and use his vision to find teammates was unmatched, Petrone said. Birtwistle routinely scored three or four goals in each game, amounting 11 points on his own in the 2019 season-opener.

“He had this kind of effortless grace to him where he doesn’t look like he’s playing very hard but it looks very fluent and natural,” Petrone said. 

The marriage of all his accolades was present throughout his breakout at the end of Syracuse’s 2022 season. Against North Carolina, he sprinted back on the ride and intercepted a pass from the goalie, turning and scoring from midfield. Against Virginia, he welcomed contact near the crease on two goals, one which he finished behind his back. Against Notre Dame, he hesitated and spun back right with the ball to find the back of the net.

“You put him in there and goals would happen,” Petrone said.

Photo is by Anshul Roy | Staff Photographer

Published on February 2, 2023 at 12:04 am

Contact Anish: asvasude@syr.edu | @anish_vasu