Standout Lacrosse Veteran to Extend Playing Career at Division I Le Moyne College This Fall
WATERTOWN — Watertown High School’s Jack Adams was recently honored as the recipient of the Northern New York Community Foundation Coach Matthew J. Branski Award.
The Coach Matthew J. Branski Award was established at the Community Foundation shortly after his passing in January 2020 to honor his leadership as a decades-long lacrosse coach and Watertown High School teacher who mentored countless students and athletes on and off the field.
Highly regarded by players, parents, fellow teachers and coaches, Coach Branski was a true friend who always ensured each player was treated with respect. While he demanded excellence, he inspired such results through the example he set for others.
His passion for the game of lacrosse was matched equally by the same for Watertown High School, and the young men on his teams were genuinely excited to play. Some of his players went on to pursue lacrosse careers in officiating and coaching at both the high school and collegiate levels. In 2002, Coach Branski reached the pinnacle of his career when he was inducted into the Upstate New York Chapter of the U.S. Lacrosse Hall of Fame.
Branski Award honorees are veterans of the Watertown High School lacrosse program and demonstrate a hard-working attitude, dedication to the sport, determination to lead, and exhibit good sportsmanship. Students with plans to play collegiate lacrosse receive strong consideration for the award, which includes a $500 scholarship.
About the recipient
Jack is an accomplished two-sport varsity athlete, competing for four years on the varsity basketball and lacrosse teams. As a freshman, he competed in junior varsity soccer and served as a team captain.
He is a multi-year New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) Scholar Athlete.
As a varsity lacrosse competitor, he is a three-time Frontier League All-Star, earned All-Star Honorable Mention his freshman year, and was named to the Watertown Daily Times All-North Second Team his sophomore year. He was named Times All-North MVP his junior year and earned All CNY Second Team honors. He was also named to the All-State Lacrosse Class B 6th Team. Jack was a team captain his junior and senior years
In his junior year, he was selected by the Watertown athletic director to serve as a student representative at the Section 3 Student Athlete Leadership Conference. This year, Jack was named an Academic All-American in lacrosse.
As a Cyclones varsity basketball player, Jack was a team captain his junior and senior years. He was named a Frontier League All-Star his sophomore, junior, and senior years.
In his junior year, he was named to the Watertown Daily Times All-North First Team and earned All-North Honorable Mention his sophomore year. He was also named to the All CNY First Team his senior year and earned All CNY Team Honorable Mention in his junior year. He was named to the All-State Class AA 6th Team his senior year.
Jack became the seventh Cyclones player in program history to reach more than 1,000 points and holds the school record for total assists.
Off the athletic field, Jack is a top-ranked honor student and two-year National Honor Society member who participated in numerous extracurricular clubs and activities, including the WHS Cyclones Booster Club, Rotary Interact Club, and the Community Foundation’s Youth Philanthropy Council. He is also active in his community, serving as a volunteer youth couch and a peer mentor for H.T. Wiley Intermediate School students.
Jack graduated last month with a New York State Regents Diploma with Advanced Designation. He will attend Le Moyne College this fall where he plans to study business and continue his lacrosse career with the NCAA Division I Dolphins.
He aspires to work in finance. Jack is the son of Amy and Ed Adams, Watertown.
About the Northern New York Community Foundation
Since 1929, the Northern New York Community Foundation has invested in improving and enriching the quality of life for all in communities across Jefferson, Lewis, and St. Lawrence counties.
Through partnerships with businesses and organizations, charitable foundations, and generous families and individual donors, the Community Foundation awards grants and scholarships from an endowment and collection of funds that benefit the region. Its commitment to donors helps individuals achieve their charitable objectives now and for generations to come by preserving and honoring legacies of community philanthropy while inspiring others.
The Community Foundation is a resource for local charitable organizations, donors, professional advisors and nonprofit organizations. It also works to bring people together at its permanent home in the Northern New York Philanthropy Center to discuss challenges our communities face and find creative solutions that strengthen the region and make it a great place to live, work, and play.