At 7 a.m. on a Friday morning, most high schoolers would be sound asleep in bed. However, for sophomore Henry Brayer, this is the boarding time for his flight bound for Baltimore, Maryland. This is just one of many exhausting trips Henry will take this year, even during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, to showcase his talent to college lacrosse coaches on the East Coast.

“I have played pretty much everywhere on the East Coast,” Henry said. “It feels like I am constantly traveling from place to place.”

While this idea of traveling the country almost every other weekend may seem absurd to some, Henry says it’s something that he enjoys doing.

“It’s what I am best at,” Henry said. “I’ve been doing it for so long, it seems normal.”

Going on his eighth year of playing, Henry said that he continues to push himself towards college lacrosse. Playing for five club teams, three of which are ranked in the nation’s top 45, Henry’s passion-fueled game is constantly being played on a huge stage, in front of recruiters from various division one schools.

However, Henry’s successes didn’t come without adversity, sophomore and teammate Jack Nelson said.

“Being from the West Coast is hard because all the really good players are on the East Coast,” Henry said. “But being from the West Coast definitely gives me an advantage because people underestimate me.”

Traveling isn’t the most ideal, Henry said. Most of the tournaments are on the East Coast and Henry was challenged with the task of balancing school and lacrosse. Now, with the pandemic raging across the country, traveling has become more difficult. Nonetheless, that has not stopped Henry from showing up to the many showcases and tournaments that are still taking all across the country.

Although Henry puts in a lot of effort on the field, it is the work off the field that distinguishes him from others.

“Behind the scenes, when no one is looking, [Henry] is always working and trying to get better by training for tons of hours at his game,” Nelson said.

Nelson and Henry have played together since they were kids, which has created a deep friendship, Nelson said.

“Henry has always been good,” Nelson said. “But what separates him from other players is his great IQ of the game, his amazing talent, [his] ability to face off, and his ball-handling skills,” Nelson said.

Although Henry has natural talent and an incredible work ethic, his family helped support him to develop as a player and a person. Henry’s older brother, Georgie Brayer, is currently playing Division III lacrosse at Connecticut College.

“Having Georgie as my older brother helps me a lot with the recruiting process,” Henry said. “It’s really cool to see how he went through the process and to learn how it works.”

Overall, Georgie motivates Henry to work hard, Henry said.

“One thing that separates Henry from the rest is his love for the game,” Georgie said.

Last fall when Henry was walking home, he was held at gunpoint for his backpack filled with lacrosse gear, Georgie said. As the gunman was leaving, Henry begged him to leave his stick so he could still play.

“If this doesn’t describe how much he loves lacrosse, I don’t know what does,” Georgie said.

Henry’s love for the game carried him right onto the varsity team as a freshman.

“Going into the first game, I felt that I wasn’t going to do as well as those around me expected me to do,” Henry said. “But after the first faceoff, everything clicked and I found my talent and realized that I could hang with varsity players.”

Although the season was cut short due to COVID, Henry started the first five games with an 87% win rate, winning 77/88 of his faceoffs. Henry’s impeccable performance on varsity further developed his game to become one of the top recruits in the nation, according to MaxPreps.

“After this season, I feel like I could become an all-star at all the tournaments I attend,” Henry said before the summer. “I also have a chance of becoming a Nike All-American*.”

Henry couldn’t have made a better guess. During the summer, Henry was an all star at two highly recognized national showcases. Furthermore, Henry made Nike’s All-American Team and is set to compete for the North-West region starting on September 26. Now as a sophomore, Henry’s eyes are turning towards the winter recruiting season as well as the men’s lacrosse 2021 season.

“With all of the freetime, it has allowed me to focus even more on lacrosse,” Henry said. “It’s getting me excited to step back out onto Witter ”