An Interview with Rubin Peco

The Stuyvesant Huskies finished their season strong qualifying for playoffs. Though the Huskies were unable to make it as far as they hoped like last year, the team still had a great season with a record of 7-4. Captain Rubin Peco ended the season off with four assists and 14 goals, the highest in his time on the team.

Grade: Senior
Height: 6”4’
Eye color: Hazel
Hair color: Brown
DOB: 11/12/2001

When did you start playing lacrosse?

I started playing lacrosse in my sophomore year. I joined the lacrosse club because the former captain Sam Brimberg and another kid on the team—Giorgio Vidali—were in my Italian class and told me I should join. I showed up to a couple lax meetings, and I liked how it worked, so that’s how I ended up joining the team.

What were your goals for yourself and the team this year, and did you accomplish them?

This year, one of my goals was to make it further than we did last year in the playoffs; we made it to the semi-finals and hoped to make it all the way to the championship. I also just wanted to prepare the team for all the seniors leaving because most of the team was senior heavy and so we really just wanted to focus on recruiting. Getting all the underclassmen ready—the juniors too—that kind of thing. In terms of achieving this, I am pretty confident in the underclassmen, who are the rising juniors. Some shoutouts to the new captains, Alex Thompson and Andrew Hirtle. They have a lot of potential, as well as Caleb Weddle. He has a lot of potential; he’s our new junior captain. Just a lot of the other current juniors like Morgan [Seaburg] and Julian Bedolis and whatnot, they have a lot of potential and I’m really looking forward to see them play next year. We didn’t make it as far as last year in the playoffs but we certainly had a stronger team last year with stronger defense. However, I was still pretty happy with what we accomplished as a team this year.

What is your respective position on the team, and what do you do there?

I am a midi, a starting midfielder on the team. Basically what the midfielder does is play both offense and defense because the other two positions stick to their sides of the field. As a midfielder, you are responsible to play both. We run around the most so you have the most stamina and you play the longest. Since I'm one of the bigger guys on the team, I focused a lot on winning the ground balls and fighting for the ball. I was also in charge of the offense, making plays happen and running the balls on fast breaks and whatnot.

How has the captainship changed your playstyle and outlook on the game?

I realized that being a captain means I had to account for certain things and the team. I had to make sure [the younger players on the team] were doing well and improving on top of myself. Making sure that people were coming to the practice and enforcing the attendance were also very important.

How do you deal with playing lacrosse and your schoolwork; do you have any tips?

Junior year, I was balancing four APs, lacrosse, wrestling, and other stuff. The second I would come home, I would get straight to work. I would cope with not a lot of sleep and honestly take naps at school or in my classes if I had to. I would always try my best, and when I got home, work was my first priority. I would start some stuff earlier so I wouldn’t stay up the night before the due date trying to finish up. Just really accounting for stuff and creating a fixed schedule for myself was really helpful.

What have been your favorite memories or moments in lacrosse?

The first game of the season, it was a bit hectic. For our starting senior defensemen team, it was the first real game for many. They didn't really have proper experience before so they were kinda stressed out. However, we really stepped up and played a solid game. It was my first game of the season. I was able to score three goals and lots of other kids were able to score. It was very satisfying to see the team work well, and our defense was solid. The other team actually got a little mad, but we kept our cool and ended the game 7-4. That first game sort of set the tone for the rest of the season, which was great.

Proudest moment so far?

Last game of the regular season this year was a great game. We were ahead 10-4, so we started putting in some of our younger players. The game gave them some experience; it wasn’t a risky game and wasn’t close scorewise. We had junior Alex Oltenau in on midi and junior Julian Bedolis in on attack. Olteanu was standing right in front of the goal, perfectly positioned, and they left him wide-open. Bedolis brought the ball from where it had gone out. He passed it straight to Oltenau, and Oltenau put it right into the goal. It was his first goal of the season and his first career goal. I didn’t make it happen—the younger kids made it happen. Just seeing that, it made me really proud.

Choice drink: Modelo
Favorite food: baklava
Fun fact: I’m Albanian.
Motto to live by: Waxing gibbous is my favorite moon phase.