Trippi heads into senior season looking to repeat as IAC champions before he heads to the University of North Carolina.
Junior Alex Trippi and the Bullis School Lacrosse team win first IAC title vs. St. Stephen’s/St. Agnes on May 22, 2016. (Video courtesy of WashingtonPost.com and AllMetSports.com)
To purchase highlight package click here: 2016 IAC Championship Highlight Package
March 18, 2017- May 22, 2016: The day Bullis School won their first ever IAC lacrosse championship. A big part of that championship run, junior attackman Alex Trippi. Trippi, undoubtedly one of the best players in Bullis’ history, scored three goals and added an assist to finish off his 56 goal, 50 assist junior season that rewarded him Washington Post Player of the Year accolades. However, what’s so special about the North Carolina commit is his humbleness, his appreciation of the programs lure and what came before him and what will come after him.
“I think it was a lot bigger than me last year,” Trippi said. “I think it was for all the alumni that came through and set the standard for Bullis lacrosse. Coach Bellistri being here for 20 something years, probably more, to the hard work that he’s put in. Doing it for all the alumni that came back to watch us was really important to me and meant more than any personal accolades that I got.”
The IAC championship was a long time coming for Trippi who committed to the University of North Carolina as a freshman, in 2013. This season, his final one wearing the white and gold, the goal is to repeat as IAC champs. To do that, Trippi looks to instill leadership and make his team the best they can be.
“I think taking the leadership aspect that I saw last year and just seeing how practices went last year,” stated Trippi. “As the captain this year, along with Michael Chiaramonte and Kyle Fairbanks, holding everyone accountable for what they’re doing and practicing very hard is crucial. If we do that, another IAC Championship will take care of itself.”
Championship or not in his senior season, Trippi’s time is coming to an end for Bullis, a time that has spanned five years and created quite a bond between him and his coach Jeff Bellistri, a bond he sees in Tar Heels coach Joe Breschi and one of the reasons he committed three years ago.
“At first I just wanted to focus on the school before the coach and the tradition but right when I saw Coach Breschi and the other coaches I fell in love with the family atmosphere,” recalled Trippi. “It’s kind of like what I have at Bullis. Coach Bellistri is kind of like my second dad and always there for me but at the same time pushes me to be my best. I think Coach Breschi will be the same.”
Something Trippi believes that Coach Bellistri instilled in him is hard work. That will definitely not change this summer when the Virginia native shifts his focus from high school lacrosse to college lacrosse.
“This summer I’m going to have a lot on my hands and work harder than I ever have before to prepare myself to go there and try to make an impact in whatever way I can,” said Trippi.
Trippi hopes to have more championships in his future, be it this season at Bullis or in his future at North Carolina. A similarity between the two? Both broke through for their first championship in quite some time last year, North Carolina’s a national championship which gave Trippi a feeling he felt while playing in his own.
Honestly, when I was watching the national championship game I think I was sweating even though I don’t go there yet,” recalled Trippi. “I was just trying to put myself in some of the player’s shoes, knowing how hard they work and how they feel made me feel good for them.”
Good players win, and for Trippi, a player that is just around 20 points from becoming Bullis’ all-time leading scorer, there is more scoring and winning to come, whether it be for Coach Bellistri or Coach Breschi, for Bullis or North Carolina.