Grant Garrity ’19 Looks To Represent Korea In 2023 World Lacrosse Men’s Championship

ASIA PACIFIC QUALIFIERS HIGHLIGHTS

BEVERLY, Mass. — Former Endicott men's lacrosse standout Grant Garrity (Duxbury, Mass.) will look to represent the Gulls in the 2023 World Lacrosse Men's Championship as a member of Team Korea in San Diego, California, starting on June 21.

Garrity helped Team Korea qualify for the 2023 World Lacrosse Men's Championship earlier this fall behind an outstanding performance in the Asian Pacific Qualifiers.

Although Team Korea's roster for the tournament isn't officially set, Garrity's chances of making the squad appear to be a sure thing even if another tryout session is held prior to worlds.

ECGulls will update Garrity's progress as the team draws closer to tournament time.

The 2023 World Lacrosse Men's Championship will feature 30 teams and more than 100 games at San Diego State University and the University of San Diego from June 21 to July 1. 

This will be the first world championship in the sport of lacrosse to take place in California.

"It is one of the greatest honors in sport to represent your nation and wear your colors," said Endicott men's lacrosse head coach Eric Hagarty '10 M'11. "We are proud to have one of our alums play on the international level. We'll be rooting for Grant and his team. He is a great player, and it is a tremendous opportunity for Grant to be an ambassador for the game and Endicott lacrosse."

MAKING THE TEAM

Earning a spot on the Korean National Team was a bit unorthodox for Garrity, and the rest of the world.

"I started reaching out to the Korea Lacrosse Association (KLA) back in 2020. I was not super certain about the upcoming tournaments' timeline due to COVID, however, I knew about the World Games and the Asia Pacific Qualifier as the main events," said Garrity. "After a few more emails expressing interest over the course of the next year, I finally heard back with details of an online tryout in 2021." 

The KLA online tryout tasked Garrity with sharing personal details about himself and his heritage, compiling a list of his athletic achievements, producing a highlight reel, and filming fitness and wall ball tests for members of the association to assess. 

A few months following the submission deadline, Garrity was notified that he had been selected to play in the Asian Pacific Qualifiers in the fall of 2022.

Garrity was elated over the news, but quickly shifted his focus to the new task at hand — helping Korea qualify for the 2023 World Lacrosse Men's Championship.

"Training and preparation looked a lot like it did in college. I referred back to the same preseason tests Coach Hagarty had us doing during my time at Endicott," said Garrity. "However, I knew the need for five games in five days was going to be different from a normal lacrosse season. This called for more intense training with workouts every day, mostly two times a day, leading up to tournament time."

His extra training paid off as Korea went 4-1 overall finishing the tournament in first place and punching its ticket to the 2023 World Lacrosse Men's Championship. 

Some of Garrity's individual highlights from the Asia Pacific Qualifiers can be seen here: Grant Garrity Highlights

The five-game qualifier featured wins over Hong Kong, China (11-5), New Zealand (7-6, 20T), Chinese Taipei (9-8), and the Philippines (8-5). 

Korea's only loss was a one-goal setback to China, 8-7.

However, Garrity was quick to point out two other areas that made the biggest impact on Korea's performance.

1) team chemistry

"The team and coaches were an amazing group of guys that were extremely welcoming. They showed me the Korean way during my time there, and I never once felt like a true outsider. It is not easy to be receptive to a guy that walks into practice just a few weeks before tournament time, and I took that personally to show and prove myself as a competitor and a teammate," said Garrity. "I think the time we spent together outside of practice built a camaraderie that made all the difference come tournament time. We played as a unit, sold out for each other, played with an edge, and trusted each other."

2) his personal growth 

"After graduating from Endicott, I have spent a ton of my time coaching lacrosse with the Laxachusetts Lacrosse Club, which provided me with a whole new perspective on the game that I had not had before," said Garrity. "Being able to coach the game while communicating effectively and concisely is an acquired skill. A skill that has changed the way I played the game, but also changed the way I lead."

MORE THAN A GAME

Ha Kyung Cho-Kim

Kyu Ha Kim

Mary-Kim Garrity

Playing for Korea represents way more than just wearing another jersey for Garrity.

It's given him the ability to honor his heritage, connect deeper with his family, and bring awareness to three of the most influential people in his life — starting with his grandmother, Ha Kyung Cho-Kim, and his grandfather, Kyu Ha Kim.

"When I told my grandmother that I was in the process of trying out for the national team in 2020, I had never seen her so excited," said Garrity.

The news of playing for Team Korea quickly brought pride and joy to the family, but, unknowingly at the time, was destined to serve a greater purpose.

Sadly, shortly after hearing the news, both of his grandparents became terminally ill in 2021. 

"I spent a lot of time with them, learning about their stories, experiences, and hardships, with a lot of them being during the Korean War," said Garrity. "It became the theme of everything my grandmother talked about during her final months. Even as her memory continued to fade, she would mention it every time without fault, always emphasizing the importance it had to our pedigree and reminiscing on old stories with such passion. Being Korean meant everything to her, her life, and her family history."

Ha Kyung Cho-Kim passed away peacefully on December 15, 2021, at the age of 83.

She had a passion for learning and helping those in need, dedicating her life to those two areas.

Ha Kyung Cho-Kim impacted countless people, especially women, as a mentor and supporter through her work as a pharmacist (Ph.D. in pharmacology from Duquesne University), a clinical researcher, a professor (University of Pittsburgh Medical School), an ordained minister (doctorate degree in ministry from Pittsburgh Theological Seminary), and a pastor.

Kyu Ha Kim passed away peacefully on May 14, 2021, at the age of 86.

He was a Grandmaster in Judo and Taekwondo.

In 1958, Kyu Ha Kim won the Korean National Judo Championship, both as an individual and team. He repeated the feat in 1960. 

He also was the youngest judoka to receive his 9th degree black belt and was posthumously promoted to 10th degree black belt becoming one of only a few dozen to earn the honor in judo history.

Nicknamed "the tree" because his feet were so deeply rooted into the ground making him impossible to knock down and because of his large stature, Grandmaster Kyu Ha Kim coached the US Olympic Team in 1978-80 and is an inductee of both the US Judo Hall of Fame and Martial Arts Hall of Fame.

"My grandfather was one of the most accomplished humans I've ever met, but was also an extremely humble person and touched so many lives in and outside the dojo. The definition of a true, grounded man, and one I strive to be like every day," said Garrity.

Mary-Kim Garrity was born and raised by Ha Kyung Cho-Kim and Kyu Ha Kim in Korea until the age of four. 

The Asia Pacific Qualifier served as a homecoming for Mary-Kim and a full-circle moment for the Garrity family, who continued to cope with grief and loss as a unit. 

With so much emotion and meaning tied to the trip, Mary-Kim sent a special message to her son, Grant, prior to the tournament's first match.

"As you play this week, my Mom and Dad are with you. We are all so proud of you for playing for our home country. Please play with the knowledge that you prepared for this your whole life. May the love and energy of halabeoji [grandfather] be with you. I love you," read the text message from Grant's mother.

It's a message he will read again before every practice or game in the 2023 World Lacrosse Men's Championship to honor his grandparents, his mother, and his heritage.

"All three of them have been some of the most influential people in my life. Everywhere I go, I carry a piece of them. And each time I stepped on the field to play or woke up early to train [for the Asia Pacific Qualifer], it was easy... because it was for them," said Grant Garrity.

THE WORLD GAMES

Similar to a lacrosse Olympics, the 2023 World Lacrosse Men's Championship will feature the top 30 countries competing for gold. The format is similar to qualifiers, but teams will play about eight games in 10 days this time.

Schedules and additional information for the 2023 World Lacrosse Men's Championship will be posted closer to June on WorldLax2023.com. 

For now, Grant Garrity is focused on training for the event.

"Whether or not I head out to Korea beforehand to practice with the guys has yet to be determined, but it is something I hope to do," said Garrity. "I am super excited for next summer, everyone I have spoken to has mentioned how surreal of an experience it is."

As for the team's expectations, Grant is optimistic about this year's squad.

"I would not be surprised for us to place the best we ever have. KLA has done a great job developing the sport over there and it showed during our performance at the qualifiers," said Garrity. "I am confident we can improve and carry that over to worlds next summer. That being said, there is still plenty of work to do..."

ENDICOTT EXPERIENCE

Grant Garrity excelled on the field and in the classroom for the Gulls.

His accolades speak for themselves:

Academic

• 2019 USILA/Warrior and New Balance Scholar All-America
• 2019 CCC Academic All-Conference
• 2019 CCC Scholar-Athlete of the Year
• 2019 NEILA Academic All-New England
• 2018 CCC Academic All-Conference
• 2017 CCC Academic All-Conference
• 7x Dean's List Recipient

Athletic

• 2019 USILA All-America Honorable Mention
• 2019 NEILA East-West Senior All-Star Game selection
• 2019 IMLCA Northeast All-Region Honorable Mention
• 2019 NEILA All-Region Third Team Defense
• 2019 All-CCC First Team
• 2018 IMLCA Northeast Region Honorable Mention
• 2018 USILA All-America Honorable Mention
• 2018 All-CCC First Team
• 2017 All-CCC Second Team

Team

• 37-36 overall record
• 28-4 conference record
• 2017 CCC Champions
• 2017 NCAA Tournament Second Round
• 4x CCC Finalist

Garrity graduated Magna Cum Laude from Endicott in 2019 with a Bachelor of Science in finance.

During his time at The Nest, Garrity interned with General Electric finance (semester-long), Oxford Global Resources, and the Boston Cannons (Major League Lacrosse).

Garrity pivoted those experiences into jobs as a merchandise finance analyst at BJ's Wholesale Club and as a business intelligence architect at NOBULL (current employer).

"My time at Endicott was one of the most transformative and amazing years of my life. The lessons I learned, the experiences I had, people I met... all worth their weight in gold to me," said Garrity. "Being a part of the Endicott men's lacrosse program had a huge hand in that. It is remarkable to me how many lessons have directly benefited my professional and interpersonal life since graduation. I can say for certain I would not be where I am without that experience, and it has been awesome to represent the Gulls post-graduation."

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(Photo Credit - David Le '10)