Q&A // Danny Mruk, Westminster, lacrosse

By Rich Scherr | Special to The Sun

May 11, 2008

Westminster lacrosse midfielder Dan Mruk finished the regular season ranked among the county's top scorers. (Handout photo)

Danny Mruk this season has staked his claim as one of the area's most dominant midfielders, leading Westminster to a Carroll County title and finishing the regular season ranked among the county's top scorers.

Last week, he was named a finalist for the C. Markland Kelly Award, which annually recognizes the top players in the state, as selected by coaches.

The senior, however, won't have long to dwell on those achievements.

Come mid-June, Mruk, 18, will leave for boot camp on Paris Island, S.C. It's part of a Marine Corps program that will pay his way through college as long as he maintains a 2.0 grade point average.

Tell me a little about the program you'll be taking part in for the Marines.

I have to go to boot camp in June after I graduate. I'm in an OCS program, which is an Officer Cadet School, I think. They pay for any college I want to go to, as long as I get accepted. And if I keep above a 2.0 (grade point average), then I can go throughout my whole college career. The day I graduate, I become an officer and go on active duty.

How did you become interested in becoming a marine?

My grandfather is actually a Marine.

And did he turn you on to the program?

I didn't really know what I wanted to do after college, and a Marine recruiter came up to me one day at the mall and was talking to me about it. Then I just called them from there, and we worked things out.

So you'll be going right from prom and graduation to a drill instructor screaming in your face at boot camp. Are you pretty nervous about that?

The more it approaches, the more nervous I get about it, but I think I can handle it.

Do you believe you're tough enough mentally to deal with what's to come?

Mentally, yes, but I'm kind of a small guy physically (5 feet 10, 165 pounds), so hopefully that will make me get bigger.

Have you made a decision yet about where you'd like to go to college?

I was thinking about either Salisbury, Villa Julie or maybe even Towson. I'll be able to go to school as soon as I get back from boot camp.

So the way I understand it, as long as you maintain a C average, you can't be deployed until after graduation. That sounds like a lot of motivation to study.

Yes.

Have you given much thought about what you'd like to study in college?

I'm actually thinking about studying criminal law and criminal justice. I'd like to be (an officer on) SWAT after I get out of the military.

You seem to be able to play equally well with both hands. Is that something you've worked on quite a bit?

It's actually something that my brother and my dad preached when I was younger. A lot of times they wouldn't even let me go to my dominant hand -- they'd just make me go to my off hand. That definitely helped me a lot.

Do you see yourself remaining a midfielder at the collegiate level?

I think so. I really like to dodge up at the top of the box. I really don't like being behind the goal when I'm dodging.

You've really shown the full range of your abilities this season, yet coming from Carroll County, it seems like you haven't been on the radar of a lot of collegiate programs. Do you feel you have something to prove at the next level?

I think I do. I'm from kind of an unknown public school, and not many coaches really know about the lacrosse players around here. I think that would be a great opportunity for me.

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Q&A // Danny Mruk, Westminster, lacrosse

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Q&A // Danny Mruk, Westminster, lacrosse

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