SEAN P. MURPHY | THE FINE PRINT

Lacrosse standout is benched because his head is too big



DEBEE TLUMACKI FOR THE BOSTON GLOBE
Wheaton College lacrosse player Alex Chu has been sidelined because no one can find a helmet big enough to fit him.

By Sean P. Murphy GLOBE STAFF FEBRUARY 17, 2019

At 6 feet tall, 265 pounds, Alex Chu is a big kid with a mighty passion for playing one of the toughest positions in sports: lacrosse goalie. ... As a high school all-star, Chu blocked dozens of shots per game, some hurtling at him at nearly 100 miles an hour. ... He’s now a freshman at Wheaton College, where he was recruited for lacrosse. But he’s sitting on the bench because they can’t find a helmet large enough for his head.

Yes, that’s right: Chu, a soft-spoken, polite kid who wants to become an elementary school teacher, happens to have an oversize head. ... And without an NCAA-approved helmet, he’s been relegated to the sidelines, welcome to run sprints with the team but banned from tending shots or playing in games when the season begins later this month.
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DEBEE TLUMACKI FOR THE BOSTON GLOBE
Alex Chu measured his head.

Alex, his mother, and others are convinced that Cascade-Maverik, based in upstate New York, could make a helmet to fit Alex. It recently helped with a custom, large-size helmet for Tehoka Nanticoke of the University of Albany, one of the best players in the country at a school that made it to the Final Four last year. (Wheaton runs a serious Division 3 lacrosse program, but no one will confuse it for an elite Division 1 school.)

A spokesman for the University of Albany confirmed that Nanticoke wears a very large helmet that was produced after Albany coaches and Cascade “huddled up,” but declined to say much more. ... My repeated calls and e-mails to Cascade-Maverik went unanswered. Alison Chu said the last time she tried to speak with a company rep, he angrily hung up on her.
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Sean P. Murphy can be reached at smurphy@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @spmurphyboston.