John Christmas (born August 16, 1982 in

Ardmore, Pennsylvania Ardmore is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) spanning the border between Delaware and Montgomery counties in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The population was 12,455 at the 2010 census and had risen to 13,566 in the ...

) is an American retired lacrosse player. He played for the Philadelphia Wings of the

National Lacrosse League The National Lacrosse League (NLL) is a men's professional box lacrosse league in North America. The league is headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The NLL currently has fifteen teams: ten in the United Stat ...

and for the

Boston Cannons The Cannons Lacrosse Club are a professional men's field lacrosse team in the Premier Lacrosse League (PLL) . Formerly based in Boston, Massachusetts, they played in Major League Lacrosse (MLL) as the Boston Cannons from their inaugural 2001 sea ...

Major League Lacrosse Major League Lacrosse (MLL) was a men's field lacrosse league in the United States. The league's inaugural season was in 2001. Teams played anywhere from ten to 16 games in a summertime regular season. This was followed by a four-team playoff f ...

. Christmas played at the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

from 2002 to 2005, where he was a two-time USILA All-American and two-time All-

ACC ACC most often refers to: * Atlantic Coast Conference, an NCAA Division I collegiate athletic conference located in the US *American College of Cardiology, A US-based nonprofit medical association that bestows credentials upon cardiovascular spec ...

selection, and helped lead the

Cavaliers The term Cavalier () was first used by Roundheads as a term of abuse for the wealthier royalist supporters of King Charles I and his son Charles II of England during the English Civil War, the Interregnum, and the Restoration (1642 – ). It ...

to the

2003 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship The 2003 NCAA Division I lacrosse tournament was the 33rd annual tournament hosted by the National Collegiate Athletic Association to determine the team champion of men's college lacrosse among its Division I programs, held at the end of the 200 ...

. Christmas is the head lacrosse coach for the De La Salle high school boys' lacrosse program.

Professional career

Christmas was selected by the Philadelphia Wings in the fifth round (49th overall) of the 2005 Entry Draft. In his first season, he played sparingly, only appearing in two games. Beginning with the 2007 season, Christmas saw his playing time increase by being on the field during defensive situations in order to take advantage of his speed in the transition game. In Week 3 of the

2008 NLL season The 2008 National Lacrosse League season, the 22nd in the history of the NLL, began on December 29, 2007, and concluded with the Buffalo Bandits winning the championship game over the Portland LumberJax on May 17, 2008. In an odd coincidence, all ...

, Christmas was awarded "Transition Player of the Week" honors Christmas was selected by the Boston Cannons in the first round (5th overall) of the 2005 MLL Collegiate Draft. He won the MLL Most Improved Player honors in his second season in the league, and appeared in the 2006 MLL All-Star Game. Christmas was named to Team USA in the 2007

World Indoor Lacrosse Championship The World Box Lacrosse Championship (WBLC), formerly known as the World Indoor Lacrosse Championship (WILC), is an international box lacrosse tournament sponsored by World Lacrosse that is held every four years. Since the first tournament in 2003 ...

s. The Wings announced that John Christmas would not play the 2009 season, instead taking the year to focus on establishing a non-profit organization in Philadelphia called ''L.E.A.P.S. (Lacrosse, Education, Attitude, Perseverance, Success).'' Christmas has worked as a volunteer assistant coach at Penn. He also runs 141 Lacrosse training to handle lacrosse camp counselin

Statistics

University of Virginia

NLL

MLL

Personal life

Johnny Christmas is of

Trinidadian Trinidadians and Tobagonians, colloquially known as Trinis or Trinbagonians, are the people who are identified with the country of Trinidad and Tobago. The country is home to people of many different national, ethnic and religious origins. As a ...

descent.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Christmas, Johnny 1982 births American lacrosse players Living people Major League Lacrosse major award winners Major League Lacrosse players People from Ardmore, Pennsylvania Sportspeople from Montgomery County, Pennsylvania Philadelphia Wings players Sportspeople from Pennsylvania Virginia Cavaliers men's lacrosse players

Professional career

Statistics

University of Virginia

NLL

MLL

Personal life

See also

References