John Christmas (born August 16, 1982 in Ardmore, Pennsylvania) is an American retired lacrosse player. He played for the Philadelphia Wings of the National Lacrosse League and for the Boston Cannons of Major League Lacrosse.

Johnny Christmas
Born (1982-08-16) August 16, 1982 (age 42)
Ardmore, Pennsylvania
NationalityAmerican
Height6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight200 pounds (91 kg)
ShootsBoth
PositionAttack
NLL draft49th overall, 2005
Philadelphia Wings
NLL teamPhiladelphia Wings
MLL teamChesapeake Bayhawks
NCAA teamUniversity of Virginia
Pro career2006
CoachDe La Salle High School
NicknameNOSOTROS

Christmas played at the University of Virginia from 2002 to 2005, where he was a two-time USILA All-American and two-time All-ACC selection, and helped lead the Cavaliers to the 2003 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship.

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

Professional career

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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, Christmas was awarded "Transition Player of the Week" honors[1]

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 Championships.[2]

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).[3]

Christmas has worked as a volunteer assistant coach at Penn.[4] He also runs 141 Lacrosse training to handle lacrosse camp counseling.[1]

Statistics

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University of Virginia

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Season GP G A Pts PPG GB
2002 15 29 15 44 2.93 33
2003 17 36 12 48 2.82 34
2004 12 11 10 21 1.75 15
2005 14 19 20 39 2.79 21
Totals 58 95 57 152 2.62 103
    Regular Season   Playoffs
Season Team GP G A Pts LB PIM GP G A Pts LB PIM
2006 Philadelphia 2 1 1 2 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2007 Philadelphia 14 4 2 6 51 10 0 0 0 0 0 0
2008 Philadelphia 13 5 20 25 61 10 0 0 0 0 0 0
2010 Philadelphia 11 8 9 17 34 10 0 0 0 0 0 0
NLL Totals 40 18 32 40 115 20 0 0 0 0 0 0
    Regular Season   Playoffs
Season Team GP G 2ptG A Pts LB PIM GP G 2ptG A Pts LB PIM
2005 Boston 7 5 0 3 8 4 8.5 1 0 0 0 0 1 0
2006 Boston 12 21 0 16 37 22 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 0
2007 Boston 12 24 1 19 44 12 1.5 - - - - - - -
2008 Boston 11 13 0 15 28 21 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 0
2009 Boston 7 5 0 2 7 3 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
2010 Chesapeake 3 2 0 2 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 0
MLL Totals 49 68 1 53 124 52 12 3 1 0 0 1 1 0

Personal life

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Johnny Christmas is of Trinidadian descent.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Zywicki named Player of the Week". NLL.com. January 16, 2008. Retrieved 2008-01-28.
  2. ^ "Six Wings Named To Team USA Roster". Wingslax.com. March 21, 2007. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved 2008-01-28.
  3. ^ "Christmas Decides to Not Play in 2009". Wingslax.com. December 5, 2008. Archived from the original on December 11, 2008.
  4. ^ "PennAthletics Bio: John Christmas". pennathletics.com. Feb 1, 2010. Archived from the original on 2011-07-19.