How Colin Clive Inspired Tom Schreiber's PLL MVP Season

A dying friend reminded Tom Schreiber why he loves lacrosse, the Premier Lacrosse League MVP said Saturday upon accepting the award at a ceremony before the PLL quarterfinals in Foxborough, Mass.

During a 15-month stretch in which he has competed for two U.S. national teams, had his most prolific National Lacrosse League season with the Toronto Rock and led Archers to the top seed in the PLL playoffs, Schreiber said the professional lacrosse grind had taken a toll on him.

Schreiber’s perspective changed, however, after he spent time earlier this summer with Colin Clive, his former St. Anthony’s (N.Y.) High School teammate who died July 3 after a five-year battle with cancer.

“It was a pretty stark reminder of what it’s all about and how lucky we are to be able to do this,” said Schreiber, who also earned the PLL’s midfielder of the year and leadership awards. “Thinking about Colin’s impact on me, it wasn’t his death, but it was the way he lived. That struck a chord with me and turned things around. I gained a new appreciation for playing this game — one that I that I lost sight of for a pretty long time —and I started enjoying playing again.

“Turning that around means more to me than this or any of these awards. And this will forever be a reminder of a great group of guys that I got to play with — that got us to an 8-2 record in 10 games — and a damn good friend that I’ll never forget.”

“It was a pretty stark reminder of what it’s all about and how lucky we are to do this.” @TomSchreiber26 speaks on the ups and downs of his season and how his late friend renewed his love for the game pic.twitter.com/cTPw4taNEl

— Archers Lacrosse Club (@PLLArchers) September 5, 2023

A former two-time Major League Lacrosse MVP with the Ohio Machine, Schreiber is the first three-time MVP in professional field lacrosse. He led all PLL midfielders with 37 points on 18 goals (including a pair of 2-pointers) and 17 assists. Cannons attackmen Marcus Holman and Asher Nolting (the league’s top two scorers), Chaos goalie Blaze Riorden and Atlas faceoff specialist Trevor Baptiste were the other PLL MVP finalists.

Schreiber expanded on his friendship with Clive during a recent interview with the Long Island Lacrosse Journal. Ronnie Schneider, the mother of former St. Anthony’s and Johns Hopkins goalie Eric Schneider, has organized a fundraiser called “Strive for Clive” as part of the March On for Brain Injury campaign. Clive is the honoree of an event this Saturday at Eisenhower Park in East Meadow, N.Y., which is Schreiber’s hometown.

Coming off a bye week as the top seed in the PLL playoffs, Archers plays Redwoods in the first of two semifinals Sunday at Shuart Stadium in Hempstead, N.Y. The full text of Schreiber’s PLL MVP remarks appears below.

TOM SCHREIBER ON COLIN CLIVE

This has been kind of a strange season for me personally. I had some injuries early on. I played in the world games coming right off of box. I found myself earlier this year doing a whole bunch of complaining. The only person who really knows is my wife, Kathleen. I had a couple hard days and I didn’t enjoy playing.

There’s a friend of mine I played with at St. Anthony’s High School named Colin Clive. Played at Siena College and then for Team England. Diagnosed with brain cancer five years ago. Lost both of his parents unexpectedly within a five-day span about two years into it. Had no family beyond that. He passed away in July, right after the world games, while I was at the peak of my pity party.

In his last few days before his passing, I got to spend some time with him. It was a pretty stark reminder of what it’s all about and how lucky we are to be able to do this. In thinking about Colin’s impact on me, it wasn’t his death, but it was the way he lived. That struck a chord with me and turned things around. I gained a new appreciation for playing this game — one that I that I lost sight of for a pretty long time —and I started enjoying playing again.

For me personally and for all you guys who I’m sure have gone through ups and downs playing this game, turning that around means more to me than this or any of these awards. And this will forever be a reminder of a great group of guys that I got to play with — that got us to an 8-2 record in 10 games —and a damn good friend that I’ll never forget. Thank you.