Just about nine years after Joey Spallina first garnered national attention for his flurry of trick shots at Major League Lacrosse’s All-Star Game festivities in 2011, the now-junior in high school found himself again at the center of the lacrosse world.

Spallina sat with his family in front of Mount Sinai (N.Y.) High School on the eve of Sept. 15, ready to announce where he would be verbally committing to college. The buzz was palpable as thousands of eager lacrosse enthusiasts checked into Instagram Live broadcasts of the event to see where Inside Lacrosse’s No. 1 recruit in the Class of 2022 would commit.

He was quick and to the point in reading his prepared statement. He thanked his family, friends, coaches and all those who reached out during recruitment. But it was a foregone conclusion. Spallina, who grew up idolizing Casey Powell and the famed No. 22, chose to follow in Powell’s footsteps and play for Syracuse.

“I was honored when [Syracuse] called me,” Spallina said a few days after the announcement. “Growing up, that was my dream school. Being given the chance to wear 22 and play in the Dome was something that I’ve been dreaming about since I was a kid.”

Lacrosse has been Spallina’s life since birth. The son of Stony Brook women’s lacrosse coach and former New York Lizards coach Joe Spallina, the crafty attackman has spent more time around college and professional teams than anyone else in his class.

He gravitated toward Rob Pannell, Will Manny and his uncle, Brian Spallina, while taking part in Lizards practices as a future lacrosse prodigy. Even at a young age, Spallina was able to analyze and absorb skills and tips from lacrosse’s best. For that reason, those who describe him can’t simply make a player-to-player comparison. He’s a blend of the best parts of countless stars.

“From a young age, I was running around at Lizards games and practices and playing with those guys,” he said. “It’s obviously good because a stick is in my hand pretty much every day. Growing up and being around the game with my dad being a coach, I was learning pretty much every day, and that’s a reason why my lacrosse is IQ is high. I just thank my dad every day. Without him, I don’t really know where I’d be. He has helped me so much through this process and through my lacrosse career.”

Spallina first caught national attention in 2011 as an 8-year-old at the MLL’s All-Star Game Freestyle Competition. Lizards star Stephen Berger, known around the league as one of the most fun-loving athletes in the sport, wanted to include Spallina in his performance.

The idea of a time machine was birthed. Spallina, a wide-eyed kid with a smile from ear-to-ear, began the set with a flurry of trick shots — some of which the pros might have even struggled to execute so precisely. He finished with what he called “Berger’s shot,” a diving backhand flick in front of the crease.

Then, after recovering from the turf, Spallina ran into a circle of MLL All-Stars. Berger emerged seconds later and finished the performance with his own jumping, under-the-legs goal.

Paul Rabil, who jumped over the hood of a car, would take home the top prize in the event. But it was little Joey Spallina who stole the show and earned a spot at No. 10 on “SportsCenter’s” Top 10 Plays that night.

“I thought, this could be a cool way to not only showcase myself, but also the spirit of the game,” Berger said. “We just went with it. I think the first time we practiced it was maybe that morning at the facility.

“He was flawless. Giving credit all to him, he stole that moment from me.”

His demeanor was a precursor of things to come. Spallina, who would eventually play up on the famed Team 91 2020 Crush team featuring Brennan O’Neill, never let the spotlight or fanfare get to him.

“It was amazing. He was never nervous,” Joe Spallina said. “There he is, it’s All-Star Weekend. It was like 15,000 people at Harvard Stadium, and he was never nervous. I remember feeling that I was going to get sick. I’m looking at him, and he’s just smiling. He was just so calm, cool and collected. I think at that point, for him to handle that spotlight at that age, he’s a flatliner. The pressure never got to him.”

If Spallina seems like a player who has been groomed to succeed at the next level, that’s because he has been. An intense drive combined with a successful coach for a father means Spallina is all lacrosse, all the time.

His days start at 5 a.m. at the gym. Some days, he and his siblings head to Port Jefferson’s Pirate’s Cove, where they run large, rolling dunes. Spallina will sometimes conquer them with a weighted vest. As if that’s not enough, he also boxes four days a week.

“Full disclosure, I could be better at times,” Joe Spallina said about balancing the relationship between being Joey’s father and coach. “I hold him to such a high standard at everything. Excellence is what we strive for, but you’re never going to be perfect with everything. I’m usually the one telling him he’s not doing something today, instead of telling him to go do it. Sometimes, my wife and I have to protect him from him.”

Excellence is a shared goal.

“He tells me every day to be the hardest worker in the room, and that’s what I try to do every single day,” Joey Spallina said. “Me and my dad, we get up at like 5 a.m. and we go to the gym and we run the dunes. He is always pushing me to become better, which I love.”

The hard work molded Spallina into the most coveted recruit in his class. He narrowed down the list of offers to five schools — Syracuse, Loyola, North Carolina, Maryland and Virginia.

He chose Syracuse both because of the childhood dream and because of Syracuse’s commitment to letting him play his style of game. An incredibly unselfish attacker, Spallina also has never met a shot or angle he doesn’t like. He’s not the strongest or most physical, but he knows how to use his 5’10”, 180-pound frame to bully defenders.

“I’ll watch him take shots that anybody else on the team, it would be a bad shot. When Joey takes it, it goes in,” said Sal LoCascio, a National Lacrosse Hall of Famer and coach of the Team 91 2022 Smash. “Everybody knows they can’t cover him one-on-one. I’ve watched team after team try to shut him off with two guys. I’ve watched teams try to design zone defenses against him, and it doesn’t matter. He finds a way to make plays that win games.”

LoCascio said he’s far more than just the goal-scoring highlights, although there are countless examples of them on social media. He’s persistent on the ride and doesn’t give an inch when there’s a ball on the ground. He sees passing lanes before his teammates or defender realize they’re available. By all accounts, he’s as unselfish as they come.

“From afar, what you see is behind the back and between the legs,” LoCascio said. “That is such a shallow interpretation of what Joey is. Does he have to be the guy that scores? No. Does he have to have the assist? No. Joey cares about winning, and it’s infectious on the team.”

LoCascio added that Syracuse is getting “a gem.”

“Now that I’ve committed, I feel like the work is just beginning,” Spallina said. “I have to work even harder. It certainly does not stop or slow down now. I have to represent the program and the tradition of the program.”

Perhaps the next great Syracuse star seemed destined for greatness on that night in 2011. Berger recognized it, and astute fans in attendance must have certainly realized something special was happening on the field.

“I remember one of my last days on Long Island asking him for an autograph,” said Berger, who played for the Lizards from 2005-11 and then again in 2013. “I was like, ‘I’m going to be old and watching you ball out. I want to have one of your first signatures.’ I did get him to sign a ball for me. I can’t wait to see where this game takes him and where he takes this game.”