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By Michael Flanagan
Hometown Weekly Sports Editor
Only the elite of the elite are able to attend the United State Military Academy in West Point, New York. The class schedule and grueling amounts of training that the cadets go through on a typical day at West Point is hard enough on its own.
Add in the time and physical commitment of playing a varsity sport at Army, and it’s a wildly busy, draining, yet fulfilling time.
Add in playing a second varsity sport, and the workload of said cadet seems almost unbearable.
But, don’t tell that to Needham’s Dalton MacAfee, who excelled on West Point’s men’s ice hockey and men’s lacrosse teams in 2016-2017 to go along with his regular training to become an officer in the US Army.
In order to take on the grind of playing two sports at one of the nation’s physically, mentally, and academically toughest institutions, MacAfee says that one needs to be disciplined and willing to put in the work at school and on their own time.
“I know it sounds cliché coming from a kid at West Point, but I believe it’s true. You need to be disciplined,” said MacAfee. “West Point is really a balancing act for all cadets with the academic, physical, and military requirements. Adding on two Division I sports makes my time all the more precious.”
So, how did MacAfee end up playing two sports at West Point? Let’s take it back - way back.
Dalton’s father, Ken, is a Brockton native and graduate of the University of Notre Dame (1978), where he was a standout tight end for the Irish as a three-time All-American and a recipient of the Walter Camp Player of the Year Award in 1977. MacAfee finished third in the Heisman voting in 1977 and ranks third all-time in receiving at Notre Dame. Ken MacAfee’s quarterback for the majority of his tenure in South Bend was none other than the great Joe Montana, so you can imagine that the classic Montana/Brady debate must be a fun topic of conversation in the MacAfee household.
And yes, Ken MacAfee was in South Bend for the Rudy years, something he’s definitely never been asked about before.
Following his senior season at Notre Dame, MacAfee was drafted seventh overall by the San Francisco 49ers. After two NFL seasons (1978-1979, 1979-1980) during which he caught 66 total passes and five touchdowns, MacAfee gave up football to enroll in dental school. After graduating from UPenn School of Dental Medicine in 1983, MacAfee set up and still runs his own practice in dentistry and oral surgery in Waltham (historical football rival of Brockton High School), of all places.
Which leads us back to Ken’s son, Dalton.
Following Dalton’s eighth grade year, the MacAfees moved from Medfield to Needham, and Dalton attended St. Sebastian’s. Upon his arrival at Seb’s, he was grouped up with a dream-like collection of talented young hockey players that in the future would become NCAA Division I stars and NHL prospects (Corey Ronan – UConn, Danny O’Regan – BU, San Jose Sharks, Noah Hannifin – BC, Carolina Hurricanes). MacAfee did pretty well himself as an Arrow, notching six goals and 37 assists throughout his Seb’s career and becoming one of the top two-way defenders and recruited players in the ISL.
Along with excelling at hockey, MacAfee also emerged as a standout midfielder for St. Sebastian’s lacrosse thanks to his speed and versatility, captaining the team his senior year. Originally, MacAfee committed to play lax at Notre Dame during his junior year. But instead, MacAfee opted to de-commit from his father’s alma mater and chose to attend Boston University on a hockey scholarship.
Dalton credits his father and his teammates at St. Sebastian’s as his biggest motivators.
“My biggest motivations in my life have been my father and my friends from Needham and Seb’s,” said MacAfee. “There are so many amazing athletes at Seb’s and we are constantly pushing each other to be the best athletes we can be, whether we know it or not.”
MacAfee also emphasizes that growing up in lacrosse hotbeds like Medfield and Needham, as well as being a part of a familial atmosphere at St. Sebastian’s, helped shape him into the man that he has become.
“Growing up and playing sports in Needham and Medfield was the reason why I went to St. Sebastian’s,” said MacAfee. “Seb’s taught me a lot about loyalty, being a part of a brotherhood, and looking out for your own. Seb’s, like West Point, is a very small community that puts a premium on taking good care of one another. I feel like the lessons I’ve learned at Seb’s have helped me be a great teammate in hockey and lacrosse, but will also help me become an officer in the Army and beyond.”
As a true freshman in 2013-2014, MacAfee played in 31 games for BU and led all freshmen in plus/minus. However, following his freshman season on Comm Ave, MacAfee left BU and elected to play junior hockey with future collegiate teammate Trevor Fidler on the South Shore Kings. After one season with the Kings in 2014-2015, MacAfee transferred to West Point to play hockey and lacrosse for the Black Knights. Under NCAA rules, MacAfee was forced to sit out the 2015-2016 hockey season as well as the 2016 lacrosse season.
In 2016, MacAfee made his debut on the ice for Army, a little over two full years after last lacing up his skates for BU. After earning AHA (Atlantic Hockey Association) Defender of the Week on November 15, MacAfee eventually worked his way up onto the Black Knight power play, where he notched one power play tally on the season and became one of the unit’s anchors. The one-time Terrier scored the game-winner in Army’s 4-2 win over Holy Cross on December 9 at home. MacAfee stayed true to his form of being a Crusader crusher, tallying a pair of assists in another 4-2 win over Holy Cross on February 18. MacAfee finished his sophomore season at Army with five goals, eight assists, and 55 shots on net while tying for fourth on the team in blocked shots (43) in 33 games played. Army finished the season at 18-14-5 (15-10-3 AHA), placing third in the conference and barely missing out on an NCAA Tournament bid.
Following the conclusion of hockey in March, MacAfee got right back after it and took the field with the Army lacrosse team for the 2017 season.
Despite battling mono for a significant portion of the season, MacAfee still was able to appear in three games for the Black Knights as a defensive midfielder. Army finished the season 12-4 and ranked No. 14 in the country, but because of the NCAA’s Tournament format having to give way to automatic bid conference champions, the Black Knights were left out of the field of 16.
It’s certainly a grind going from one sport to another in such a short period of time, and MacAfee acknowledges that he must take extra special care of his body in order to be able to suit up on the ice and on the lacrosse field.
“Discipline not only comes with balancing my classwork with practices and games, but also comes during the ‘offseason’ in the summer months,” said MacAfee. “Our summer military training takes me out of the weight room for a month or two while I’m out in the field, so it is important that I stay disciplined when home and to be in the gym as much as I can and eating the right things. It’s a grind going from the ice to the lax field, using different muscle groups and different skills. Throughout hockey season, I need to remind myself to pick up my lacrosse stick on Sundays and go shoot or play wall-ball and stuff like that.”
Reflecting back on his first year as a dual-sport athlete at Army, MacAfee has several favorite memories.
“My favorite moment on the ice at school this year was playing Bentley at Fenway, something I got to do when I played at Seb’s against Belmont Hill,” said MacAfee. “On the lacrosse field, it’s between playing in the Carrier Dome in front of thousands of people or our last game of the year when we beat Notre Dame in overtime in front of 13,000 people on national television.”
What Dalton MacAfee is doing down at West Point is hard to put into words. Coming from a family that has always represented the correct way of doing things both on and off the field, Dalton is making everybody in Needham and within the St. Sebastian’s community extremely proud. Nobody deserves better things to happen to him or her than this young man.
Best of luck to Dalton MacAfee as he enters his junior year at Army this fall, and thank you for your service.
For funny and incisive sports analysis, follow Mike Flanagan on his personal Twitter at @fLAno0, or read his blog at www.flannylive.wordpress.com.
