Aidan Santini is a standout attackman from the ADVNC Seattle Starz & ADVNC NDP 2026 team committed to play at Bryant University, starting this Fall.
Aidan, on one of his first ADVNC Seattle Starz teams.
Aidan was introduced to the game by his dad, Chris Santini, when Aidan first learned how to walk. “My dad grew up in upstate New York and played the game growing up and in college,” Aidan said. “So he gave me a stick when I was super young. I have just stuck with it. He was my coach growing up and taught me everything I know. I still remember scoring my first goal in our cul-de-sac on a little 3x goal with my little orange stick. I still have that stick.”
Both of Aidan’s parents played lacrosse growing up. Chris played in High School and in college at SUNY-Oswego. Aidan’s two uncles played in college at Stony Brook. His mom, Karen Santini, played through high school, growing up in Boston, and was a fan of the game when she attended UMass Amherst for college. Their family moved to Seattle in 2006, and Aidan was born in 2007.
“When we got out to Seattle, we couldn’t find a lacrosse goal anywhere,” Chris recalled. “But we quickly got one for the house, and we got Aidan his first stick when he was three years old. It didn’t seem like many people were familiar with the game. But there was a rec league team (Eastlake Youth Lacrosse) and I got recruited to coach Aidan’s team.”
Chris quickly became a leader in the Seattle lacrosse community. He coached Aidan’s team as well as some others. He started stringing many sticks for Aidan’s teammates.
That role has continued throughout Aidan’s lacrosse journey.
“Everyone calls him Coach Santini,” Aidan said. “So that just shows you how much of an impact he’s had on me and all my teammates. He’s grown the game a lot here in Seattle, and I don’t know where we’d be without him.”
Aidan, playing for one of the first ADVNC NDP Teams.
“That’s a huge compliment, though probably not fully deserved,” Chris Santini said, humbly. “My wife also deserves a lot of credit too. She has really supported Aidan and has sacrificed so he could play and we could travel. But I get an incredible amount of satisfaction watching all these kids grow up playing lacrosse, and now guys like Anthony Grassi, Landon Johnson, Myles Johnson, Cole Bell, Pierce Pape and a bunch of others are going onto play DI & DIII lacrosse. The whole journey has been a lot of fun.”
“The whole experience has been great,” said Karen Santini. “Chris has always been a huge proponent of having all the kids play wall ball. Years ago, we started a wall ball competition with all the players in this area. We are very inclusive of everyone. The top 10 kids who spend the most hours playing wall ball, all come over to our house for the Final Four on Memorial Day Weekend and we have a big spaghetti and meatball dinner that we cook. We will miss doing that when Aidan goes off to college.”
Aidan started playing with ADVNC Seattle Starz when he was 8 years old. His dad was his coach, along with Starz Director, Scott Kelly. Around that same time, ADVNC and Starz merged and Aidan tried out for and made ADVNC NDP.
Aidan with his longtime ADVNC coach, Tim O’Brien, after winning the championship at the Nike Nationals.
“Looking back at that first NDP Tryout down in California, I had my core group of teammates and friends from Seattle,” Aidan said. “And I got to meet a bunch of new players from Northern California as well. Our first tournaments were in Maryland. Crabfeast and Naptown. It was an amazing opportunity to be able to actually compete with the East Coast teams. We made it to the Final 16 and only lost to Team 91 Maryland by a goal. It was a ton of fun. Losing is awful, but I’ve always felt I learn more from losses than wins. I try to be like a goldfish and have a short memory. Take the disappointment and use it as motivation to work harder and get better.”
“It always seemed like they had ADVNC NDP playing that first 8am game on a Saturday morning in Maryland” Chris Santini said. “So the kids have flown overnight the day before, and are now waking up at 3am their time, and playing at 5am their time. It takes a special young man to handle that. They quickly become very dedicated athletes and they all learned a lot through doing that consistently.”
“Aidan has become a very responsible young man,” Karen Santini said. “It’s because of everything he went through, going back to being just 10-11 years old and flying back to the East Coast for these NDP Tournaments. “He was always so calm about the whole thing. He really wanted it. That experience has made him a better teammate. It has made him a very confident person. He’s very hardworking and very consistent with that work. And it’s because of all that travel and playing in such competitive tournaments with ADVNC.”
“Playing for ADVNC NDP has totally helped my development, both as a player and as a person,” Aidan said. “Playing with all those other good players is great. Iron sharpens iron. Everyone has the same goal and everyone is pushing each other to get better. That’s all I can ask for. I want to be pushed to be the best I can be.”
“If you’re constantly the best player on your team, you’re probably on the wrong team,” Chris
Karen and Chris Santini with Aidan at Eastlake High School’s college commitment ceremony.
Santini said. “And if your team is constantly the best team at the tournament, you’re probably at the wrong tournament. I think some of those lessons learned over the years were very hard and very tough on Aidan. But Aidan showed up at every ADVNC NDP Tryout. He never felt like he had already earned a spot. And every year, ADVNC would add new clubs to the mix and new players. As a family, we believe in competing for and earning spots on teams and playing time on those teams. So Aidan has constantly been competing for that. And he will continue to compete like that. Through that, he has learned how to be very resilient. And those are lessons that will serve him well not just in lacrosse, but in the rest of his life.”
“He learned all of that through ADVNC,” Karen Santini said. “His mental toughness is very strong. His coaches have always pushed him to push himself even harder. Having Tim O’Brien as his coach for many years was great. Tim pushed him but always really supported him and rooted for him. Aidan is a real team player. He does whatever his team needs to succeed. Competing at the level he’s been at is something that will serve him well for the rest of his life.”
ADVNC NDP 2026 team after their final tourney together, at Sandstorm.
Aidan had dreamed of playing DI college lacrosse since he was a little kid. “That’s always been my goal,” he said. “I’ve always watched the Final Four over Memorial Day Weekend and getting to play in that is always my goal. But from that first NDP team, I knew I had to work my hardest when no one was watching just to make that team. And then, through the years, I knew I had to work really hard to achieve my dream of playing at the DI level.”
When the college recruiting window opened up, Aidan had his eye set on playing DI lacrosse. He got interest from DI programs, but many of the ones he had interest in wanted to see him play more before offering him a spot on their team. So Aidan did what he has always done. He dug in, worked harder, and continued to believe in himself.
One of the schools that wanted to see Aidan play more was Bryant University. They invited him to come to their prospect camp in January.
“We took the redeye from Seattle to Boston, and it was 9 degrees when we landed,” Chris Santini said. “We drove down to Rhode Island and within the first 10 minutes, Aidan touched the ball three times and scored all three times. He showed up and put the extra work in, like he has always done. I think the resilience he learned from Coach O’Brien with ADVNC is probably what set him up best to perform in that environment.”
Aidan quickly got an offer from Bryant and accepted. “I really like the head coach, Brad Ross. He’s a great leader, and leads by example. You can see at their practices that he really knows what he’s talking about. They put in the extra effort. I want 100% effort all the time. Their facilities are super nice. They have a good indoor facility which is a must have up in New England. Their business school is really good. I want to study finance there and probably get my MBA after that.”
Aidan (right) with ADVNC 2025, Will Bufkin. The two will be teammates at Bryant University.
Looking back at the journey, the Santini’s are extremely proud of how Aidan handled the entire process. Aidan was faced with and overcame various challenges along the way. He had to overcome injuries. He had to study very hard to make sure his academic resume was good enough for the schools he was interested in to also have interest in him. He got stronger, both physically and mentally. He had to earn everything. Through it all, he believed in himself, he showed resiliency and he persevered. In doing all of that, he has developed into a stronger player and person.
With the journey to college now complete, the Santini’s have this advice for parents going through it. “Try to enjoy every minute and look at those stressful times as an opportunity for growth,” said Karen Santini. “It’s in those tough moments that growth happens for your son or daughter. Also, make sure they love it. Make sure you are listening to them. And try not to give too much feedback after games. Just say: great job, I love watching you play. It’s tough for them to be out there and go through all of this. Just be the person that encourages them and believes in them.”
“The player has to love the game and be willing to learn from the game,” said Chris Santini. “They have to sacrifice a lot. Aidan missed so many events with his friends. So many school dances and fun activities that other kids were doing. But if you want to play at a high level, those are sacrifices you must be willing to make. Wanting it is not enough, you have to really work for it.”
Through the years, Aidan has learned to love not only playing the game, but also watching. “You’ve got to be a student of the game,” he said. “Recently, I loved watching CJ Kirst play. He’s a dynamic attackman I look up to. And going back further, I like watching Myles Jones. I got my hat signed by him when I got to go to a MLL game, and he’s a great player and a great guy.”
With Aidan’s high school journey nearly complete, he has this advice for young players who aspire to follow in his footsteps. “There are two keys. One is just waking up every day and doing something to get better. Hitting the wall for 30 minutes. Then shoot the next day. But just always having a stick in your hand is big. The second thing is, just showing up. Life is all about showing up. The more times you simply just show up, the better you will get. You shouldn’t have excuses as to why you didn't practice.”