By MICHAEL GUARRACI
For most people, a broken back is at least a season-ending injury, if not a life-changing setback.
But for Penn Kingsmen Lacrosse player Dylan Domalewski, it’s a challenge that can’t deter him from a very successful high school career.
Since his freshman year, Domalewski has been fighting fractured L4 and L5 bones in his back. This restraining injury didn’t stop Domalewski, a Junior, from being a leader for the Kingsmen offense while putting up consistent numbers to contribute to the team’s success.
Despite his injury, Domalewski excels at blowing by defenders with explosive lateral quickness.
Teammate defensive midfielder Carter Minix describes Dylan as “One of the best dodgers on the team and a great leader for the program.”
Domalewski’s ability to dodge combined with his deep knowledge of the game allows for him to create many open shots for himself and teammates.
Domalewski is in the top five in the state in takeaways with 12 in seven games, while also averaging two goals a game.
Fight through the back injury and still consistently put up good numbers is remarkable.
“It took a lot of hard work on top of all of the training I was doing,” Domalewski said of his success. “I was at physical therapy twice a week on top of going to practice.”
Domalewski showed clear dedication to his craft by not only showing up every day, but also putting in the extra work to ensure he could be back on the field as soon as possible.
As someone who has played the sport for years, Domalewski’s experience shows in the way he plays and interacts with teammates.
Fitting to his extroverted personality, Domalewski describes his favorite part of lacrosse as “getting to spend time with the boys,” which is a mindset that contributes to the positive energy he brings to the team on top of his drive to play through injury.
For Domalewski, continuing to play on his broken back does not risk worsening his back in the long term. Knowing this, he chooses to play through pain everyday so he can continue to play on a
team he has put so much into. Going into this 2026 season. Dylan Domalewski is a name to be looking out for as the team is aiming for a top 10 position in the state. Domalewski and the team are
ready to put in the work and go to battle together.
