Competing With Purpose

At the time, Collegiate’s wide receiver/defensive back/team captain par excellence was a six-year-old kid who had bypassed flag football for the tackle version of the sport and was loving every minute of the experience.

 

“I remember the first game,” said the 6-2, 180-pound senior one morning recently. “I caught a pass from the quarterback — it was a little screen — and took it probably 60 yards. That’s where I really fell in love with the game and all the emotions that go with it.”

 

In time, he joined the East End Tigers and later the Central Virginia Hurricanes. When he transferred from Central Montessori School to Collegiate as a 7th grader, he continued to play travel football rather than participate in the Cougars’ Cub program, then moved directly to varsity as a freshman during the 2020 COVID fall, a season during which he rehabbed a surgically repaired right ACL and mostly watched the modified action from the sideline while gaining an understanding of the team’s expectations.

 

He played wide receiver for the Cougars as a sophomore, caught 25 passes for 484 yards and three touchdowns, and earned All-Prep League, All-VISAA, and All-Metro honors, then transferred to Varina as a junior in search of more challenging competition.

 

“My godbrother’s there,” Booker said, “so there was a family aspect to it. I talked about it a lot with my mom. It was an informed decision. Thought it was a good idea.”

 

After going through pre-season with the Blue Devils, he broke the ulna in his right arm, missed the first part of the season, then saw action in the last six games.

 

After reassessing his decision to leave Collegiate, he and his family reconsidered, and he returned for the second semester with the commitment to finish his high school career on North Mooreland Road.

 

He’s approached his final season with passion, diligence, and an uncommon work ethic.

 

“To see L.J. mature over the past three or four years has been awesome,” said head coach Collin McConaghy, whose team is 2-1 heading into tomorrow's Prep League game with Fork Union. “His growth has been through the roof. His play on the field has matched it as well. L.J.’s the standard of what you want kids to grow into.

 

“The hope is that when you put your best players on the field, they’re also your best leaders. That’s absolutely the case with L.J. He’s one of the first out to practice every day. He’s one of the last to leave. He’s a vocal leader. He’s the kid you can look to at all times. If you’re following him, you’re doing exactly what you should be doing.”

 

Through three games, Booker, one of several talented go-to receivers in the Cougars’ pass-heavy attack, has 10 receptions for 118 yards and two touchdowns, including a 50-yard, first-play strike from quarterback Jack Callaghan in a 41-0 victory over Goochland on Sept. 1.

 

That he’s a well-known threat who draws strong, intentional coverage hardly rattles him. Quite the opposite, actually.

 

“I don’t feel pressure at all,” he said. “That’s not how I view pressure. I might be nervous, which is good. I like feeling butterflies before I play. That’s how I know I’m hyped and ready to go.”

 

Booker attended a football camp at Wake Forest this past summer, then spent hours on end in the Kathy Watkinson Ivins Sports Performance Center on the Robins Campus and on the field with Callaghan and other receivers working on timing and chemistry and creating a culture that they hope will carry them through a demanding schedule.

 

“On the field, L.J. is 100 percent laser-focused,” said Callaghan. “He competes every single play whether it’s in practice or a game. He does his best, and he’s a team-first kid, which is what you want in a captain and a leader.”

 

While it’s no secret that Booker possesses talent, speed, and athleticism that he’s used to become a competitive sprinter and 23-4.25 long jumper (and VISAA runner-up in the spring of 2023) on Collegiate’s track team, his leadership is the attribute that he hopes will inspire his teammates.

 

“The way I try to lead,” he said, “is to get each player on the team to be the best version of himself.”

 

How does he do that?

 

“Encouragement,” he added. “If there’s a player who I know can play better, it’s getting him past where he is to become the best player he can be so we can be the best team we can be. It’s all encouragement and love.”

 

Predictably, Booker’s skill and leadership and the trajectory of his career have attracted the notice of college coaches. Since he first appeared on their radar, he’s received upwards of 15 offers, many from Division I signatories, some in Power 5 conferences.

 

His choice?

 

“I’m open right now,” he said. “I’m interested in any school that’s interested in me. I haven’t really narrowed my list down. I just want to be the best player that I can be in college. Ultimately, I want to go to the [National Football] League. That’s been the goal ever since I started playing football and fell in love with it.”

 

That said, the future is just that: the future.

 

Booker is now just focusing on the moment, enjoying his final fall wearing the Green and Gold, savoring time with teammates and coaches as they aspire to excellence, and enjoying the game that has been part of his being since those days on the sandlot in Richmond’s East End.

 

“I like the contact,” he said. “I like hitting people. I don’t mind being hit at all. Football is a place where I can be myself. It’s a place I can express myself. It’s a place where I can be free.”

~Weldon Bradshaw