Sol Kumin was a late bloomer in a few senses.
Kumin started playing lacrosse as a 10th-grader in Massachusetts and eventually was recruited by Dave Pietramala to play attack at Johns Hopkins.
After graduating and finding success on Wall Street — including starting his own hedge fund — Kumin found another passion in horseracing. A little over four years ago, he purchased his first horses. Now, he’s fresh off celebrating the 13th-ever Triple Crown with Justify, the horse of which he held a stake.
Kumin, vice chair of the US Lacrosse Foundation Board and an investor in the Premier Lacrosse League, shared with us his lacrosse journey.
How did you get into lacrosse?
I was a soccer goalie, and my school had a pretty good lacrosse team and no goalie. I was a decent athlete, so they threw me in the goal. I played goalie in 10th grade and didn’t love it. The next year, I ended up playing midfield. I picked it up quickly and I was a lefty. I had an unbelievable experience.
What’s your favorite memory from Johns Hopkins?
For the final four banquets, each coach picks one player to speak, and I was selected to speak on behalf of the Hopkins team. I remember looking at the four teams there, and we had beaten two of them earlier that season, and the other was in its first final four, Georgetown, so we were sitting in that room thinking we might actually win a national championship. Unfortunately, we lost to Virginia the next day, but it was a great experience, looking at your teammates and being selected to speak in front of everybody.
How did lacrosse help you on Wall Street?
I wasn’t an All-American in college, so you have to learn to work hard and be patient and push. There are a lot of lessons that helped me in life — learning how to be a good teammate, how to fight, how to compete.