He picked up his stick and his ball and he played with a Bounce Back in his yard.

At 4 a.m.

In the snow.

On Tuesday, Pleasant Valley’s Matt Hallenbeck signed a letter of intent to play lacrosse for Division 1 Wagner College in Staten Island, New York.

“Eight years ago, I gave up soccer to play lacrosse just for the fun of it,” he said.

What began as fun — and led to him throwing a ball in the snow against a wall and catching it with his stick — eventually earned Hallenbeck’s selection to the Brine All American National Lacrosse Team and Second Team All Eastern Pennsylvania Conference honors.

“I really like the game because it’s a healthy mixture of physical play, communication and technique,” said Hallenbeck. “I’m always learning and trying to improve my footwork.”

Bears’ coach, Vincent Arezzi, explained that Hallenbeck’s success was the result of the amount of work and effort his senior defender put in to make himself an elite laxman.

“Matt is not only a very physical player, his lacrosse IQ is very high,” Arezzi said. “He knows the game inside out.”

Arezzi, who coached Hallenbeck before high school, actually turned Hallenbeck from a midfielder into a defender by circumstance.

“We were playing a team with a really good player we couldn’t stop,” recalled Arezzi. “I was looking for someone to stop the kid and Matt took up the challenge and did a great job.”

Speaking of stopping a team’s best player, Hallenbeck recalled a game against Allentown Central Catholic in which his assignment was to stop their two-time league MVP.

“I shadowed a Cornell University commit that day,” he said. “I was able to hold him to just a couple of assists. I had to play very physical to turn him back and get him to change direction.”

Pleasant Valley lost that game and finished its season with a 5-13 record, which according to Arezzi, made Hallenbeck’s level of performance even more impressive.

“Matt never got worked up with wins and losses,” Arezzi said. “He played like a winner every game, and that’s a measuring stick when a player can perform at a high level despite his team’s record.”

Dawn Hallenbeck, Matt’s mother, felt the rewards were worth her son’s dedication to lacrosse.

“I’m very proud of Matt,” she said. “All of his efforts in high school and our club team travels to Maryland and Florida, where he sometimes played five games a day, brought us to this day of his signing.”

Hallenebeck said he will enjoy the 20-minute ferry ride to Wagner’s campus, where he intends to major in finance.

“Their lacrosse program is emerging,” he said. “They began with a no-win season. Then they won three games, and now they’re trying to get to .500.”

Matt Hallenbeck will emerge with the Wagner Seahawks next year, and no one should be surprised to see him playing with his Bounce Back in the snow in his yard when he comes home during next winter’s vacation.