As the weather thaws out, Hawk Lacrosse program heats up

Hazelwood Central High School provides girls with the opportunity to be involved in sports. In the spring, girls have only a few options for sports. Hazelwood Central offers soccer, lacrosse, and track and field.

Most girls are not familiar with lacrosse. This makes it very easy for girls to overlook this sport.

Lacrosse is a team sport played with a ball that is thrown and caught by a long stick having a curved net at one end. Players must use the lacrosse stick to cradle, pass, catch, and shoot the ball into a goal. The only person in lacrosse that is allowed to use their hands is the goalie. So, in order for you to get possession of the ball from the opposing team you must “check” the opposing team member by tapping your stick on theirs. This is how lacrosse can easily become an aggressive sport.

Lacrosse season starts after both soccer and track. The season stretches from March to May with an average of about 10 -15 games per season.

In February, the coaches start conditioning girls for the upcoming lacrosse season.

Some don’t realize how much lacrosse physically asks from it’s players. Not only in preseason conditioning but, also in practices and games, lacrosse players are expected to run for a significant amount of time, especially if you choose to be a midfielder.

Compared to primarily defense and offense players, midfielders have a very stressful job. They run the whole field nonstop playing both offense and defense. Midfielders sometimes run for a whole game, which lasts for two halves, each lasting 25 mins. So it is the coaches responsibility to prepare them for an actual game.

“Practices include a lot of running, stick handling, catching and throwing, more running, shooting drills, practicing plays, and more running,” said Aminata Niang, captain of the girls lacrosse team.

Ms. Greene, the head coach for the girls lacrosse team at Hazelwood Central High School, emphasizes catching and throwing just as much as endurance.

This is Ms. Greene’s second year coaching lacrosse. Even though she is fairly new to the game, she strives to help everyone as best as she can. Ms. Greene leaves no member behind and she gives everybody an opportunity to shine. Coach Greene’s most famous saying is “TURN DOWN FOR WHAT!”

Coach Harry was former head coach and is currently, assistant coach, and he is more familiar with rules and regulations. Harry enforces the competitive edge of the team. Coach Harry’s famous saying is “On the hop ladies!” which essentially means start running because in lacrosse you never walk.

“Our coaches are extremely dedicated and they want us to succeed just as much, or even more, than we do,” said Aminata Niang

For new people wanting to join, Coach Greene and Coach Harry look for athletes who are hardworking, respectful, and cooperative.

“Lacrosse takes patience. The skills required for lacrosse are different from most sports,” said Aminata Niang.

“The girls lacrosse team is fun, but it’s not easy,” said Tayla Whittley, who is fairly new to the lacrosse team.

Lacrosse is not always so stressful. Members take time to have team bondings to really get to know their teammates. This is proven to help the performance on the field. You become united with one another which means there is less arguing and more cooperation.

“One of my best memories from lacrosse last year when we beat Hazelwood East High School. I don’t know why but, it had always been a goal of mine to beat them because I  knew my team was more than capable,” said Niang.

One thing players feel can improve their lacrosse experience and their overall performance is the amount of encouragement and support from the entire school.

“We won a couple games last year so I am very excited to see what we are capable of in the 2019 lacrosse season. If I had to describe lacrosse in one word it would be AMAZING!” said Kayla Cobbs, one of the veterans on the team.