All You Need Is Lax 💙

Hello! Since I just started this blog I thought it would be good to do an introduction of sorts, so that you can get to know me. My name is Ali, I’m 19 years old and a freshman in college. I started playing lacrosse the summer after sixth grade. My parents made me go to a camp being held at our high school because my little brother wanted to go to basketball camp and they didn’t want him there by himself. Since lacrosse camp was the same week they told me it was just like soccer (which I had been playing basically since I could stand), bought me a stick and some goggles, then threw me out on the field. That week was probably the most terrifying week of lacrosse I’ve ever had, but at the end I got “Most Improved” and I was hooked. 

My town has always had a large boys lacrosse program, but the spring of my seventh grade year we finally had enough interest for a girls program. Since I had just stopped playing club soccer in the spring, I decided to join the team. I had played soccer with a lot of the girls, and we were all learning how to catch the ball, so it worked out nicely. For the two years I played in our youth league, I played middie. I’m fast and tall, so I was able to just outrun the other girls. My coaches thought I’d be good at the draw, but I’m not aggressive enough on the ball to be effective there. That’s still true to this day. 

My freshman year of high school, I made the JV team. I played middie for most of the season, but my coach decided that I would be better as a defensive wing. Because I was tall and fast, my job was to basically slow down fast breaks until my team could catch up. I fell in love with the position. Defense doesn’t get nearly the glory that attack players do, but the feeling of holding off a settled attack lasts longer than the feeling of scoring a goal.

My sophomore year I made Varsity, and while I wasn’t the worst on the team, I definitely wasn’t the best. That was such a learning year for me, because I was able to work first hand with players that I really looked up to. 

Junior year was really when I buckled down and started putting in the time for the sport. After soccer season ended, I ran indoor track just to stay in shape (I hate track with a burning passion. It’s a family thing). After track ended, I stayed after school every day, playing wallball and pass and taking shots whenever I could. I put in so many hours, and it really paid off going into the spring season. I will say this many times over... Off season is everything! Junior year was when I started getting more and more playtime, and I was soaking up knowledge like a sponge when it came to defending the goal.

Senior year I was honored to be Captain of our team, along with the other two seniors, an attack player and a goalie. Between the three of us we had leadership all over the field, and we worked together wonderfully. I really found my confidence, and it definitely paid off. We ended up going to playoffs, losing our first-round game by only 3 points. 

I now play for my university’s club team (we don’t have a varsity team up here). I’m still learning more and more, because in high school we played a man-to-man defensive line and the team I play for now plays Zone. Our regular season games are just about to start, and I’m excited to gain those experiences. Feel free to ask me any questions, I’m always willing to talk! What was your first lacrosse experience like?