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For Addison- Student Spotlight on Tara Larson

By: Peggy Larson

Women’s Lacrosse is one of the fastest growing sports in the country. Colleges and universities across all divisions are starting new programs year after year. This is a great opportunity for young women to excel at this great sport with a long history in the United States.

While the smaller schools battle for acceptance in the NCAA rankings, so do their athletes in their respective conferences. Statistics are always a part of the game and accolades should rightfully go to those who excel at their sport. So too should those who strive for excellence and compassion off the field.

Unlike her parents, EC Women’s Lacrosse midfielder Tara Larson doesn’t really keep track of the goals she scores or the draws she wins.  Tara has been a leader since high school and she is a team player who leaves everything on the field each and every game. This year, however, Tara has a little bit more motivation to keep track of and improve her “goals scored” statistic.

On December 21, 2016, the Williams family of Pt. St. Lucie, Fla. lost a son to a tragic accident while on Christmas vacation in Wisconsin. Addison Williams, one of a set of triplets, fell 40 feet to his death at the age of 16.  Tara and Addison had been buddies since he and his brothers were 8 years old. They met when her brother, then in high school, was assigned to Addison’s family as a volunteer pal for his brother Brock who was born with a cleft lip and palate.  Tara and her family were regular volunteers at a craniofacial camp at Florida Atlantic University.  Addison was her favorite of the triplets.  Even though she was 4 years older than him, the family used to joke about them getting married someday, but he was more like a little brother. They shared many years of fun and compassion for the campers (all of whom had some kind of facial anomaly) at that FAU camp.  

When Tara heard of Addison’s passing she, like everybody else, was shocked, utterly saddened, and left with nothing but questions that are common with tragedies like this one. The biggest question was… WHY?!

Only God has the answer to that question. After attending Addison’s funeral in January, before returning to college, Tara decided that she would dedicate every goal she scored in her 2017 junior season to Addison and his family. She immediately wrote his name and her favorite scripture on the handle of her stick.

Her parents report the tally of goals to Addison’s mother every week. They are thankful and proud of Tara for keeping their son’s memory alive in such a positive way!

Tara finished her regular season leading the Conference Carolinas with 64 goals. This was also a record for Emmanuel’s Women’s Lacrosse program.   She also led the conference with 141 draw controls!

“It’s been amazing to get the reaction from his family,” Tara said. “To know that something as simple as lacrosse, something I do as a part of my daily routine can be that extra hope that someone needs to hear, that I’m doing this for him if that will get his mom through another day, that’s just everything to be able to do that.”