Thrown Into the Game (Literally): My First Time Trying Lacrosse
cover photo off https://jenkslacrosse.com/
By: Olivia Cannon
I have never once played lacrosse but it has always been something that intrigued me ever since I was an elementary kid. My practice has overlapped with the highschool boys lacrosse team since I was in 4th grade running track. Watching them practice I always thought that it looked like something I, as a very competitive kid who loved playing sports, would have so much fun doing, but I never knew how to join or had the time in my overly busy schedule.
Although I spent hundreds of practices watching them I don't actually know much about the sport but what I do kow are the horror stories and battle scars from my friends who play - like the one who needed stitches in her forehead after some game where a girl smacked her with her stick and was left with a concussion. I haven't played a game with any type of ball since fourth grade, I have no hand eye coordination,and I can't catch a ball without flinching, but I do run track so at least I can run from the ball.
So, obviously my first lacrosse experience should be at a random practice in the middle of lacrosse season with the best high school girls lacrosse team in the state (Jenks girls lacrosse team has won state almost every single year). The only thing I was hoping was not to die and maybe live out elementary aged me dreams of joining in on one of their practices.
For my first ever lacrosse practice I pulled into the mostly empty parking lot thirty minutes early at 5:30, because I hate being late, and the very minimal instructions given to me by Marenn Wood who only said “Middle school track 6 o'clock. I'll bring you extra geer.” as she walked backwards away from me just this morning. As I waited for people to show up I thought of those hard yellow balls that would be getting chucked at my face. Slowly people started getting to practice one at a time so at 5:40 I decided that now would be a good time to go talk to the coach who has no clue who I am or that I would be showing up and hoping to play because I was also told he doesn't check his email so it would be best to just show up and ask for permission there.
So I started my walk down the long driveway to the track wearing a too big t-shirt, carrying an empty water bottle, and progressively becoming more nervous the closer I got to the gate of the track. Luckily when I got there I immediately saw someone I knew so I wouldn't be in this completely alone. With Emma Peoples help I found the coach, Charles Porter who was kind enough to let me join for the day.
Picture of Lacrosse gear from "GHENT Lacrosse" a website that sells gear (luckily I did not have to borrow someone's mouth guard)
Peoples, who is a junior on the team, gave me a crash course, so I wouldn't be completely clueless out there. I used Peoples stick because Woods had not arrived yet. The first thing she tried to teach me was cradling, this is how you make sure the ball doesn't fall out while you are running down the field. To cradle you have one hand at the top and one hand at the bottom and you hold the stick diagonally and rock it back and forth (I was really bad at this). The ball kept flopping out and landing pathetically by my feet. The next thing she taught me was scooping which is how you pick up the ball when it is on the ground because apparently how I was using my hands is against the rules. Scooping is very easy.
By now woods has shown up and given me my very own stick to use for the day and cage google to protect my eyes. The cage goggles made it very hard to see anything but Peoples moved on to teaching me how to throw luckily twitch was surprisingly easy but catching was a disaster. People launched the ball directly at my net and I still failed to catch it every time as it bounced out repeatedly or just completely missed it, and had to go chase it down, luckily that gave me lots of time to practice my scooping.
My horrible catching skills attracted the attention of Ruby Robinson who tried to help me learn by explaining that I needed to have my stick stretched forward and then as the ball inters followed it back into a cradle position. She then had Emma throw her the ball and did some expert looking catch and spinning the net which I already knew I would not successfully complete. After several more failed attempts at catching it's almost time for practice to start, what little confidence I had at the start of this is gone and I'm regretting showing up.
And then came the shoe problem.
“You don't have cleats,” Peoples said. Both her and Robinson were staring at my tennis shoes while I looked at them confused. Robinson then explained that if they step on your foot with their cleats and I dont have anyone it could lead to me with a broken toe. So with the fear of broken toes I very happily accepted Robinsons extra pair of cleats.
While walking back to all the bags, I watch as coach Porter drops a pile of pool noodles and is immediately swarmed by girls who are racing to grab one as they begin an epic lightsaber fight. I watch them confused about what would be happening with pool noodles and coming up with the worst case scenarios.
It is now six o'clock and practice is starting. The first thing we did was line up on the fifty and do dynamic stretching, which is moving stretches all of which I already knew frome track. Next we went down to the goal line for the running drills where you run to the line they tell you and then back pedal back to the start which means you will run backwards on your way back to the start line.We did this to the twenty three times, to the fifteen twice and then one time to the ten. We sprinted all the way to the 50 and turned around and sprinted back. At this point my calves are tight and my lungs are burning. I'm starting to break a sweat but I'm fighting to seem like that was no big deal because that will definitely be the only thing I'm slightly good at this whole practice.
After a very short water break we are lining up single file on either side of the goal with our weird goggles on and our sticks in hand. We are told to sprint ten meters to the first cone turn like we are psyching out our guard and back peddle towards the next cone while you catch a ball that is being thrown at your frome the goalie and then jog to the back of line. “What do I do if I don't catch it?” I asked Woods knowing that I would not be able to, lucky for me I would not have to chase after the ball and I would instead just run back to the line that will definitely save me some embarrassment.
I watched as the line in front of me got shorter and everyone took three tuns running out almost all catching the ball and running back in and then it was my turn and i ran out turned and completely missed the ball watched it thump pathetically to the ground and begin rolling away as I jogged back into line. On my way to the back of the line I watched as everyone in line stuck the end o there stick out for woods to smack hers against as she ran by expertly cradling the ball back in line I learned that the smacking sticks was a way of saying good job, and secretly hoped that I would be able to catch at least one ball so I can get a stick smack. I had to do the catching practice two more times and on the last one the ball flew into my net I had it for a second but then just as quickly as it flew in it also flew out and was on the ground rolling away from me but I wasn't going to let it get away so i chased after it scooped it up and ran back to line with my ball. I did not get a stick smack for this though.
Next they added another steep so after catching the ball you would throw it to someone standing on the 35 and they would run back to line and you would become the catcher. I watched as the people in front of me effortlessly caught the ball and threw it to the next person who caught the ball and it all worked in a perfect fluid system until it was my turn I ran out tried to catch the ball missed scooped it off the ground tried to throw it t woods and instead completely missed her andsent her running in the other direction to get it while i ran to catch the new ball and also missed and had to run back to the line embarrassed after ruining the whole flow of the drill. I then had to do this two more times and I am very reddy to be done but was just informed that i had only made it through the first thirty minutes of practice and that it is not over until eight o'clock.
They then added another person so now the person on the 35 will throw to a person on the 50. I watched again as everyone in front of me ran through this drill in a fluid motion until it was my turn and I ran out there like an elephant and threw off the whole process from the first part where I missed the catch and turned to woods on the 35 with no ball and as she chased after the ball i was supposed to have caught I went to the 35 to catch the ball coming towards me and agin missed and chased went to chase after it so at least woods would have the chance to catch one ball but woods also followed after it and after a failed attempt at scooping i picked up the ball with my hands and tossed it at wood who did not catch my horrible throw. I then had to do that two more times, turning their perfect fluid drill cycle into a train wreck every time.
For the sake of my dignity and everyone else around me in line I was very thankful that that was the end of this but also dredging what was next knowing it had to have something to do with the pool noodles. I was very rightfully scared because I had to line up while twelve people formed a pool noodle tunnel where you started with the ball and ran through the tunnel and towards the goal and tried to shoot a goal while someone with a big pad slams into you. This was actually not that hard. I did not make a goal but I did not get murdered. I do think that the pool noodle people were going easier on me than the other people because the actual people on the team were getting smacked very hard. The next time there was a ball in the middle of the tunnel that you had to scoop while running through the tunnel and on my try I ran and failed to scoop so stopped in the middle of the tunnel and while getting smacked by pool noodles had to scoop up the ball.
After the pool noodle tunnel which I was very glad to be done with, the defense practised their plays and I sat with offense watching the defenders shout numbers and peoples names as they ran around in what looked to me like random directions but apparently was perfectly designed plans. After that the team was split for a scrimmage and my very important job was benchwarmer. The team had two more players then they needed so I gotta watch the scrimmage with two other players who kept getting switched out.
I watched, clueless about what was going on and who had the ball. I listened as my fellow benched teammates enthusiastically talked about how beautiful that goal was. I did not see the goal nor did I think that it would have been beautiful but I just nodded everytime someone said something like this.
Finally practice was almost over and it was time for a team meeting. We all sat in the field in a circle and then went around the circle and said one person we thought who did well at practice today. Although I did never get a good job stick smack both Peoples and Robinson chose me as their person they thought did a good job.
At the end of the circle the coaches gave a speech summing up practice and preparing them for the next day. “I enjoyed watching you have fun together today. I know going through the gauntlet with all the noodles can be intimidating but you had fun.”, coach Weikle said, “I want you to remember that this game is about having fun together as a team,”.
Finally it was time to leave and I walked the long driveway away from the track with a group from the team. The sun was setting and the whole walk was filled with joking and laughs echoing around. The lacrosse team was super welcoming and made me feel like part of the team even when I was messing up their drills.
Practicing with the lacrosse team was a very fun experience and definitely lived up to little mes dreams. If for some insane reason you thought this sounded fun and would actually like to give it a try yourself there practices start in february and they normally post a tryouts signup link on their instagram page @jenksladylacrosse in november or on there website https://jenkslacrosse.com/.
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