It's more than a sport

Let’s go back a few years to middle school.

We just finished basketball season and everyone is talking about soccer tryouts. Sure, I played rainbow soccer but I was no good. I had tried softball but didn’t love it. Even though I’m a runner now, you absolutely could not get me to be on the track team in the 7th grade.

Lacrosse was the only other option but I had no clue what it was?

As my grandma likes to say, “It looks like you’re catching butterflies with a net.” Sure, we’ll go with that one.

I thought ‘What the heck’ and showed up to tryouts. Let me tell you that I didn’t love running (at the time), but now I was supposed to run with a stick in my hand and cradle the ball back and forth without it falling out?

I laugh thinking of how silly I was in 7th grade but deciding to try out for the girl’s lacrosse team changed my life in so many ways.

I got hooked so fast and fell in love with a sport that holds many memories dear to me. Being on the team in 7th and 8th grade was a time of learning but I grew to love the sport. Once I was hooked, I knew that I wanted to play outside of the school team which meant I needed to find a club team.

Just like volleyball and basketball, lacrosse has its own travel club team. Lacrosse is well-known up North and was only beginning to make its debut in the South, however that didn’t stop me from finding a club team.

In the 8th grade I joined a team called Carolina Fever, also often referred to as “Fever”. Not only would I attend my middle school and high school practices, but I would then drive 30 sometimes 45 minutes, depending on traffic, to Cary for club practice. This club team was composed of girls all around the Triangle who wanted to compete at a higher level and grow in their abilities and skills. Fever has teams varying of different ages and levels but is known to send many athletes to play at Division I, II and III levels.

While I had no idea how far I wanted to go with the sport, I enjoyed playing against the competition and there was something about lacrosse that brought me pure joy.

I’ll never forget freshman year tryouts. I had played all summer and wanted nothing more than to be on the varsity team. Scared. Intimated. Determined. Anxious. I could not tell you how happy I was to be told that I had made the varsity team.

This excitement only gets better. After a season of home and away games, we had made it to the state championship. And…HAD WON IT!

I still get the chills thinking about that day.

If you couldn’t tell by now, I am quite the competitive one. Winning isn’t everything, but it sure does feel good after you’ve worked your butt off and have left it all on the field.

My sophomore year was a transition year for our high school team. Our best player had graduated and gone off to play at UNC. What I thought would be a rebuilding year, turned out to be a great one for our team; once again making it far into the playoffs and being recognized.

I won’t bore you and go through each year but let me tell you the bond I had with my high school team and Carolina Fever teams were indescribable. I had never met girls who were so determined and had similar goals.

In fact, after several years I had it in mind that I wanted to play at the college level. Naturally, I continued to play Fever and went to tournaments all over the State to play against top tier teams and have college coaches watching.

Some of my fondest memories are driving to Maryland and D.C. with my dad and spending all weekend playing back-to-back games. I’ll never forget debriefing after every game and him telling me what I had done well and where I could improve. I remember getting so annoyed when he would call me by my middle name and say things on the sidelines, but let me tell you I am grateful to have my dad as my biggest supporter and a coach who pushed me to be the best player I could be.

Fast forward to my junior year. This is a big year for everyone, academically, but also for those who haven’t committed yet. Typically, by your junior year, most athletes know where they are playing.

I broke the news to my parents that I had decided I didn’t want to play in college anymore. I continued to love the sport and play my heart out, but I couldn’t see myself going to play D1 anymore. While my parents always supported me, this was a disappointment to them. They had dedicated their time and money to help me fulfill a dream of mine and I had decided that it was no longer my dream.

I continued to play school ball my senior year because I loved the sport regardless of whether or not I would play at the collegiate level. That year I had scored more goals than I had the previous years and reached my goal of scoring over 200 goals during my high school career. This made losing in the playoffs very difficult, and yes there were tears because I had told myself ‘This is it. This is your last game.’

I was wrong. After coming to Carolina and attending fall fest, I, of course, found the club lacrosse table and gave my email to get more information about the program.

Next thing I know I am trying out for the UNC Women’s Club Lacrosse team. Joining the team was one of the best decisions I ever made. Not only was I able to continue playing the game that I had poured my heart into, but I found a group of girls who loved it as much as I did.

This team became part of my weekly routine as we practiced 3 times a week and had many weekends full of games. We spent a lot of time together, during and outside of practices and became a second family. We traveled together and competed with our hearts, and let me tell you it’s not easy when you’re a self-coached team.

With this team, I had the incredible opportunity to go to Salt Lake City, Utah for nationals, as well as Austin, Texas. Two trips I will never forget. There’s something about playing a sport you love with girls who are special to you.

Some of my best friends come from playing lacrosse and I wouldn’t go back and change that. Thank you to my 7th grade self for taking a step out of my comfort zone and trying an unknown sport. If it weren’t for me trying to catch butterflies in a net, I don’t think I’d be the same person today.