What sports do you play?
I play basketball and lacrosse.
How does lacrosse differ from other sports such as basketball?
It’s very different than any sport I’ve ever played before, just because of the stick itself. Like, you’re not throwing and catching a ball with your hands. You’re, like, using an extension of your body and, like, you have to throw and catch with this little net thing. And it’s pretty difficult at first, but it’s a lot of fun.
What position do you play?
I play defense.
What is your role and what impact do you make on the team?
I think as a returning senior this year, I’m gonna have a big leadership role, because we were losing like three big players from last year, so I think I’ll have to step up and help the younger girls out and just do what I can.
What were some of your strengths and weaknesses last season?
I’d say strengths is, since I played two sports, I came into the season like in shape, and I think basketball translates over to lacrosse pretty well, because defense is a big part of both. So I think my skills from basketball translate over well and help me out.
What game are you most looking forward to this season?
Any game we could win, because, I mean, we are losing Kendra, who scored, I think, like, eight goals game, so we’re losing like a big part of our team, so it’s going to be hard to regather ourselves and get it together. So I hope we can win some.
Are you excited to play on the new field?
Yes, it’s gonna be so nice to finally have a home field, because we got to practice on our field last year, but all four years that I played, we’ve never had a home field. So
What are some goals you’re setting for your team?
In the season, I think we have like 14 games I’d like to win like five. I think that’s reasonable for us and just working together and getting to know each other better, I think because we have a really big team, so there’s lots of girls, and I don’t know all of them very well.
What have you been doing to prepare for this season?
Well, I don’t really have an off season, so like, right now I’m playing basketball, I guess, just keeping in shape, and, like, preparing mentally. I have been doing some stick work, like for skills, but that’s about it.
What will need to happen for North to win this season?
We’re gonna need to get our offense together. We have a pretty strong defense right now because we only lost like one player. But for offense, I guess we’re just gonna have to train those girls to have more confidence and get to the goal so we can score.
How does club lacrosse differ from high school season?
There’s a few different rules, and some of them are big for me, because one of the rules is for defense, you can hold your stick horizontal on defense in club and in high school, you can’t. So that’s hard to like transition, because in high school, that’s a foul, so you have to reset yourself.
Could you tell me more about being committed?
Yes, I’m committed to North Central College. I’m very excited. It’s a D3 school, so I’ll have academics and sports pretty balanced, which is something that was important to me, and I’m just really excited.
What was your season like last year?
It was fun. Last year was fun. We won a lot, and last year was a big year for me, kind of because I’ve played like every year, but last year like I did not come out of games, so I think that really improved my skills and endurance.
How does it feel to lose Kendra Swope as she was a big role and team leader?
Losing her will definitely be tough. She had the most experience on the team. She’d been playing lacrosse since elementary school, and I think we all looked up to her and relied on her a lot. We’re gonna miss her a lot this year.
How do you think you guys can adjust without Kendra?
I think we have to leave it up to our seniors this year to really take that leadership role. I think we’ll be okay. We just need to have confidence in ourselves and work together.
What kind of a team are you?
This year we will be more defensive. In the past we are more offensive, so I think that’ll be changed a bit.
