If you’ve been thinking of joining the South Girls Lacrosse team, this may be the year to join. Recently, the team has seen a lack of participation from senior players. This situation results from the recent changes in the coaching staff and the fear of recurring injuries from the past season.
Four new coaches changed the program as soon as the long-term girl’s lacrosse coaches decided to hang their whistles up after the 2022 season. The transition didn’t work in 2023; three new coaches joined for the spring lacrosse season.
Returning varsity player Ruby Verlinden ’24 said she worked to clear up some rumors and explain why many girls may have decided to withdraw from lacrosse this season.
“I think most girls aren’t returning to lacrosse this year because of the issues during the last season,” Verlinden said. “It was a fun season, it just felt a lot like JV; we didn’t learn many new skills.”
For Scout Webber ’25, the coaches didn’t affect her decision to play lacrosse, she just has a love for the sport, but more knowledgeable coaches elevate the enjoyment of the sport. She said many players felt the same and decided to return when they heard about the new and improved coaching plan, hoping for a more challenging season.
“I decided to return to lacrosse because we got a new coach who wants to make the program better, which makes it more intense,” said Webber. “Last season was kind of boring for me, so I’m hoping that will change.”
While a more enjoyable season was promised, that wasn’t enough to convince everyone to return. A few players decided it would be too much stress to return and just didn’t find it worth the hassle. Lacrosse is a big time commitment, especially with the two-hour practices every day, including some weekends. Many practices are from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m., which is late for many students with a heavy workload.
“I decided not to return to lacrosse this season because it was just too much to deal with between the late practices and the number of hours that had to be committed,” said Emily Peacock ’24. “I had an okay season last year, so it wasn’t worth it to me.”
This is an unfortunate outcome for the girl’s lacrosse team, because they’ve had very successful seasons in the past, and it has been and should continue to be a very popular sport.
“The coaching staff looks like they know what they are doing and they are really excited about the new team, so I hope the season will turn out better than last year,” said Verlinden.
