With an excellent record of 3-0-1, the Kingswood Oxford Middle School girls A lacrosse team has taken the competition by storm. Despite various challenges these girls have faced along the way, they have tirelessly worked on developing their skills, strengthening their bond, and improving their game overall in order to make their way to the top.
At any given moment, there are 10 girls on the field (one goalkeeper, three defensive players, three midfielders, and three offensive players) who must run, pass, and shoot the ball into the opposing team’s net to score a goal. This team had a wide variety of players: some had been on a lacrosse team since they were three, while, for others, this season was their first, so the main goal for these girls was to master the basics.
Coach Gwyneth McDonald ‘16 came into this season looking forward to combining her love of lacrosse with her passion for education. She wanted to create a fun and nurturing environment where the girls could be silly and spend time with their friends, while also getting exercise and expanding their knowledge of the sport. It is clear that she has done just that. “They genuinely enjoy being around each other, playing lacrosse, and being active and that is the most important thing to me,” she said.
After the team was able to grasp the basics of cradling and passing the ball, Coach McDonald decided to take a step back and allow the players to run practice and set goals for themselves specifically and the team as a whole. She encouraged the girls to build each other up and contribute ideas on how to improve their camaraderie and level of play. “I’m thankful to them that they’re participating in how we run practices because they think of things that I might not think of,” she said.
Coach McDonald absolutely gushed about the girls on the team, and the feeling was mutual for every player, as they each had nothing but positive things to say about her. “Gwyneth is amazing,” seventh-grader Molly Wiggenhauser said.
An experienced lacrosse player herself, Wiggenhauser was excited to bring some of her expertise to the table when it came to practices and games. She, as well as eighth-grader Lindsay Stepnowski and seventh-grader Claire O’Donnell, have been some of the strongest leaders since the start of the season, and it is apparent that this team would not be the same without them.
Eighth-grader Vivianne Beaule was another strong voice throughout the season. She made a conscious effort to help each individual improve and wanted to leave a lasting impression on the younger girls during her final season at the middle school. She did this by ensuring that every player had their moment to shine. “For the team as a whole, my goal would be making sure the ball gets to everyone,” she said.
Every girl has made leaps and bounds in terms of skill over this short amount of time, but one thing that this team never lacked is their outgoing personalities and love for each other. “[My favorite part about playing on the team is] the environment and the people,” seventh-grader Ida Chapman said.
Although the season is sadly coming to a close, each and every girl has grown as not only lacrosse players, but people. The friendships built on the field will surely extend off of it, but even so, next spring cannot seem to roll around fast enough.
