The girls’ varsity lacrosse team kicks the season off with big goals. Their full week of tryouts just wrapped up, and the girls are ready to get on the field. 

Nearly 40 total athletes signed up to compete for a spot on the team, making this one of the most competitive tryout groups in recent years. The coaches were impressed by all the effort and determination displayed by the players. Tryouts consisted of warm-up drills, skill work, and 7v7 gameplay, and on the final day, the group scrimmaged teams from other schools. The coaches were able to see how the girls play in real time under pressure.

Coach Jalen Aho was impressed by all the athletes who showed up and tried out. 

“Tryouts were fantastic,” said Aho. “They all worked extremely hard, and I am excited for the future.”

This year’s captains are seniors Violet Malinowski, Ava Gauvain, and Sophia Carson, along with junior Grace Blaney. Their role is to lead the team and keep everyone motivated and positive.

“To motivate our players, I like to talk to everyone as equals and make sure everyone has fun at practice and games to show them how fun this sport is,” said Guavin. 

Games are approaching, and this team has already set several goals for the season. They are hoping to play at a consistent level every day, and bring their all against top competitors like Peabody and Beverly. The upcoming season will be fast and disciplined in order to make it to a position where they will be able to compete in the conference. 

“Our goals are to stay positive and not burn out by the end of the season. We want to continue to practice hard because a lot of the time in the spring it gets easy to get lost and be in the summer mindset, so we want to stay on track,” said Malinowski. 

Aho has also expressed his own hopes and goals for the future of the team.

“Our goals are to compete at a high level every day, continue to build a strong and connected team culture, and improve consistently from start to finish,” said Aho. 

With their daily practices, this team is on track to achieve all of those goals. Each day is structured and purposeful, starting with a team dynamic warm-up, then transitioning into stick work. Players get time for position-specific skill development and fundamentals, as well as smaller situational drills.

“We emphasize peace, communication, and reps,” said Aho.

Not only is practice important, but so is the team dynamic. Potlucks, fundraising opportunities, and other team rituals are opportunities for team bonding.

“One of our favorite things to do as a team is pasta parties after practice, the bus rides to and from games, and our Starbucks runs in the morning,” said Blaney.

Their first game is scheduled for Tuesday, March 31, against Hamilton-Wenham Regional High School on the Hamilton-Wenham Stadium Field.