Hits from Justin Bieber and High School Musical blast out of the speakers as the women’s lacrosse team shows off their moves as a warm-up ritual to boost energy for their upcoming game.
And this ritual seems to be working. The women’s lacrosse team is currently undefeated in their league games.
Lacrosse coach Emily Hook decided in her first year as head coach to schedule out-of-league games to give the players a chance to learn how to play together as a team.
“Playing better competition, like the teams we play out of our league, really helps us improve and gain experience,” junior Yuka Matsuno said.
Lacrosse team manager senior Jessica Fox said she has seen the out-of-league games helping the team in terms of improving technique and work ethic.
“Usually we have out-of-league games at the end of the season, but having them at the beginning is a good way to see how the team plays together, to be challenged, and to see what we can improve,” Fox said.
The varsity team has played eight games so far in the season, five of which were out-of-league games. Though winning only one out-of-league game, the team has proven undefeatable in their three league games.
Fox said she attributes much of the success to their new coach, Emily Hook.
“She is very understanding and encourages players to take care of themselves before anything else,” Fox said. “Emily allows the girls on the team to step up to be greater leaders on the team while she still acts as the needed leadership figure.”
After eight years of playing lacrosse, Matsuno said she keeps on coming back because of the strong community that forms.
“I love our team,” Matsuno said. “When we’re out of season, I am friendly with all the girls on the team, but in season we all become really close.”
Fox said that she loves lacrosse at Piedmont because the team always bonds over the course of the season, creating a strong dynamic within the team. Everyone is also very committed to improvement and creating
“By the end of the season, the team has become your family because you know everyone so well and you have all spent so much time together,” Fox said. “It also feels really good to see individuals improve and to see how that helps the team as a whole.”
Junior Siobhan Mitchell agrees that one of the highlights of the lacrosse season is the bond between players.
“We have a really great team dynamic,” Mitchell said. “It has been formed by us dancing around to music in the locker room before games, cheering up our assigned buddies to keep up the energy for the third quarter, and of course just spending so much time together.”
At this point in the season, Mitchell does not know how far the team will make it in NCS, she said.
“We’re just going to play our hardest and see how far it takes us,” Mitchell said.
