Tallwood athletics has added a new sport to the school. The 2018-2019 school year will be the inaugural season of Tallwood Boys and Girls Lacrosse. Each of the teams have begun their seasons with rocky starts, but with all school sports teams with rich histories, a rocky start has been the narrative. Surely, this season is the beginning of an era.

With different topics related to lacrosse in mind, I interviewed a few players, from both the boys and girls teams. I asked some of the players about why they made the decision to play lacrosse and about some of their experience. “I grew up learning it,” said sophomore Maximillian O’Neill, attacker for the boys team. “Lacrosse was really expensive so my dad and I just threw the ball around. He wanted to pass lacrosse down to me. Now, I’m playing to make him proud.” Maximillian’s father played lacrosse all the way up to the collegiate level, and according to Max, wanted to incorporate the sport into Max’s life. When interviewing Ayana Henderson, she told me she played because she had previously played the sport. “I’ve been playing lacrosse for 2 years,” she said. “It’s a very exciting sport. When I found out, I knew I had to join and lead others to join as well.” Other players, such as Samuel Purvis were influenced by others’ experience. He told me, “A lot of friends have had good experiences playing lacrosse at other schools so I thought it would be cool to try.”

With the first game approaching, I also asked the players about how they felt going into the first game. Sophomore Paula Podhajecki said she was going in with a confidence built by teammate chemistry. “I’m not really nervous. I know I’m starting and you can’t be nervous as a starter. I’m not nervous,” she stated, “because I’m playing with teammates that are willing to support you and connect with you.” Other players did go in with nerves. Daniel Jimenez described himself as “a little scared” and said he “didn’t know what to expect.”

Both the boys and girls teams lost their inaugural games to Kempsville and Princess Anne, respectively. Each team lost 11-2. Though the teams lost their first games, both teams are definitely getting better and will continue to get better with time, practice, game experience, and increasing chemistry. It’s a possibility that no current Tallwood lacrosse player will experience the glory days of Tallwood lacrosse, but those days are surely on their way.