On March 15, nearly 100 Marblehead students from pre-kindergarten to 12th grade gathered in the high school field house with their sticks and goggles to celebrate the beginning of the lacrosse season. The gym was packed with coaches, parents and lacrosse players of all skill levels.
“I’m so excited that all of you also love lacrosse… It’s really special we’re all going to be here together,” Marblehead High School lacrosse head coach and event organizer Annie Madden told the girls as they sat in the middle of the gym, listening intently.
The event began with the announcement of the “sticks-up challenge,” a bingo-like game where students cross off squares once they completed a practice drill, with a lacrosse stick as the prize for the winner.
Then, fifth- to eighth graders went outside to the field to scrimmage while the high schoolers coached the younger students through drills.
Girls lacrosse secretary and event organizer Kate Thomson said she hoped the event would encourage community pride, skill development, connectedness between all levels of girls lacrosse, and might facilitate a broader view of how skills should progress across age groups. Marblehead lacrosse has become a model for player development regionally, she said.
“There’s been a big push this year to clarify the lacrosse community,” Thomson said. “In a small town, it’s so special for the younger girls to go to a high school game and know the players… They’ll wave to you from the field.”
President of Girls Youth Association Molly Huddleston, who also helped organize the kick-off, added that the younger girls really look up to the high schoolers.
“We love this game,” ninth-grade lacrosse player Julia Thomson said as she watched the high school and elementary schoolers play a game she called “Sister-Sister,” which began with them running in a circle to music. When the music stopped, a younger girl would jump onto a highschooler’s back for a piggyback ride.
Julia Thomson said that when she was in elementary school, she used to attend lacrosse clinics that the high school girls coached and remembers hoping to be like them. Teaching lacrosse skills to the younger kids is also really helpful for the highschoolers to refine their skills, she added.
Marblehead resident Julie Willey brought her second grade daughter, who had never picked up a stick before, to the kick off. Willey said she was excited for her daughter to make new friends and to learn about being a part of a team.
“The girls’ interest and love of sports is palpable,” seventh and eighth grade girls lacrosse coach Mike Gillet said. “From a social aspect, it’s so important for them to learn to work together and to find what their role is in contributing to that greater team.”
Marblehead girls’ lacrosse practice began last week.
