March 17, 2008 8:30 AM
Women's Lacrosse, Southern Style (Conclusion)
After 1,700 miles, seven days, countless gas stops, aching legs, sunburnt shoulders, and three wins under our belts, what did we really learn? What did we really accomplish? What did we gain?
We learned how to play as a team. We learned that one player does not win a game, one player does not put numbers up on the scoreboard, and one player does not make all the mistakes. We learned to win, lose, grow, sprint, and play—as a team. The 14 individuals that started on this trip turned into one team that beat Hilton Head High 14–1 and then 11–1, and also beat Bluffton 17–11.
We learned that you cannot lead if you can’t follow, that leaders aren’t just seniors or veteran players, but also are freshmen or beginners. Individual goals, such as increasing a save percentage or scoring points, were subordinated to our primary aim of achieving perfection. We ran sprints after every game not because we won or lost, but because we didn’t play the perfect game. Did we win every groundball? Did we catch every pass? Did we win every draw? Did we break every clear? Did we prevent our opponents from scoring? Winning is secondary to our team’s goal of playing flawlessly. We know we will win. Now, we want to win perfectly.
We learned that team chemistry is the most important component of our team’s culture. We laugh with gusto, we joke like comics, we talk like sisters, we work like mules, and we play like tigers. When we cross paths on the field, when we come to a huddle after a goal, we slap our backs, we hit our sticks, we high-five. We do this not because we mimic ESPN highlight films, but because we feel a genuine and natural need to be together and to be proud of our achievement. The rest of the student body views us as a sort of cult—and maybe they are right. Maybe we have something they don’t, and something they can’t understand. We have become close as players, as friends, and as teammates. We know each other’s weaknesses and strengths, each other’s moods and fears. We entered this trial by fire separately, and came out on the other side as one.
Everywhere we went, Mercersburg lacrosse jackets sparked a light of recognition in the eyes of people we met. Repeatedly we heard the shout of, “Hey, Mercersburg!” from alumni, parents, and friends of our school. Living in the Mercersburg bubble separates us from the outside world, but when venturing out into it together as a team, we learned that our school’s bubble in fact extends everywhere. So although we are a tight-knit group, we learned this week that we are a part of an enormous Mercersburg community.
When we win a game, we of course win for our team, but we also win for our school, our parents and friends, and for all the alumni that have come before us. We found that we really are ambassadors, and that when we said “Good morning!” to every person we met during our morning jogs, we really made a difference. Our blue-and-white jackets now represent intensity, a quest for excellence, and also kindness to the outside world. We carried ourselves with dignity and grace, we played with elegance and violence, and we showed everybody, including ourselves, that we really do pursue Mercersburg’s tradition of excellence.
Finally, we learned to love and to hate. We love each other as teammates and as friends, we love our sport, and let’s face it, we love to win. We have a passion and a drive to put numbers on that scoreboard like no other team I have played for. However, we also learned to have hatred in our hearts—a hatred for failure, a hatred for weakness, and a hatred for sloth. We want to have courage, dignity, and grace, not only in lacrosse but also in our daily lives. Sports, and especially lacrosse, teach us things we can never learn in the classroom.
We strive for perfection and excellence not only for ourselves, not only for our record, and not only for our school—we strive to win for every person out there that cares about Mercersburg because of what this school has given them. We walk with our heads up and our shoulders square not because we are arrogant, as many misconceive, but because we know that with every passing year, our seniors will shed our blue-and-white jerseys for the new colors of their college jerseys.
It is truly amazing what a seven-day trip can teach a player, what a player can teach a team, and what a team can teach itself. We went to the Palmetto State and left our mark, but not in a negative way. We taught our opponents just as they taught us. We learned that freshly cut oranges delivered by an opposing team member after a game are almost better than a win, because in the end, both teams are striving for the same purpose—to improve themselves, to reach perfection, and to revel in our mutual passion for lacrosse.
Signing off (hopefully not for the last time) from Saigee B’s, where the sandwiches are hot and the iced teas are bottomless...
--Anika Kempe
Posted by Lee at March 17, 2008 8:30 AM