The Berkeley High School (BHS) girls’ lacrosse team got off to a bit of a rocky start, with a current record of 3-8. However, as the season progresses, they’re working together and improving as a team. “Our season has been going well, and our freshmen and sophomores have really stepped up” said Zadie Jivan, a team captain.
This season, the team is working on improving skills, working together more, and improving their overall mentality. “We want to play good lacrosse, meaning we want to play clean and prove ourselves through our actions, not words” said Jivan. Senior Halle Steckel is hoping to the see the team work more cohesively in the future. She added, “I think the team can improve on always being supportive of one another in all aspects on the field.”
One of their goals is to improve some of the younger players in preparation for the departure of the seniors next year, as four out of their starting eleven players are seniors. “We got two new freshmen who have greatly impacted our season so far. They are smart players who will only continue to grow and make great contributions to the team” said Steckel.
One challenge the team is currently facing is injuries, as four of their current starters are out with injuries. Another challenge that the team is working on fixing is its attitude. Sometimes it is easy to get overwhelmed by a losing mentality or get discouraged when they are down a few points, which causes them to let in more goals than they should. “One of our team goals is to always play our lacrosse. This means that we don’t play down to other teams’ levels, and we keep a positive mentality even during tough games,” said Steckel.
Overall, the team is looking forward to the rest of the season, and hopes to build on what they’ve already improved. “This season, we have demonstrated hard work and focus” said Steckel, “even when we play hard teams, we continue to improve with each game.”