Walking into the Stillwater Dome between 4:30-6:00 p.m. on Mondays and Tuesdays, people will see teenage girls cradling, hustling and yelling out for the ball. The hard work and determination that it takes to be apart of the Stillwater’s girls lacrosse team creates a strong bond between all the girls.

The Stillwater girls lacrosse team is working hard in their captains practices occurring twice a week to try to prepare themselves individually and as a team for their 2014 season. Tryouts were happening before school at 5:30 in the morning the week of March 31. Over 35 girls are participating in captains practice, all fighting for that spot on the team.

Being part of something as great as a sports team allows people to make new friends, motivate each other to do their best and find that internal motivation to do well. Although, all of this comes with practice.

Senior captain Hannah Hoefferle said, “Our team participates in various leagues throughout the summer and winter, and currently I am in a 5v5 that meets every Saturday, it tough to wake up every Saturday but somehow I suffer through it knowing it will pay off in the long run. Over the summer I was in another 5v5 league and a program called MAD Pony and in the fall I was in another clinic deal to just keep my skills sharp. I also belong to a gym, I try to dedicate 3 days a week to running on the treadmill or lifting weights. we also have a captain led program leading up to the season that we just wrapped up today.”

Junior Anna Corman said, “It’s a lot of hard work being in lacrosse, but it is all worth it. The hardest part would probably be getting out of bed at 4:30 for a 5:30 a.m. practice before school.”

Not only are the girls preparing for the season they are also planning their future goals and accomplishments that they would like to reach throughout the season.

“At the end of each season we meet as a team to discuss what we want to accomplish the following year. Goals lacrosse wise include winning conference champs, winning sections, and ultimately winning the state title; it has never been done by Stillwater,” said Hannah Hoefferle.“As for team goals, I want to see better communication between the coaches and the players. more often than not, I see the players act like puppets following the coaches every order, which is okay but ultimately the players are the ones on the field during the game and know what is working and what isn’t working so I would like to see a bit more flexibility there and more open minds for everyone. I also want to see everyone get better, and I believe the only way is for everyone to get experience. Personally, I would rather win by one goal, and allow every girl to play, than to win by 15 goals and only allow the starter players to play. Furthermore, I would love to see more confidence in the girls. We all need to realize mistakes are going to be made in the process, but that’s okay. Mistakes teach us a lot more than success does. As for personal goals, I just want to have a great season. This will be my last year ever wearing a pony uniform so I want it to be the most memorable, and ill do whatever it takes to make sure I have a smile on my face at the end.”

Stillwater girl’s lacrosse is differentiated from the other teams by how hard they work and their cooperation as a team. At the rate the girls are going they look like they will a have successful season.