Kicking Off the Season in Florida

March 10

It’s March 10th and we just beat Drew University, 14-13 in a nail-biting game that marks our first win of the season. Goodness, winning feels great. We’ve gotten a taste of the sensation and I think we’re all eager for more.

So far we’ve been in West Palm Beach for over three days and the weather has been glorious! So far we’ve just been eating, practicing, sleeping, eating some more, practicing some more, napping, playing games, swimming by the pool and applying ridiculous amounts of sun block… and aloe vera in many of our cases.

Sometimes when I’m at Vassar I think about how I wish I had gone to a more sports intensive school. I want to go to hockey games and football games with my friends. I wish the whole school would celebrate a win and mourn a loss. Most ardently, though, I look up at the stands during our lacrosse games, smile at the few dedicated parents and roommates that have made it out, and wish that more people came, that people even knew about our games, that they even wanted to know about our games.

But when I come to Florida, everything gets put back into perspective. We watch many other successful DIII teams play and I can’t help wondering, are these girls having as much fun as I am? Maybe we don’t have to run a 6:40 mile to make the team, maybe we don’t eat every meal together, maybe we don’t lift three times a week, but we’re actually pretty darn good, we really love each other and get along extremely well despite all our differences. I’m sure I would have liked going to some other sports intensive school, I’m sure I would have fit in and had good friends, but I can honestly say I don’t think I’d be as happy on any other team than this one.