Senior year is a year of lasts for many students, but for Lucy Cribb (12), hers would have a first, too. She decided that this would be the year she tried out for the lacrosse team despite never previously playing the sport.
“All my friends leading up to it were like, ‘I think you should do it, it’ll be fun,’” Cribb said. “I [thought] it’s [my] last year, and I didn’t overthink it.”
Cribb also had the encouragement of many of her closest friends who were already on the team to join them for their final season. So, she went to tryouts with low expectations and nothing to lose; she only hoped to gain a new experience.
“Everyone is really supportive on the team, and it was just a really fun atmosphere,” Cribb said. “Each day, I just kept telling myself to take it day by day, and if I didn’t like it then I could stop, but I really enjoy it.”
Despite Cribb’s lack of lacrosse experience, she has had nine years’ worth of club soccer experience to help her keep up with the other girls on the team, both physically and strategically.
“I’m really good at getting open and knowing where to go, to tell how to be open [to get the ball] on the field, and I’m good at getting to the ball and being the first one there,” Cribb said. “Because with soccer you sprint, my endurance transferred over.”
However, Cribb also noted the key skill differences in both sports as she talked about struggling to learn to catch and throw with the lacrosse stick. She attributes her ability to learn these skills to the other girls on the team who have been willing to work closely with her during and outside of practices. Before tryouts, her friend and team captain Chloe Nguyen (12), who has played club and Westview lacrosse for four years, helped train with her over the weekend to fine-tune the basic skills of cradling and getting used to using the lacrosse stick.
After joining the team, Cribb also found a support system in her teammates and coaches.
“Everyone has been so nice,” Cribb said. “The coaches are really supportive and they help me out if I have any questions, which I really appreciate. Every girl on the team is so nice, and that’s what made me keep going. If I didn’t have such a good team of girls, I wouldn’t have done it.”
Once the official seasons started, Cribb said it took her time to be able to feel confident going into practice.
“I was the only one who had never done what they were talking about,” Cribb said. “I didn’t know the rules of the game. So, each week, I’ve been able to pick up the rules, and now I can feel confident going into practice.”
At Cribb’s first game of the season against Helix, March 1, she remembered how nervous she was leading up to game time.
“I was like ‘I can’t do this [and] should I even be doing this?’” Cribb said. “I was getting really in my head.”
Cribb spectated from the sidelines during the first quarter before coach Kayle Kaesbauer pulled her to the side and asked if she was ready to enter the game.
“I remember I went on the field [and] got the ball for the first time, and it really boosted my confidence a lot,” Cribb said.
Looking back on her experience so far, Cribb said she is really glad that she stepped out of her comfort zone to try a new first.
“It seems so daunting and scary and I never thought I could do it,” Cribb said. “I think having such supportive people around you as well as having my friends by my side and really great coaches and teammates really helps me have fun and just continue on. I think people definitely should have the confidence to go out and try something new, even if it’s their senior year.”
