As the weather begins to feel warm and the days start to stretch longer, so do the opportunities for players to compete. The Aliso Niguel Girls Lacrosse team is preparing for a long and hopeful season, with them chasing goals like competing well in the South Coast League and in the California Interscholastic Federation League (CIF).
The South Coast League has the Girls Lacrosse team go up against many tough opponents in our area, including Trabuco Hills High School, San Clemente High School, Tesoro High School, San Juan Hills High School and El Toro High School. All of these teams, including us, have been known to play hard and aggressively and will be tough to beat. However, the girls are always up for the challenge.
The other goal in mind for this team is the ability to play in the CIF league within May and have the chance to win it all, which provides the team many opportunities to hone their skills, build up the bonds they share with their teammates, and provide life lessons they can eventually apply to their adult lives after graduation.
The head coach of the girls’ varsity team, Coach Honda, has her own personal goals while she helps the girls navigate their season, with her saying, “I want to teach everybody something new, broaden their perspective on the sport of lacrosse, and have fun.”
To help with improving the team’s skills and to reach a better understanding of the game they are playing, Coach Honda has the girls perform specific drilling including ground balling where the team practices the proper way to handle the ball once it touches the ground to have a better advantage against their opponents and making it more likely for them to score as well as stick work to have better control while the ball is in their sticks. However, like many repetitive drills in all sports, the athletes do not particularly enjoy the drill.
The skill work and team bonding they do is essential in the performance of their team, especially as they overcome the many challenges they must face throughout the season, whether that be due to injury, physical fatigue and strain, mental stress or sickness. This sport builds a lot of the character and experience these girls need after they graduate from high school.
One of the things Coach Honda would prefer to bring to attention is how fun the sport of lacrosse is, with her saying, “I am excited for this season to start, and I hope that anyone who is taking an interest in the sport can come to support the team as we go through this season together.”
This team has a lot of potential to do great things this season due to the strong bonds they have as a team with each other and one of the best coaches for this program. They will most likely go far this season as well, and the Aliso Niguel High School students look forward to watching them play.
