PC / Olympus Game

Last Tuesday was senior day for PCHS Girls Lacrosse, as well as JV's final game! The ceremony and games were held at Dozier field, and the games were both against Olympus.

The varsity team got to the field at 4:15, and warmed up until 5:15, which is when the senior ceremony began. There are a total of nine seniors on Park City's lacrosse team: Ellie Meyer, Hannah Hyatt, Maike Wells, Luisa Frankenburg, Maime Graham, Kendall Derber, Kate Cier, and Reilly Falter.

Seniors with their families at the ceremony. Photo courtesy of PCLO.

After the ceremony, varsity finished their warm up and started the game at 6:15. They played really well and beat Olympus 12-3. Their next game (and last season game) is today at Jordan, and playoffs will begin soon after! The first playoff game is at Dozier field on May 8th. Be there to support the team- the game starts at 6:15!

PCHS' JV team started warm up at half time, and began playing at 7:30. We started out the game pretty nervous, and had a messy first half. Olympus scored the first couple of goals, which woke PC up. We cleaned up the second half with better passes and smarter plays, increasing our new lead steadily.

After a tough game we came out on top 15-6. We then took pictures and hugged the Regina's (two sisters moving back to Mexico) goodbye. We had a great season! Below is our record.

vs. Jordan  W  10 - 5                         @ Riverton  W 11 - 4                    

@ Bingham W 7 - 3                            vs. Juan Diego W 11 -1 

vs. Davis W 11 - 2                             @ Skyline W 11 -1                                  

@ Pleasant Grove W 13 - 7               vs. Cache Valley W 11 -1            

@ Brighton W 9 - 5                             vs. Olympus W 15 - 6

The JV team after our last game. Photo courtesy of PCLO.

PC / Brighton Game

Last Tuesday both of the Park City Girls Lacrosse teams played Brighton, and they were both close and intense games. They were away games for PC, held by Brighton's high school. It was a perfect day for lacrosse. (Oh and it was also my birthday)

Varsity started first half with strong playing, but so did Brighton. They quickly scored the first two goals against Park City, which left all the spectators and players on the edge of their seats. They wouldn't give up that easily though. By half time Park City made some great shots to goal and were beating Brighton 4-3. After that they didn't let up. They made six more goals and only let another in from the other team, beating Brighton's varsity team 10-4. For more details on the varsity game visit Morgan's blog.

The Park City JV team watched their team play for the first half, and despite wanting to see the game through, started warming up. You could tell from everyones warm up that we wanted to win this game. We had recently beat them in the Gathering of the Tribes tournament 10-6, so we knew that they would also come out wanting the win more than ever.

Park City Miners v.s. Brighton Bengals
Photo courtesy of PCHS and BHS

Varsity's game ended and we quickly took the field to warm up on the goal with some 2 v 3s. We ran through that a bit then practiced our free position shots with rapid fire on the goalie. The referees called us up for stick check, and then we gathered into our huddle. The line up was read and our coach and captains riled us up again with some encouraging phrases and plans for the game. We cheered and jogged onto the field, suspense hanging in the air.

Both teams started the game intensely, yet Park City couldn't quite get comfortable. Hail mary's were thrown and we threw the ball away many times, which led to a half time score of 3-3.

We huddled and talked about the first half. Everyone clearly wanted this win, yet we were using that as carelessness and need to get to the goal. We decided to reign it in for second half and use our intensity as focus. Slow it down and make smart passes, cuts, and shots. The team went out onto the field second half with a fresh mindset, ready to win. We worked together and played smarter, which led to a victory. Park City made 6 more goals and only let in 2 from Brighton. The final score was 9-5, and we remained undefeated!

PC / Skyline Game

Yesterday Park City Girls Lacrosse had games against Skyline. They were both wins, with huge leads and some interesting plays.

It all started out with the bus ride down there. Everyone met in one of the hallways next to the parking lot after school. Most people changed into their uniforms, did their hair, and more lacrosse prep things. When the bus came, everyone loaded with and underlying eagerness.

When we all got to the field, varsity immediately began getting ready for the game. They started with a warm up lap and stretches, then headed into drills. JV, however, settled into a spot by the sideline and hung out. Some slowly got ready, others watched varsity warm up and just hung out, and some passed a ball around.

Varsity started the games off strong with a quick win against them. They had some great interceptions and really interesting plays.

After varsity's halftime, JV started warming up. We did a huge warm up lap around the other field and another around a 5 year old soccer practice, mid huddle. Next we all did movement prep and shuttles. These are great because they not only get your stick warmed up, but also your lungs and legs!

Ali Baker with the ball. Photo courtesy of PCLO.

The first half of the game we couldn't stop scoring, and after a 10-0 lead with 20 minutes left of the game, Kelsey initiated the 2 rules. This meant that our team had to complete 6 passes before shooting and once we did that, we had to shoot lefty. If you didn't follow the "2 rules," Kelsey would pull you out right away.

Good job PC! Still undefeated!

Gathering of the Tribes

Last weekend Park City Girl's Lacrosse's JV team participated in the Gathering of the Tribes tournament, and ended up as the champions!

The tournament began on Friday the 13th. Despite the hovering "bad luck" we were all anticipating due to the date, the two games we played that day set an amazing tone for the rest of the weekend. We won our first game and the next one at six. We all played great as a team and it was nice to get comfortable on the field.

One thing interesting about the tournament was that it was held in the Equestrian Center, which was essentially a horse corral. There were two field locations, and we played most of our games at the first. The ground had some green grass spots here and there, but the majority of the field was dust and dry grass, leading to some blinding dust clouds, dirt shoveling (aka ground balls), and dirty uniforms. In addition to the dirt, there were a couple mud puddles here and there, and let me tell you. Lacrosse + mud puddles + white uniforms does not end up well. I took a couple falls and wound up caking my thumb brace with dirt and grass and earning some sick brown smears on the from of my uniform.

The next day turned out just as swell. Our first game was at 11, so we all met at our tent at 10. A couple warm up laps led to dynamic stretching, shuttles, and other routinely drills. During our last part of warm up Kelsey, the head JV coach, decided it would be a good idea to roll a ball in the middle of two lines and have two girls sprint head on towards each other in hopes of getting the ground ball. This didn't go on for long.

I was the second or third person in line, and looking across the field I could see that I would be facing Maddie Hatch, the biggest girl on our team. I didn't think much of it and charged, head down, at the ball. It have no idea why it didn't cross my mind that wow, maybe this isn't such a good idea. Yet we inevitably collided, noses to shoulders, knees to thighs, elbows to stomachs. The first thing I noticed was my bloody nose, and didn't think too much about my pounding head or thigh. I stopped the bloody nose and we headed over to our first game against Olympus.

My thigh kept hurting, and I assumed it was just a bruise. I ignored it for the next couple of games, which was one of the worst things I could have done. We won our two games no problem, and waited to hear if we would be in the finals. The team all headed to kneaders for lunch, which was so good. Oh, did I mention that it was Pi Day? 3/14/15, or 3.1415, which is the first part of Pi. Kneaders was celebrating with $1 slices of Pie, which made my day.

The team after our last game

While waiting for our food we learned that we would be facing Brighton in the championship game! They added up the number of goals against each team and we only had 10! We headed back to the field to watch the boys' game, and I iced my leg when I could. We drove over to the other fields and got ready to warm up. At this point, I could barely walk on my leg. However, I also learned then that Glee Corsetti, my old Juniors coach, was coaching Brighton, the team we would be playing. I decided that this was an incredibly important game and ignored the pain once again. I was fine, I told myself.

The game was rough and Park City played incredibly well, winning 10-6! After a cheer and congratulating the other team, most of the Park City girls went up and mobbed Glee, hugging it out.
Sylar Clarke, who played goalie for the game since our goalie didn't feel well, received MVP of the game. The team got a cool trophy and a board with the bracket on it. We took a team photo for the yearbook with hats on, then some with the trophy and board.

I went to the medics after our photos and she told be I probably have a contusion, which is when the muscle gets hit against the bone really hard, basically a deep bruise. I was relieved, until she told be I would most likely have to spend a week or two off of it. This freaked me out a bit because I was scheduled to leave for JO's in Oregon on Tuesday, which was in three days. When we got back to PC I went to a doctor, got an X-ray, and learned it didn't chip or harm the bone. This mean that if I took care of the bruise (icing, ibuprofen, etc.) I could be back on it in a very short amount of time. Yay!

Sports Schedule

We are currently knee deep in lacrosse season, facing teams from all around the nation. Just kidding, only Utah/SLC. As of now, both of Park City's teams, Varsity and JV, are standing undefeated!

Last week both JV and Varsity faced Bingham and Juan Diego. On Tuesday the 17th, both Park City teams ventured down to West Jordan and took on Bingham's teams. Varsity played them from 5 to 6, and JV followed at 6:15. The two games ended with strong wins for PC. On Thursday the 20th, we hosted Juan Diego at Dozier Field. Varsity played them at 6:15, and JV played their other team at 7:30. Both teams won once more, leaving Park City undefeated.

The week before that, Park City Girl's Lacrosse faced both Jordan and Riverton. We hosted Jordan at Dozier Field on Tuesday the 10th. The varsity team played them at 6:15 and came out with a strong win. JV followed with another win at 7:30. On Thursday the 12th, both teams traveled to Riverton and played against them at 5 PM and 6:15 PM.

JV facing Riverton at their second game of the season

The next time Park City Girl's Lacrosse will be playing is tomorrow at Dozier Field! Come and watch the varsity team take on Viewmont and JV take on Davis' JV team. Varsity will be playing from 6:15 to 7:15, followed by JV at 7:30. A further look ahead shows that both teams will take on Skyline in Salt Lake City this Thursday. Be there!

For more information regarding Park City's Lacrosse teams, game schedules, and more click here.

To look at the girls' calendar, click here.

And for the boys' calendar, click here. 

Tryouts!

Lacrosse tryouts are coming up! Wednesday November 5th and Saturday the 15th from 7-9 at Basin Recreation Fieldhouse. Tryouts consist of many different drills and tests, including a timed mile timed sprints, wall ball routines, and defense and offense drills.

Here are some great drills and practice things do to at home in preparation for tryouts...

1. WALL BALL

In my opinion, this is the most important aspect of lacrosse- stick skills (catching and throwing). All you need is a flat wall or bounce back, and you're set! 50 right, 50 left, see how high you can go! I also time myself and see how many I can get in a minute. Keep clear of windows, animals, and people all together while wall ball can get intense.

2. Shooting

Shooting is an important part of lacrosse for attackers. Most fields (City Park, Basin Rec, etc) have lacrosse goals, so bring some balls and work on placement and power. Just make sure nothing is behind the goal that you wouldn't want your ball to hit. I've had some bad experiences with balls running into people, glass, and well, things they shouldn't....

3. Ground balls

Get with a friend and roll some balls to each other. Mix it up and throw them to the side, bounce them, and more. If your friends are busy, you can always do this against a wall or to yourself. You can also invite your enemy and throw some "oops sorry my hand slipped" throws.

4. Go for a run!

Cardio is extremely important in lacrosse. Running back and forth across the field gets tiring, so build up your endurance and speed. Throw in some sprints and dodges while on your jog. A lot of coaches also tell you to bring your lacrosse stick to cradle while you run. This is a great way to become more comfortable with your stick in your hands.

Overall, your attitude during tryouts is most noticed. Stay positive, confident, and work well with your teammates and coaches.

Jeni Gordon, photo courtesy of parkcitylacrosse.org

Update

This past two months have gone by crazy fast. Fall ball, ski team camping trips, Super 7s, and all of the dryland training began one day and seemed to end the next. 

Park City fall ball consists of one practice a week and a couple scrimmages to finish it off. Last Monday was our last official practice, and tonight will be our first scrimmage! Be at Matt Knoop Field at 5:30 pm to watch the upcoming PC lacrosse team take on Jordan. You might also catch a glimpse of me flailing around in goal.

Super 7s pick up games ended last week. These were fun scrimmages against the other HS teams, with just 7 girls on the field from each team (not including the goalie). Coaches weren't allowed to be there and parents weren't allowed to advise the players. This was the time for teams to bond and build their teamwork! Park City had to split into two teams since we have a large number of players- you can view the rosters here. Both teams played great, but Park City Black won the championships against Brighton!

Super 7s is also a great time to try new things and practice plays or moves in low-stake games. For me, this was practicing goalie. Coming into the spring lacrosse season at Park City High School, the position of goalie is currently vacant. And since I played goalie in the Junior league last year, I'm looking to split the position with Madeline Komisar, a new-comer to lacrosse. We'll see how that all works out...

Dryland training led up to USSA Testing (held at the CEO) last Sunday, the 12th. This was a standardized test for ski team athletes, and included tests like movement ability, vertical jump, tri-jump, box jumps, and a pacer test. The pacer test was a bust because of the rain- it was moved inside to the gym, where tennis shoes slide all over the place while pivoting. As for PCST dryland, it will continue into the winter season with indoor workouts. 

PC Lacrosse teammates Ellie and Hannah with assistant varsity coach, Kass Lemons