The Girls Lacrosse team at Bernards have plenty of goals for this upcoming season. Each and every player have prepared on their own and with the team. According to senior Kate Conte, “We had a lot of captain practices and we had a running test for the first time, which prepared us a lot for this season.” Individually every athlete must make sure they are well fit and eat right too, says Coach McGinn and Coach Palek. Some players including Nicole Sullivan said, “I prepared for this season by working out a lot throughout the winter. I went to the gym with some of my friends on the team which helped us all get ready. I also practiced timing my runs and sprints so I’d be able to have a quick recovery rate when playing in a game. As a team, we all signed up for a clinic to help improve our skills and agility which also helped us bond before the season.”
Bernards has plenty objectives for this season, and one is to beat Watchung Hills. Nicole Sullivan says that, “The team that we really want to beat this year is Watchung Hills. Last year, we lost to them in our first scheduled game against them. But, in counties later on in the season, we played one of our best games and were able to beat them. This year, winning against them again would be awesome and show how hard we’ve been working to get to where we are.” Also, this year Bernards Lacrosse has a much tougher schedule than the previous years, making not only Watchung Hills the team to beat, but also Ridge and Pingry. On another note, Coach Palek says, “Our goal is to beat our previous record, and to beat the harder teams in our bracket.”
The lacrosse coaching staff is just as important to the team as the players are. Annie Gillis (2018) says that, “Coach McGinn is a great coach. She always knows what she is talking about and leads us in the right direction. Coach Palek and Coach Maestis also seem to have the love for the game just as Coach McGinn does! All three coaches, I think, really enjoy coaching lacrosse which makes them that much of a better coach.” Tactically, each coach knows what is best for the team, and Coach Palek said, “Whatever we did last year, that didn’t work so well for the team, we changed this year to improve our chances in achieving success.”
For some of the athletes, such as the seniors, they have been on the lacrosse team since freshman year. Many of them have made their closest friends on this team, on and off the field. Kate Conte says, “I love the lacrosse team and we have become a lot closer, and ending my high school career with my team is a great experience.”
