Girls Lax Preseason: Hell on Earth?

by Isabelle Perticone

The Darien High School Girls Lacrosse team is notorious for their talent and unrelenting balance of defense and offense.  Although the season takes place during the spring, the girls train all year long to stay in shape and keep their stick skills strong. Lisa Lindley, long time varsity coach, ensures that the girls are ready for tryouts by running a round of preseason.  Usually preseason lasts two weeks with the intent of making the girls ready for tryouts the following week. “We only have one week of preseason this year. I think we are going to spend a lot of time working on our fitness because that’s our strength: outworking and outrunning other teams,” said senior captain, Ellie Bennett.

It’s true, the girls work hard all year working out and playing other sports. Many of the girls do fitness training, such as Bluestreak and Body Tuning, while others play on sports teams, such as ice hockey, field hockey, and soccer. Senior Captain Dillon Scheon is one of the star runners on the indoor track team, keeping her in prime running condition for the lacrosse season.

Although the girls train hard, it is no secret that they dread preseason. I mean really, what is there to like about intense conditioning leading up to a competitive tryout? “It’s a lot of running and conditioning,” admits junior Mariah Matheis. Even though they dread it, there is no denying its benefits. Winning from the start gives the girls momentum for their long spring season which is exactly what the girls are aiming for this year.

Senior captain Ellie Bennett and junior Mariah Matheis.