The women’s lacrosse team has no field to practice on. Fall practices are crucial to get the team back into shape and practice their skills after a long summer. After only one practice, the girls no longer have a place to play and prepare for the season.

The coaches searched all summer for a field after losing access to their previous practice spot — St. Philip’s United Methodist Church. The church did not have enough space to comply with COVID-19 restrictions.

This is after both the JV and Varsity teams finished off a great season before COVID-19.

“We bounced back from a losing season to have an incredible one before COVID shut us down,” Co-President and senior Hailee Hernandez said.

Hernandez oversees the bridge between parents and players, organizes events, brainstorms ideas for the team, and works closely with her Co-President, senior Peyton Richardson.

Head Coach Jenna Moon was able to get around 30 out of the 50 total players to come to Memorial Park for a run and practice some stick work. The coaches and players thought this would be a perfect practice spot for the time being.

“The first practice went good,” Hernandez said. “We ran about a mile and then worked on stickwork to ease back into the season. It lasted an hour and a half, and it was socially distanced.”

The team has been careful to abide by COVID-19 safety measures.

“We have to have masks at the beginning and end, running groups of two, and the rest are kept to small numbers,” Vice President and junior Abigail Goldenberg said.

After the practice, the girls found out Memorial Park does not allow group sports.

“This is affecting the team because normally we would start in August to prepare for season and fall tournaments,” Hernandez said. “We haven’t been able to gather the team, so we have not been able to get fully into the swing.”

Hernandez says they hope to find a new practice field within the next month. Kolter Elementary is a possibility for them. In the meantime, Hernandez, the other officers, and coaches have ideas to keep the players on track for the upcoming season and tournaments.
“We are sending out workouts that players can do on their own to work on stick work and conditioning,” Hernandez said.

The team will not be able to do as many in-person activities as last year.

“We won’t get to do as many in-person team bonding activities, and that was always a big thing for us,” Hernandez said.

The team had its first Google Meets on Sept. 24 to introduce the newly elected officers, walk the girls through the schedule, and help new members get a feel for the team.

The girls may not have a field right now, but Hernandez and other officers have come up with ideas to keep the team focused on the upcoming season and tournaments.

“We’re working on setting up more Zoom meetings so that girls can get together in small groups and work on conditioning and stickwork,” Hernandez said. “That way, the team dynamic isn’t lost.”

The girls have a tournament on Halloween in the Woodlands. The officers of the team are also designing “some pretty cool masks,” according to Goldenberg.

The officers and coaches are working hard to put in place a set practice schedule and field for the team and be prepared for the upcoming season.