Switching from one conference to another and facing a set of different teams may be scary to some people, but it doesn’t faze the girls varsity lacrosse team. Their season is right around the corner, and players are excited to start.
Lacrosse season for the girls has been on the rise, earning back to back conference titles in the 2021 and 2022 season.
Previously, the lacrosse team competed in the OK White conference tier three; now, they face OK White conference tier two, which has tougher competition.
Junior Kaylee Jandga is very excited to start the new season.
“It’s a bigger challenge, but it will make us work harder,” Jandga said. “It will prove what we can really do, we need more competition.”
Senior and captain Kieran Yanik is thrilled to change conferences but also a little nervous.
“It can definitely be intimidating moving up a conference knowing we are going to be playing teams at our level,” Yanik said. “We are going to have to work hard to win but it is also exciting knowing we will be challenging ourselves more.”
The official season start still to come has not stopped the Wildcats from putting in the work. Players have been practicing Monday through Thursday with cardio and hitting the weight room after school for two hours. They are making sure everybody is ready to tackle the new conference
Head coach Andy Bouwens started coaching girls lacrosse in the 2021 season and is ecstatic for the upcoming season and to see how far the girls can go.
“I have only coached for two years, and winning two conference titles makes me feel very fortunate,” Bouwens said. “I am proud of the girls for understanding that in order to win and be successful, it had to happen as a team. I came in at a time where the girls were ready to do something different, and they were tired of losing.”
The first game of the season is March 22 at West Ottawa at 6:00.
