Neadle’s Notes: Highlighting Those JV Moments

It all came down to this moment for my high school lacrosse career. I was going to be a senior, which meant varsity was the only option. Up to this point, I had been double rostered.

I was definitely not the best player on my team. The competition of the area I come from is top notch high school athletics. Many players of many sports went off to schools on sports scholarships.

That would not be me. But, I kept up with my teammates in practice. Other players were undeniably worse than I. However, I never had the relationship with my coach that other players had. The sports were very political, and certain athletes got extra/special attention.

The opponent’s lacrosse program was much younger and the team smaller, but we played them to make them better. “You’re only as good as the competition you play,” Coach Bachman once said. Therefore, I was getting varsity spotlight time in this game.

It all comes down to this opportunity, a one in 100 chance. If I can break the tie and save the game from overtime, then my first varsity start would be worth keeping me around. The sweat was dripping from my brow. No, focus on the game, I thought.

We had executed this strategy in practice all week. This was my opportunity. Our offense had rotated a lot, allowing two things to occur. The first was I shifted my placement on the field from a passing/assisting position around to the shooting position. Secondly, the defense was stretched out and rotated themselves, meaning the defensive players were not in ideal places to effectively defend their goal.

The cage was to my right, and I was right handed. The goalie would be most vulnerable with about 60 percent of the goal open to my whipping snipe.

I cut in towards the goal and the defender followed just as planned. It was easier to maneuver around him without him using a defensive stick that is twice the length.

I stopped hard sliding on the synthetic turf a quick, short distance, and I launched back out. The defender’s reaction was a half second behind me which was all the time I needed. I raised my stick in the air and signaled my teammate carrying the ball. He zeroed in on my stick and fired a pass straight at me through the defense.

We were tied at 6-6 and there were four seconds on the clock. If I made this shot, we would be guaranteed a victory. If not, overtime loomed in the near future.

I overestimated the ball speed, and was beyond the pass. The ball ricocheted off my helmet and straight into the air. I was searching all around and couldn’t see the ball. Then, out of nowhere I was leveled to the ground and players were fighting for the ball around me. The whistles blew and everyone walked to their respective sidelines exhausted. Overtime.