WE DID IT! GO USA!

The 2009 World Cup has officially ended and the accomplishment of the past 10 days has yet to sink in. I have officially been gone since June 4^th and I have to admit that it is very hard to reincorporate into normal life. For the past 4 years (and longer for many), many of us have based much of our daily lives around training for the World Cup and for the chance to represent the United States. We trained in order to be prepared to play for the gold medal at any moment. Since June 4^th, that focus, hard work, and preparation only intensified. Now, though many of us are home, it is hard not to have a melancholy feeling. For a month, we existed not as a group of 18 individuals, but as ONE—as USA. And, as hard as the 3-a-days, 2-a-days, and “fun runs” were, I would go back in a second to exist again in that bubble known as USA. That is where my heart is…

Though the World Cup was only 10 days, they were the most physically and mentally taxing days I have ever been through. But it is that which made the experience so special and our accomplishment so great.

I thought that rivalries in college were intense. World Cup taught me that pride in your country is far greater than pride in your alma mater. This first hit me the day the other teams moved into our hotel; flags, posters, pictures, streamers of 16 different nations were taped to the walls in the hallways and hung from the windows. Though we may have had friends on opposing teams, it took a few days before we would cross country boundaries and mingle. Now, looking back, I appreciate how proudly each team wore their country’s colors, including our own.

In our first pregame meeting, our team shut our eyes, and listened to a beautiful rendition of the Star-Spangled Banner. When we opened our eyes, several people had smeared eye black from shedding a few tears while others were bouncing in anticipation to take the field. We did this again before the gold medal game, and the same thing happened. So many people were overcome with the belief in what we could accomplish, and we did it. We made great plays, we made mistakes, but through the whole game—and whole tournament—the staff and the whole team never lost the belief in our abilities. We marched forward as one. We lived the dream. We lived USA.

Congratulations to my fellow 2009 WORLD CHAMPIONS! Miss and Love you.

The Countdown

The world cup begins in exactly 24 days (from today, May 25). I know this because one of my US teammates sent out a daily calendar with a compilation of quotes and the number of days remaining until the tournament begins. Throughout the month, I have watched the number tick down lower and lower. The excitement and anticipation for the games is all I can think about, or rather, all I can dream about. I think about it during the day, during those hard workout sessions, and it keeps me up at night when I am trying to sleep. I am sure that I am not the only player out there with this feeling. I know my teammates are feeling the same anticipation that I am, but I hope that as we go through training camp at the beginning of June we will not only feel excited, but also ready—ready to face any obstacle we see on and off the field.

I can’t wait to get to training at camp and to see my friends. And call me sappy, but I can’t wait to put on the red, white, and blue everyday for basically the entire month of June. This is truly the most memorable time of my life, and I know that though it is all time to prepare and to play at our best, to also remember how special it is to be a part of this group and this experience. GO USA!

New Kids on the Block

The 2009 season is starting to get interesting; teams are playing to prepare for the NCAA playoffs, playing to get into the playoffs, or they are simply playing for pride. Last week, as a part of the University of Denver coaching staff, I was reminded of why I love lacrosse and how far the sport has come. We travelled to Fresno, California to play Fresno State in their inaugural season. Like any young program, they have found their first year to be one of tremendous challenge and also tremendous growth. Roughly six players from their program had played lacrosse before, while the rest of the team is comprised mostly of young athletes who had barely even heard of the sport before.

Watching this team play made me appreciate the fact that even though their skills may still need some fine tuning, they were out on the field for the love of the game and pushing themselves to grow. Too often, lacrosse can seem like part of a routine; workout, wall ball, drills, drills, drills. However, in watching a first year program like Fresno State, it is easy to appreciate the reasons why they play and to remember the reasons why we all play individually.

Being born and raised in Colorado, I know first hand what it is like to live in an area where lacrosse is still “new” in popularity. Yet, each year, the sport continues to expand and grow, across geographic boarders and among sociological boundaries.

I feel like the upcoming World Cup is vital in exposing lacrosse to all those budding lacrosse communities around the world. I feel lucky to be a part of it and am so excited to have it finally arrive in June.

# 3

Someone once asked me if three was my lucky number, as it was and is my jersey number throughout college and for the US team. Growing up, my number was always 18… yes, an even number. Now, I look at this as some foreign concept that my identity was ever known as an even, double digit. So, you may ask, how did I come to wear a number as proud as #3?

Leaving high school, maintaining my #18 was very important to me. However, knowing that I was entering a team where that jersey number was being worn by a junior, and a very skilled junior, I knew I had to let that dream go. I would never again be known as good old 1-8. In addition, my head coach at Dartmouth had a very strong feeling that it was important to start fresh in college; to create a new emblem of identity to wow the collegiate scene.

My backup number to 18 had always been 13. It made no difference that it rivaled the evenness of 18; rather, it was simply the number of one of my best friends that I grew up with and with whom I played hockey. I must admit that when I wore #13, I did feel somewhat studly. Not only was it an odd number, but it was also a number that everyone either loved or hated. That appealed to me. However, once again, in college #13 was already taken.

Before heading off to college I consulted with a friend as she knew that the number I wore was important to me. She directed me towards the musical great Bob Marley and his song: “Three Little Birds.” To quote the song;

“Risin up this morning, smiled with the risin sun, THREE little birds pitch by my doorstep, singin sweet songs of melodies pure and true, sayin, this is my message to you-ou-ou: singing don’t worry bout a thing, cause every little thing is gonna be all right.”

Instead of idolizing some athletic great and wanting to replicate their athletic successes my love for music and the message of this song directed me towards the number three. So, no, the number three is not my lucky number, but it has become a number that I can wear and also be happy with the reasons for and how I chose it. Now, I can’t ever imagine going back to 18, or even 13. That’s the reason for being 3.

I know everyone out there is in their lacrosse seasons. Good luck to everyone! To all my teammies training for camp in June and then off to THE WORLD CUP… CRUSH IT!