Guest Blog: Between the pipes

I was 6 years old the first time a lacrosse stick was put into my hands. I am 17 now, in my senior season at Liberty High School. I could tell you countless stories from my career, the ups and the downs, yet I’ll spare all of that for now, as this isn’t entirely about me.

Over my career, I’ve learned a lot of lessons about sport and life. This year, my team has decided to put “family over everything” on the back of our shooter shirts, and the biggest lesson I’ve learned is, well, family is everything. 

Two years and 11 days after I was born, my sister Emily was brought into the world. When Emily was 5, my parents decided to enroll her to play lacrosse for the Freedom Area Rec program, just as I was doing. I was always an offensive minded player, which remains true even today, but what most people don’t know is that Emily was at one point, too.

She started out playing every position she could on the field, and eventually settled down to defense, but she always wanted me to teach her how to play attack. I tried, but I could tell her heart was somewhere else, not midfield or defense, or even attack like me. Emily was a goalie before she ever put on the pads. My sister was always stronger than I was, and she has an electric personality.

Emily was made to play in between the pipes, and I was the one to try and put the ball between them. 

Emily and I both played for HoCo Girls Lacrosse Club, and ever since we were kids we would train in the backyard. Emily would get in the cage, and I would shoot the ball. However, I did hit her in the leg once and our shooting sessions were put on hold by Emily’s discretion.

We shared a lot of moments off the field playing together in our backyard but never in a team setting, because I was two years older. That all changed the first time we both took the field together when I was in eighth grade, helping out my dads recreational team. Having Emily on the field gave me a confidence I had not known before. There was an understanding that if Emily was in the goal, we were good. 

Fast forward to May of 2022, my second straight state championship game, Emily’s first ever. I was a junior at the time, and my sister a freshman. You can imagine the nervousness in warm-ups, the bus ride to Loyola University, having your name called out in front of your friends and family. Although, as soon as my sister and I took that field together, it felt as if the world was in our palms. I was calm, my thoughts were clear because I knew on the opposite end of the field, my sister had it. 

I always knew Emily would be great, as a person and a player, because she has this unbreakable spirit. My father always used to say you can teach people how to play lacrosse, but you can’t teach them the character needed to succeed at it. Emily has always had that character, like that of a lion. So when she played lights out at Loyola, I knew it was not luck or a higher power, it was just her. 

When our head coach, Tom Brandel, suggested we put “family over everything” on our shirts this year, we were keen on the idea. I recently played my first games this season, due to injury. However, in my final season, I am proud to say I get to complete this journey alongside my sister.

What Emily doesn’t know is that even if we play opposite positions on the field, she’s taught me many different things about the game of lacrosse.

More importantly, she's taught me about having an understanding with someone else, much deeper than words. So when I go to take the field, and I look towards the opposite end seeing the No. 23, a grin comes over my face, and suddenly, the world is once again ours.