Women’s lacrosse gears up for season
The new Utah State women’s lacrosse team fought through low temperatures and continued to practice, despite biting cold.
Defender Jessica Larson, a junior majoring in exercise science, made an attempt to put a women’s lacrosse team together last year with no success.
“Last year I tried starting the team, but there really wasn’t enough interest,” Larson said. “Then Maddie (Bell), and I really got it going this year and talked to people to get it started. I didn’t just want to stop playing after high school, and I wanted something to keep me busy.”
Madison Bell, a sophomore business major, is midfielder for the team and also helped create the team.
This summer Bell was contacted by the starters of the women’s lacrosse team at the University of Utah and the coach at Westminster College.
“They contacted me to start the Utah State women’s lacrosse team to strengthen Utah’s lacrosse since we’re in the same region as Colorado and they’re bigger,” Bell said. “But now we are the same size as Colorado.”
Chele Lathroum, a defender who moved to Utah from Maryland, expressed her excitement about continuing her career with the young team.
“I asked around, looking for a lacrosse team,” the junior pre-veterinary major said. “I heard there was a chance at a (women’s) lacrosse team, and I figured, ‘Why not? I’ve already played my whole life.'”
The new USU women’s lacrosse coach Bob McKoy said he started his coaching career in soccer. It was his daughter’s lacrosse coach who encouraged McKoy to learn the game and start coaching.
“I got to know one of her coaches,” McKoy said. “He called me and said ‘I’m looking for another coach.’ He said, ‘It’s just soccer with a stick and an attitude.'”
At the time, McKoy said he knew hardly anything about lacrosse. He said he started learning the game and coached teams in Northern Virginia until 2005, before moving his family to Utah.
“I initially tried to start the program at Sky View, and I never pulled that off,” Mckoy said. “I was going to coach at Logan High School this past spring, but not enough kids joined the team.”
Bell called McKoy after getting his name from the lacrosse coach at Riverton High School and asked if he would be interested in helping out the Utah State team.
“She said that they needed a coach,” McKoy said. “I asked how they found me. ‘Your name was recommended,’ (was the response), and I asked by who. Who knows I’m a lacrosse coach?”
The any female Utah State student to join who has an interest on being on the team. Bell said it doesn’t matter whether the women have years of experience or just want to be able to try the sport and have a team setting.
Among the women currently on the team, the experience ranges from playing lacrosse their entire life, such as Lathroum, to those who are new to the sport, like sophomore Mckenna Drew.
“I have no experience in Lacrosse,” Drew said. “I did cross-country, track and a little bit of soccer in high school. I wanted to join the team because my friend Kaylee Birch wanted me to join, and I figured I’d give it a try.”
McKoy said the team will practice for the upcoming spring season as well as the two tournaments it will compete in.
“They seem like a nice group of young women,” McKoy said. “They have some good skills among the group, and I look forward to seeing if I can help enhance it a little bit.”
– macael.ivie@aggiemail.usu.edu