After a great four years, our senior lacrosse season is coming to a tragic ending. Four long years of blood, sweat, and tears to turn the program into what it is today. This year has been a rollercoaster and is one for the history books. Although starting off the season at a rough 4 and 6, I believe we truly aren’t as shabby as our record portrays.
We have truly faced some difficult opponents so far this year including Mariemont and Moeller who were both the state champions in division one and two.
After a great senior night and an 18-7 victory over Covington Catholic, the Elder lacrosse team seems more motivated than ever.
With some major strides in the program, this year marks the first year of lacrosse being considered an official sport for Elder High School.
The program has been a club sport but with the heart and drive of the Elder coaches and community we have been officially deemed an Elder sport.
This year, I was lucky enough to play beside 13 other graduating seniors. We have built a bond like no other and I am proud to call each one my brother.
I got a chance to interview a couple of my fellow teammates to pick their brain about their thoughts on the program and the season.
Vince Sabato commented that, “we all play for each other and there is no other people I would want to play beside. I am blessed to play with these boys.” Just another example on how tight the lacrosse team has become through the years.
With a program coached by last year’s assistant and suffering the tough loss of head coach Tom Nugent, people thought we would never be able to bounce back.
But through hard work and determination, we have exceeded expectations for the season and Coach Gruber has shown his incredible coaching ability accompanied by Coach Nuested’s veteran coaching career and fondness of players.
Our team is family first. We suffered from many situations this year with players not getting along because of errors or bad play. We always remember, at the end of the day, we are playing for the guy next to us and the drama comes to a halt.
As the season is winding down, it is time to give thanks and show love to our coaches and parents for supporting us through four great years in such an amazing program.
As the week progresses, our time becomes more limited. Our love for the sport is slowly being restricted and you can see the sadness of the team start to rise.
What is most important is the four years of memories we had the opportunity to share with our brothers. It has been one hell of a ride and I will truly miss the underclassmen we have to leave behind.
The Elder lacrosse alumni shows the love everyone has for the team. Every coach we have was once a player on this great team and I plan to do my part to help in any possible way I can. This program grows with coaching and exposure to the game.
I hope one day to help the program out the same way it has helped me.