[
HER SPACE] editorial Play On
Not ready to hang up the cleats and stick yet? There’s plenty of lax left in post-collegiate clubs.
W
hen you’re a kid, it can be hard to picture what
life will be like when you’ve grown up — where you’ll live, what a typical day will entail, the people and groups that will be important to you. What things look like today might be a sneak preview of what’s to come, or they might be so off base that you’ll look back and laugh.
If you’re reading this magazine, lacrosse is a big part of your life. It’s March, so your 2013 season is just underway. The weather is raw in some places, but it’s that trifling kind of chill that just motivates you to run around the field until you’re pleasantly warmed up. Then you come home, maybe play some wall ball, and go to bed to have anxiety dreams about not being able to find your mouth guard.
This game occupies a lot of your brain at this moment in time, and it gives you so much happiness and excitement. So why is it that so many people — especially women — just stop playing as adults?
After their formal educations are over, most people pack up their sticks and call it a day, particularly when it comes to actual game participation. Coaching, officiating and fandom are all admirable pursuits. But just know that
post-collegiate lacrosse exists as another outlet. Playing is a great
supplement to coaching or officiating. You won’t forget what it’s like to be on the field, and you’re exposed to new moves and strategies from teammates who likely hail from a variety of athletic backgrounds.
Meredith Post was a player at Ohio University when the school cut its NCAA lacrosse program in 2007, so she always felt like she had a few more lacrosse games in her system. She’s now the president of the Cincinnati Queens club. “The thing that keeps us going is that we never lost love for the game. We’re all in our twenties and early thirties, and we’re all in great shape. We’re not in the college party mode and we want to stay fit, and we still have pretty darn good stick skills,” Post said. Meg Sanders, the
The experience led Lotruglio to pose an intriguing question: “What if lax moms everywhere stopped being satisfied with just watching and began playing again?”
28 LACROSSE MAGAZINE March 2013 >>
club’s vice president, tried marathons to stay in shape after college. But it wasn’t just physical activity she craved. “I really missed the team aspect and the camaraderie, and the sport itself,” she said. “I’m 32. I’m like a dinosaur on my team. But I still get out there.” The two big challenges for the would-be post-collegiate club laxer are time and money. As family and career responsibilities mount, it can be tough to find hours and dollars for lacrosse. Dedicated club officers are rare and precious. (If you have a talent for organizing people, you can give back to the game in a huge way by taking on administrative roles for your team.) It can be worth it, though. Elaine Anton Lotruglio, a former Hofstra player, stepped back onto the field in her forties after 23-year hiatus. She was bowled over by her first-hand experience
of the game as it is played today.
“There was an intellectual and practical understanding of the field, player positioning and a deep ownership of the game of lacrosse. It was sheer beauty, awe and finesse,” Lotruglio said. “Often I found myself asking fellow teammates, ‘How does she do that?’ or ‘How can I do that?’” Lotruglio’s club team won its league championship. The victory accomplished the near impossible: impressing her middle school-aged sons. The experience led her to pose an intriguing question: “What if lax moms everywhere stopped being satisfied with just watching and began playing again?” Post-collegiate club
women’s lacrosse reached an important tipping point this year with the emergence of Team STX, an elite team sponsored by the equipment manufacturer. The fact that a major lacrosse company is putting dollars behind the squad indicates this sector of the game is on the rise. Hopefully as the post- collegiate segment of the game grows, young readers of Lacrosse Magazine will have exponentially more opportunities to play after graduation. Until then, when you’re dreaming about what your grown-up life will be like, consider how playing lacrosse might still fit into it. And maybe ask your mom, aunt or coach to join you in that pursuit. LM
— Clare Lochary
clochary@uslacrosse.org USLACROSSE.ORG
Looking for post-collegiate teams in your area? Want to start one? Hit us up.
USLacrosse.org/WDPCC A Publication of US Lacrosse
©JOHN STROHSACKER
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