Despite just being in her first year at LT, Amanda Hahn ‘23 was thrilled for her first season on the varsity girls lacrosse team and looked forward to bringing a fun, positive energy to the team, she said.

“I love playing lacrosse,” Hahn said. “I have the most fun playing when everyone around me is working hard and having a good time.”

However, with the season now suspended due to precautionary measures taken to prevent the spread of COVID-19, Hahn and her teammates are feeling a great sense of disappointment and concern that there may be no season at all, she said.

“I got really sad,” Hahn said. “I was so excited for the season to finally start, just for it to get pushed back.”

Luckily for Hahn, being a freshman gives her the opportunity to play varsity lacrosse up to three more times over her high school career. Others, like Elise Husemann ‘20, don’t have that luxury.

“Lacrosse has been such a huge part of my life throughout high school and I have been looking forward to this season all year,” she said. “Not getting to play the season in its entirety has been very hard on me and my teammates.”

Despite the uncertainty, the team has still found ways to play the game they love, Husemann said. Besides getting together to hold smaller, informal practices before the stay in place was ordered, the team is also holding a competition to see who can send in the most videos of themselves performing workouts and other conditioning activities, she said.

“Although it’s been sad, it has been really cool to see my teammates all coming together to continue some sort of practice and encourage each other to work on their own,” Husemann said. “We all care about each other a lot.”

The new situation has brought new challenges, but head coach Cecilia Luxem is impressed by how the players have handled it, she said. Luxem is in her first season as head coach after a year coaching the JV team and was also looking forward to the season getting underway, she said. But with the delay being the way it is, Luxem appreciates the challenge of having to self-motivate and practice independently.

“This has definitely been a speed bump for the team,” Luxem said. “ It’s hard to keep practicing a team sport if you can’t practice with your team. But the girls have been putting forth an awesome effort to stay in shape and work on their stick skills.”

In addition to the video contest, the team has also been doing polls, sending each other pictures and taking part in other team bonding activities, Luxem said. While the coaches have had a part in sending exercises and practice plans for the players to perform, the captains have really stepped up when it comes to encouraging good practicing habits, she said.

“Team chemistry is so important,” Luxem said. “These girls have [gotten] along so well since the beginning, so it’s great to see them keeping that up.”

It is unclear exactly when the season will start up again, but Husemann is staying positive. The hope is that normal school will resume on May 1st and some form of the season along with it, but if not, the team will still make the best of it, she said.

“We definitely will be doing a lot of team bonding regardless,” Husemann said.